Chairperson of the NCOP,
Honourable Members,
Fellow South Africans.
A generation is defined variously as, “the average period, during which children grow up and have children of their own, generally considered to be about thirty years” and as, “all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively.”
On Thursday, 21 March 2013 we would, according to the first definition of a generation, have commemorated Human Rights Day for almost two thirds of a generation.
On 21 March 1960 our nation and the world was horrified as 69 people were brutally killed and hundreds were injured as police opened fire on demonstrators who were protesting peacefully and unarmed against the pass laws in Sharpeville, and three people in Kwa-Langa and one person in Vanderbijlpark were killed at similar demonstrations.
The day is commemorated internationally as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination by decision of the UN General Assembly in 1966.
We honour and pay tribute to those who suffered for justice and freedom in our country. Their memory must serve as an inspiration for us to celebrate and defend our Constitution, the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa and to work to realise its vision of a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and just society in which all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerances are rooted out.
Franz Fanon tells us in The Wretched of the Earth that, “Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.”
We must then ask ourselves how on this Human Rights Day we, “regarded collectively, as all of the people born and living at this same time”, are able to answer the challenge put to us by Franz Fanon. We will be commemorating and celebrating Human Rights Day under the theme: “United in Advancing Socio-Economic Freedom for All.”
The President of the Republic will address the nation at the Embekweni Community Sports Centre in Paarl, in the Western Cape – an appropriate venue for a number of reasons. Appropriate, because President Nelson Mandela served the last three of the 27 years that he spent in prison here incarcerated at the Victor Verster Prison now known as the Drakenstein Correctional Centre.
The image of Nelson Mandela emerging from this prison on 11 February 1990, into what was then still a profoundly unfree society, remains for many one of the most vivid symbols of the start of our transition from apartheid to democracy. It was this transition, brought about by decades of struggle, that made it possible for us to say with pride today that:
We defeated the vicious system of apartheid, declared a crime against humanity and replaced it with a Constitutional democracy serving the needs of all its citizens.
We established and continue to consolidate institutions that support democracy and protect the rights of our citizens, such as the Office of the Public Protector, the South African Human Rights Commission, the Office of the Auditor-General, the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural Religious and Linguistic Communities and the Commission for Gender Equality.
The Independent Electoral Commission has overseen 9 elections at national, provincial and local level. Parliament and Provincial Legislatures fulfill their constitutional mandate to legislate and oversee the work of the Executive. The independence of the Judiciary is protected and respected.
The World Justice Project recently released it Rule of Law Index for 2012. South Africa is placed in the top half of the rankings among upper middle income countries in most indicators.
Likewise we were honoured that when South Africa presented its Second Universal Periodic Report UN Human Rights Council in May and September last year South Africa’s report was very well received and States commended South Africa for its commitment to human rights and improving the lives of its citizens, the delivery of basic services such as housing, health and education as well as South Africa's leading role in the UNHRC, especially regarding the rights of Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Intersex (LGBTI) persons.
It is also appropriate that Human Rights Day is being held in Paarl because the recent strikes by farm workers, the incidents of sexual and gender based violence, and disparities in access to land and income in the area remind us that we still have a long way to go.
At the ANC’s Bill of Rights conference, in 1991 former President Nelson Mandela insisted that, “A simple vote, without food, shelter and health care is to use first generation rights as a smokescreen to obscure the deep underlying forces which dehumanise people. It is to create an appearance of equality and justice, while by implication socioeconomic inequality is entrenched.”
In paying tribute to the late Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson, President Zuma said: “We know what he wanted to see in our country. He wanted to see what is spelled out in our nation’s National Development Plan, where all South Africans can say:
- We have water.
- We use a toilet.
- We have food on the table.
- We fall asleep without fear.
- We listen to the rain on the roof.
- We gather together in front of heat.
It is a society where by 2030, each community should have:
- A school
- Teachers who love teaching and learning.
- A local library filled with a wealth of knowledge.
- A librarian
- A police station with respected and upright police.
- A clinic with nurses who love caring for people.
Once we have achieved these goals, we would have made his contribution to have been worth it. He reiterated the pronouncement of the Constitutional Court in 1998 in the Soobramoney case that:
“We live in a society in which there are great disparities in wealth. Millions of people are living in deplorable conditions. There is high level of unemployment, inadequate social security, and many did not have access to clean water or to adequate health services.
