L Xingwana: 16 Days of Activism event

26 November 2007

Programme director
Deputy Minister, Advocate Dirk du Toit
Director-General of the Department of Agriculture, Masiphula Mbongwa
Acting Director-General of the Department of Land Affairs, Thozi Gwanya
Deputy Directors-General present here today
Senior officials of the departments
General staff
Ladies and gentlemen; good morning

Today is the second day of the 16 Days of Activism Against Women and
Children Abuse Campaign which started yesterday. It is a United Nations
campaign taking place annually from 25 November to 10 December. The theme for
this year's campaign is: "Do not look away, act against abuse".

According to the Pretoria News Weekend of 24 November 2007 the objectives of
the campaign are to:
* increase awareness of gender-based violence and violence directed at
children, particularly those living in rural and other traditionally
marginalised communities
* encourage behaviour changes among perpetrators and potential
perpetrators
* highlight the correlation between violence against women and children and
other social ills such as substance abuse
* raise funds to support places of safety for survivors of violence and
abuse.
* strengthen intersectoral partnerships aimed at eradicating the violence and
abuse suffered by women and children
* encourage the participation of men and boys in campaign activities and
events
* encourage the larger society to speak out and take action against abuse
* highlight the extreme vulnerability to abuse experienced by special groups,
such as farm workers, women and children as well as people with
disabilities.

Programme director, this morning I want to confine my address on the
objective that speaks to abuse facing farm workers, women and children and
people with disabilities. This is an area which concerns me most as the
Minister responsible for agriculture and land affairs.

According to the South African Human Rights Commission in its September 2007
report, the situation in the rural and farming areas has not changed much
since
2003. The living conditions on farms and relations between the farmer and farm
workers have not changed greatly. This has prompted other organisations, such
as the Human Sciences Research Council and Nkuzi Development Association to, in
recent years, highlight, through research, the unending plight of farm workers
in South Africa.

While I do not down play the attacks on farm owners, I have to condemn
especially the attacks on women, most of whom are elderly and defenceless in
their farmhouses.
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Like in the previous year, I appeal to some groups of our farming community to
hold hands in their unique societal structures, to ensure that we set a fine
example of harmonious relations in our sector. I want to emphasise that farm
workers are human beings too and that they deserve to be treated with
dignity.

The law guarantees them rights like everyone else has rights in this
country. As the Ministry for Agriculture and Land Affairs we are obviously
disturbed by the persistent reports of abuses on the farms. These acts of abuse
are not in the interest of the growth and development of agriculture, which is
an important pillar of our country's economy.

Every day we read reports and articles in newspapers and about women and
children being abused by strangers, family and friends. On television we see
and on the radio hear about the pain and sufferings of women and children at
the hands of those who should actually protect them.

Home is supposed to be the safest place. However, in reality this is where
the majority of abuses take place. Family members, who are supposed to protect
and care for women and children, are the ones who abuse them.

This year 52 617 cases of rape and 9 367 of indecent assault were reported.
Furthermore, 210 657 cases of common assault, 218 030 incidences of assault
with intention to inflict grievous body harm as well as 4 258 cases of neglect
and ill treatment of children were reported.

As part of our commitment to ensure a meaningful contribution towards
government's aims and objectives to reducing poverty and unemployment,
the
Department of Land Affairs developed empowerment strategies for the youth and
people with disabilities.

In this regard it is commendable to note that the department has established
a Disability Forum (DDF). Accordingly, this forum meets regularly to address
issues that affect the quality of work and life of employees with disabilities.
The issues include, inter alia, the need to ensure provision of reasonable
accommodation in deserving cases so that affected staff members can improve
their performance and productivity, identification and removal of barriers to
access with a view to creating a user-friendly environment for both staff and
clients with disabilities.

It is further commendable to note that the Disability Forum has achieved
the
following:

* An annual special disability in-house newsletter has been published to
inform staff about the activities of the forum, successes and challenges in
promoting the disability rights.

* Twenty evacuation chairs were purchased and distributed to staff with
disabilities for use in emergency cases.

* A disability access audit has been conducted to identify barriers to
access. A consolidated report has been sent to the Department of Public Works
to assist us in addressing the barriers.

* The department has 77 staff members with disabilities. This is equivalent
to 2,6 percent of the total staff establishment. The main challenge here is the
low representation of staff with disabilities at middle and senior management
level.

* Currently, there are 28 land reform projects managed by persons with
disabilities and to date a total of 17 376,64 hectares of land have been
delivered.

Programme director, I am worried that the Department of Agriculture has done
very little compared to strides achieved by the Department of Land Affairs. The
Department of Agriculture has nine staff members with disabilities. This is an
equivalent to 0,3 percent of the total staff component of 2 633.

It is clear in my mind that disability issues are not be taken very
seriously by some of my managers in agriculture and I view this with concern
and contempt. I still want the Department of Agriculture to establish a gender
unit headed by a woman to further improve and facilitate issues of women gender
equity. This will be a step that breaks down the barriers of communication and
will encourage women to come forth with their work-related issues.

In conclusion, I invite you to further commemorate the 16 Days of Activism
campaign with the following events:

* On 30 November 2007, Department of Land Affairs World Aids Day
Celebrations will be held in Emnotweni Arena, Nelspruit; while on the same day
the Department of Agriculture World Aids Day will be held at Agriculture Place
in Pretoria.

* On 4 December the Department of Land Affairs will mark World International
Day for Disabled Persons celebrations at the Sheraton in Cape Town.

* On 6 December the Department of Agriculture will hold their International
Day for the Disabled Persons in Pretoria.

We continue "renewing our pledge, a national partnership to build a better
life for all".

I thank you.

Issued by: Ministry of Agriculture and Land Affairs
26 November 2007
Source: Department of Agriculture (http://www.nda.agric.za/)