September
2 March 2007
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sibusiso Ndebele has issued a challenge to the Boy
Scouts and Girl Guides Associations in KwaZulu-Natal to ensure that there are
at least 200 000 Scouts and Guides in the province by the end of September this
year.
Ndebele made this call at a function held in Pietermaritzburg earlier today,
where the First Lady of KwaZulu-Natal Mrs Zama Ndebele presented uniforms to
several Girl Guides from various parts of the province.
On Wednesday, 28 February 2007, at a provincial Cabinet meeting, Ndebele
also called for the revitalisation of the Boy Scouts Movement in the province
as part of mass mobilisation for good moral upbringing and self-actualisation
of young people.
We want to ensure that by July this year, out of the 6 000 schools in KZN,
there is at least one teacher who will be responsible for Girl Guides and Boy
Scouts. The answer for many of our children, who are aimless and do not have
any direction, lies in becoming a Scout or Guide. We as government will open up
our facilities for you to use to learn about yourself and your surroundings. We
will open up every available opportunity to you. We will also arrange transport
for you to travel to different places. The sky is the limit.
As we move towards 2010 our Scouts and Guides in KZN must become more
active. This is about the only organised and disciplined formation for our
youth. There is an understanding of non-racialism in the Girl Guide and Boy
Scout movement and whether you are rich or poor the uniform serves as an
equaliser.
But you must be this vibrant organised formation. Let's have more numbers
and more members. Former President Nelson Mandela had this to say about the
scouting movement in South Africa: "The international Scout movement is a world
leader in youth education, and has particular relevance to the needs of youth
in Africa and the emerging democracies around the globe. I am pleased with the
progress of scouting in South Africa and in the steps which are now being taken
to make the programme accessible to more young people. The importance of a high
moral code, which is at the foundation of the Scout movement, cannot be
stressed too highly."
As early as 2005 we said that these bodies embodied the essence of what was
lacking in our society. There was an urgent need for the province's people to
find their moral base again. The Boy Scout and Girl Guide movement were the
right organisations to help us get there in the long term. Today we are
revitalising the moral regeneration movement. Together with churches and other
religious institutions we are looking to build our province again. The building
process will start where it should start, from the bottom up, with young people
as our building blocks.
We are looking to find a society based on the values of family, interracial
harmony and good citizenship. As a result in 2005 we allocated R6 million to
the Girl Guides Association in the province. We also allocated R6 million to
the Boy Scouts. These organisations we believe are well placed and established
to take forward this movement for the regeneration of our moral fibre. These
organisations offer us the best chance we have of creating a new corps of youth
that will grow into an outstanding citizenry.
The Girl Guide programme encompasses many relevant issues in the lives of
young women and girls. It includes educational programmes dealing with, amongst
others, HIV and AIDS, violence against women including rape and domestic
violence, child abuse, teenage pregnancy, substance abuse and training in life
skills and entrepreneurship.
We have placed emphasis on supporting the "Phakamani" programme of the Boy
Scouts. The programme is specifically designed to offer the value and benefits
of the Scout movement to youth in rural areas and townships. This programme
also integrates a programme to fight HIV and AIDS and promotes adolescent
education in life skills necessary to fight poverty, encourage enterprise and
entrepreneurship and to live a healthy lifestyle.
The aim of the South African Scout Association is to contribute to the
development of boys, girls and young adults in achieving their full potential
as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national
and international communities. It develops their character, training them in
citizenship and developing their spiritual, social, mental and physical
qualities.
We think it is important that the South African Scout Association is based
on the principles of duty to God, duty to others and duty to self.
This is important.
"Loyalty to country and province means that one will not go out of their way
to disgrace South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal. A people who love themselves, love
their neighbours and have respect for the force of eternity will not disgrace
their country, province and kin. The Scout is loyal to the religion that
expresses them, loyal to the country in which they reside and responsible in
their own development," said Ndebele.
Enquiries:
Logan Maistry
Spokesperson to Premier Ndebele
Cell: 083 644 4050
Email: maistryl@premier.kzntl.gov.za
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
2 March 2007
Source: SAPA