These conditions existed when the Constitution was adopted and a commitment to address them, and to transform our society into one in which there will be human dignity, freedom and equality, lies at the heart of our new constitutional order. For as long as these conditions continue to exist, that aspiration will have a hollow ring.”
In his memory, the Executive commits to do better than before, in improving the implementation of programmes that are meant to improve the lives of our people.
We commit to do better than before, working with the other arms of the state and all sectors, to reverse the legacy of inequality, poverty and under development and to build a society together, where no child goes to bed hungry.”
Since 1994: The number of households with access to electricity is now at 12.1 million, which translates to 85%. Nine out of 10 households have access to water. 96% of children below the age of 15 are in school.
Whilst access to education is now nearly universal and each year the ANA results have demonstrated steady improvement, in the quality of education, much more must be done, especially in the fields of maths, science and technology. 2,6 million subsidised houses have been built, providing shelter for more than 10 million people. Over 700 clinics have been built and significant progress has been made towards strengthening the Primary Health Care (PHC) system and the National Health Insurance Fund.
In keeping with our commitment to the realisation of socio-economic rights, the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will soon be submitted to Parliament for ratification. A serious challenge to the realisation of the socio-economic rights contained in Constitution is that of crime and corruption.
We agree with the words of the late Chief Justice Chaskalson in South African Association of Personal Injury Lawyers v Heath and Others 2001 (1) SA 883 (CC) where he said:
“Corruption and maladministration are inconsistent with the rule of law and the fundamental values of our Constitution. They undermine the constitutional commitment to human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms. They are the antithesis of the open, accountable, democratic government required by the Constitution. If allowed to go unchecked and unpunished they will pose a serious threat to our democratic State.”
A reflection of the seriousness with which government takes this challenge is the resources being allocated to our corruption busting institutions at a time of general fiscal constraint.
The budget of the SAHRC increased by 66.23% over the past five years from R60.6 million for the 2008/9 financial year to R100.73 million for the 2012/3 financial year.
Funding for the Public Protector has increase by 95.02% over the past five years, from R86.5 million for 2008/9 to a very substantial, yet arguably still inadequate, R173.77 million for the current financial year.
The Special Investigating Unit, at the forefront of our fight against corruption, has seen its budget increase by on average 32.84% per annum over the past five years rising from R116.3 million in 2008/9 to a massive R307.31 million for the current financial year. Over the past three years President Zuma has issued an unprecedented 33 presidential proclamations authorizing the SIU to investigate state institutions at national, provincial and local level.
There is indeed a formidable arsenal of legislation that corruption-busting institutions have at their disposal and our institutions enjoy protection, respect and independence. However, the fight against corruption is very far from won and that we are not yet able to claim that we have done all that we can, as best we can.
The National Development Plan 2030 highlights the following essential matters:
“In addition to political will, corruption has to be fought on three fronts: deterrence, prevention and education. Deterrence helps people understand that they are likely to get caught and punished. Prevention is about systems that make it hard to engage in corrupt acts. The social dimensions of corruption need to be tackled by focusing on values, through education."
For this reason also, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development announced recently that the names of those convicted of corruption would be published and the Minister of Public Service and Administration has announced that legislation barring public servants from doing business with their departments.
We also know that for as long as there are 64 000 cases of rape reported to the police like there were last year, for as long as women and children live in fear, and for as long as hate crimes are perpetrated against members of the LGBTI community, the promise of our Constitution would not have been realized.
South Africa has some of the best and most advanced legislation and policies against sexual and gender-based violence. Legislation such as the Domestic Violence Act, the Sexual Offences Act and Children’s Act are being used against perpetrators of violence against women and children. Perpetrators found guilty of sexual and gender-based violence are already receiving heavy sentences.
The SA Police have re-introduced Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Units at the SA Police Service. The Thuthuzela Care Centers operated by the National Prosecuting Authority are aimed at improving the care and treatment of rape victims at all points in the criminal justice system.
In the Budget tabled by the Minister of Finance on Wednesday provision was made for increasing the number of Thuthuzela Care Centres from 35 in 2012/13 to 55 by 2015/16.
