P Mlambo-Ngcuka: Northern Cape Moral Regeneration Summit

8 April 2006

Premier of the Northern Cape, Ms Dipuo Peters,
Members of the Provincial Executive Council,
Members of the Provincial Legislature,
Esteemed Judge President and members of the Judiciary,
Traditional leaders,
Religious leaders,
Business leaders,
Community representatives,
Mayors and councillors,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I am honoured to be part of this auspicious gathering of the people of
Northern Cape, when they meet to look at the moral state of affairs in their
province. This summit gives me hope and indeed the entire country should be
inspired by such actions. It shows that as people we are concerned about the
moral well being of our nation.

The moral degeneration of our country which has manifested itself in various
ways such as the high rate of abuse of women and children, abuse of our senior
citizens, abuse of alcoholic substances and drugs, members of the security
services shooting people at the slightest provocation, the rise of child headed
households as a result of the HIV and AIDS pandemic and many other forms are
both unacceptable and will soon reach a crisis point if not combated soon.
These issues go to the core of the Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM)
business.

I hope that as you were meeting since Monday you have deliberated around
these critical matters and formulated responses that will help combat women and
child abuse. Among some of those responses we need to look closely and
critically at the impact of alcohol and the abuse of drugs in exacerbating the
spread of women, child and abuse of the elderly. Most of the cases of abuse of
women and rape are reported after weekends after people were engaged in heavy
drinking sprees.

This shows that alcohol abuse and abuse of other substances plays a role in
the spread of violence directed at women. We also need to deal with the
attitude of men who think that by buying drinks for women that gives them a
right to do as they wish with them. Buying drinks for a woman does not give you
a right to force yourself on her. It does not give you a right to rape her. If
she is not willing to be with you after a night of drinking together it does
not mean that you must compel her to have sex with you. That is a crime.

This year in particular we cannot tolerate any women abuse as we are
celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Women’s March to the Union Buildings in
Pretoria which took place on 8 August 1956. The celebration of that heroic and
historic women’s struggle calls upon us to be extra vigilant about the rights
and the dignity of women in our country. We must re-affirm our commitment in
fighting against women and child abuse.

The 50th Anniversary of the Women’s March speaks of the important role that
women have played in our country. We cannot therefore allow a situation which
continues to allow women to be subjected to human rights violations. Women
fought for those rights and the democratic dispensation we have today. The Bill
of Rights powerfully affirms women’s rights and says that: “Everyone is equal
before the law and has the right to equal protection and benefit of the
law.”

It further states that “everyone has inherent dignity and the right to have
their dignity respected and protected… to be free from all forms of violence
from either public or private sources; not to be tortured in any way…”. This
means that the safety of our citizens and the respect of human dignity are
enshrined in our Bill of Rights. The Government has put in place mechanisms to
enable the realisation of these rights but the responsibility of ensuring the
safety of women and children in our homes and our bedrooms, in our playing
fields and schools, indeed everywhere, is our joint responsibility as
citizens.

Our country cannot be found to be wanting when it comes to the protection
and promotion of these rights. It must take all the necessary measures to
ensure that women not only enjoy these sacred rights, but must also ensure that
their right to dignity is practised at all levels.

When we meet today we must send the strongest message possible that people
who abuse, rape and torture women and children cannot be tolerated. Such people
have no place in our society and we will do everything in our power to ensure
that they face the full force of the law and of public opinion, operating
within the law.

We must categorically state that “if you rape you go to jail”. The laws of
our country are there to protect the people, to give the people access to
justice and to punish those who prey on the weak and vulnerable. Women’s rights
to dignity and equality are enshrined in our legal framework – today all women
and men here should commit themselves to defending these rights.

In this regard, to further strengthen our fight against women, the
Department of Justice is reviewing the proposed amendments to the new Sexual
Offences Bill and this legislation will come before us for finalisation in
Parliament this year. This law must show the sensitivity to women who are
survivors of violence, it must empathise with women who find themselves in
abusive situations.

Many women who have been victims of violence want a number of things to be
done to see to it that this violence perpetuated against women ends, among them
they want:

* Sexual Offences Act passed.
* Proper reporting of incidents of Domestic Violence, as promised in the
Domestic Violence Act.
* Male rape identified as just that and not as sexual assault.
* More publicity for services that we do offer so that people know what is
available to help them.
* Conviction rates of offenders to be drastically increased.
* More support groups for victims of gender-based violence, including the MRM
playing a bigger role in helping the victims of violence.
* Community Policing Forums taking a more active role in their communities.

We would like to see much bolder and visible actions from the MRM, to show
that the situation about the moral state of our country is urgent. We need to
see MRM playing a much more pivotal role in ensuring that its programmes
permeate the whole of society. Urgent actions must be taken to strengthen MRM
activities in all spheres of Government structures and ensuring that such
actions are better co-ordinated for MRM to be more effective and visible.

MRM needs to play its role in Social Cohesion programmes, be part of
building moral fibre of our society, and be part of processes that are geared
towards ensuring that we build a country that cares about its citizens. We look
forward to MRM to play a leading role in ensuring that children who are
orphaned are cared for, to ensure that the destitute, the elderly and the weak
are cared for.

We also expect MRM to play a pivotal role in our anti corruption and crime
combating initiatives.

We are aware of the critical role that MRM is involved in trying to combat
crime in many communities, its work among the poor and weak, its work among
young people who are on rehabilitation centres. The opportunities that it
offers to young who are prepared to listen to its alternative behavioural
practises. All these are worthy causes that need to be commended which are part
of what MRM is doing.

In conclusion I wish you well and hope that your summit will achieve its
objectives which are:

* To maximise the participation and commitment of sectors in driving the
activities of the movement;
* Working towards a campaign that is sustained and to develop programmes that
will have an impact and stem the tide of moral decay in our communities.
* Consolidating the strategies aimed at greater grass-root involvement in
driving the campaign and ensuring that there is buy-in at all critical
levels.

I thank you.

Issued by: The Presidency
8 April 2006