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development has also announced the intention to accelerate the establishment of Sexual Offences Courts.
It is envisaged that 58 Courts will be fully functional during the first six months of the new financial year the Minister will be making further announcements in this regard in the near future. But the criminal justice system, no matter how effective we make it, can only be a part of the solution.
Eliminating sexual and gender-based violence is inextricably linked to the fundamental transformation of our society from one characterised by patriarchal attitudes and power relations to a truly non-sexist society.
The centenary of the 1913 Land Act, is a stark reminder of the fact that apartheid colonialism turned black people into pariahs in their own land, and of the need to deal expeditiously with the land question in the context of the law and the Constitution.
Policy and legislative steps are being taken to address this through the implementation of the ‘just and equitable’ principle for compensation, as set out in the Constitution. These measures are being taken in ongoing discussions with stakeholders.
It is curious then that, the Honourable Lindiwe Mazibuko, parliamentary leader of the DA, makes the following remarks in a piece published in the Sunday Independent after the State of the Nation Address. She said that the President:
“Instead of condemning the “willing buyer, willing seller” principle, […] should have focused on the proposals of the NDP which the DA supports. The president played a game of smoke and mirrors. He said his government would be guided by the constitutional principles underpinning land reform, but the same constitution prescribes the “willing buyer, willing seller” principle.”
Now, the Constitution that I remember being part of writing says:
25. Property
(3) The amount of the compensation and the time and manner of payment must be just and equitable, reflecting an equitable balance between the public interest and the interests of those affected, having regard to all relevant circumstances, including:
- the current use of the property;
- the history of the acquisition and use of the property;
- the market value of the property;
- the extent of direct state investment and subsidy in the acquisition and beneficial capital improvement of the property; and
- the purpose of the expropriation.
(4) For the purposes of this section –
- the public interest includes the nation's commitment to land reform, and to reforms to bring about equitable access to all South Africa's natural resources; and
- property is not limited to land.
(5) The state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to foster conditions which enable citizens to gain access to land on an equitable basis.
(8) No provision of this section may impede the state from taking legislative and other measures to achieve land, water and related reform, in order to redress the results of past racial discrimination, provided that any departure from the provisions of this section is in accordance with the provisions of section 36(1).
The question that this House, and indeed all of us as South Africans must consider, is why is it that exactly at this juncture of our history, when government is taking steps to speed up socio-economic transformation, that we witness a concerted attempt to falsify the true transformative content of our Constitution and to paint the picture of government and an ANC that cannot be trusted to uphold the Constitution and the Rule of Law - a picture that is painted contrary to all objective evidence.
In conclusion, I wish to raise the question of role of national days in the promotion of social cohesion and national unity.
I came across the following piece about Human Rights Day in an online magazine focusing on Cape Town: “Officially declared a public holiday in 1994, Human Rights Day (21 March) serves as both a reminder of the happenings at the Sharpeville massacre as well as a celebration of Mzansi’s unique foundation, which gives all citizens equal rights.”
So far so good, however, it continues and says: “This year, the national day-off falls on a Thursday (all the more reason to put in a day’s leave on Friday), and what better way to celebrate this coveted long-weekend interlude than with a range of activities and things to do in Cape Town.
Thus, eat, drink, be merry and celebrate Human Rights Day in Cape Town and surrounds with a handful of off-the-hook and downright delicious events in the Mother City. There’s a heap of highlights on offer, from live music shows to FREE parties, decadent dinners to thought-provoking plays and so much more.”
It then gives a list of top-ten suggestions for things to do on Human Rights Day, one of which is:
“Celebrate Human Rights Day in Cape Town on the seaside terrace of [the] XXX Restaurant at the XXX Waterfront [Hotel]. The ocean-front eatery is serving up a range of cocktails available at a 30% discount and live entertainment to commemorate this historic day. Chill out on the outdoor terrace and soak up the sun to on the day.”
I hope then that Honourable Members will be attending Human Rights Day in Paarl or participating in other activities in their constituencies that give real meaning and content to Human Rights Day, content that will make us more united in pursuing the goal of advancing socio-economic freedom for all, thereby celebrating, defending and realizing the transformative vision of our Constitution.
I look forward to the debate and hearing the views of members of this House.
I thank you!
