MEC for Social Development Mokomela Mothibi
Members of the provincial government here today
The executive mayor of Rustenburg
Local councillors
Representatives of labour
Representatives of mining industry
Ladies and gentlemen
December is a peculiar month. It is a month during which Christians from around the world celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Christ, hence the name Christmas. It is also the month where we remind ourselves that there is this disease that has decimated people across the world more particularly across the continent, sub-continent and our country.
We are reminded that the people who are affected and infected with the HIV Virus are no different from you and me and we should treat them accordingly. We light a candle of memorial for those who have passed on and as a reminder for those who are alive infected or not that there is hope even in the midst of adversity.
This week cabinet held its ordinary meeting in Pretoria. It is again partly in this month and November that we participate and support the 16 Days Campaign Against the Abuse of Women and Children which ended yesterday.
However, with abuse as rife as it is, this campaign can never end. It is a campaign that needs to be instilled in all days of the year until such time that the despicable crimes against the vulnerable members of society stop being a feature in our country.
It has been said that a nation that cannot and does not take care of its women and children can never succeed.Our success as a country will always be overshadowed by the terrible deeds that we commit to those who are vulnerable.
Cabinet this week issued a statement regretting, “some despicable incidents of abuse against women and children took place and were exposed during the campaign period. These include the shameful incident of sexual intercourse in a school yard in Johannesburg, the uncovering of the alleged child pornography involving toddlers at a house outside Pretoria, and the cold-blooded murder of Ms Anni Dewani in Cape Town.
Cabinet commends the police for acting swiftly in all these cases and ensuring that the suspects were apprehended and brought to court promptly. The importance of prosecuting of the suspects in the Dewani case cannot be over-emphasised as the case had drawn global attention and damaged South Africa’s reputation.
The South African government will leave no stone unturned in the fight against the abuse of women and children and the perpetrators of the abuse must expect no mercy from the law enforcement authorities. All South Africans must stand up against abuse of any kind and report all incidents to the authorities to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.”
Cabinet also noted and rejected the practice of kidnapping and abduction of women and young girls for marriage under the guise of “Ukuthwala” cultural practice. It further noted that “in some instances, this practice is linked with the misguided belief that sexual intercourse with a virgin cures HIV and AIDS. The abduction of women under any circumstances is unlawful, unjustified and punishable by the law”.
I am quoting from the cabinet statement to emphasise the point and highlight government’s commitment in not only fighting the abuse of women and children but also the dangerous link this has to HIV and AIDS in our country.
Earlier this year, our department had a chance to host Ingxoxo with women in mining. It became clear that there a number of serious issues in this industry and in the main, those issues relate to women not being allowed the space and opportunity to fully participate as equal partners in this industry.
What Ingxoxo also highlighted were issues of abuse women suffer in this male dominated world. I do not need to point out the dangerous link, again to HIV and AIDS especially in the world where men have been led to believe that they rule the roost as it happens in the mining industry.
I am mindful of the fact that to a certain extent, there are serious attempts by some of the companies to make the environment enabling for women and this needs to be encouraged.
The skewed power relation also has a bearing on the spread of HIV and AIDS. By its nature of separating men from their families, the mining industry suffers a higher than normal prevalence of the HIV virus. Unfortunately, this assumption is not supported by any hard evidence in terms of a study.
I have directed that a survey be conducted and the report is just about ready. It should be able to inform us where the nexus of the problem is, what possible interventions can we apply in mitigating the effects of the prevalence and what other steps are needed – interventionist steps that includes the supply of anti-retrovirals to those who need them.
I do know that the report makes a connection between the HIV and AIDS and tuberculosis (TB). This is not new information but it is important to point out that whatever intervention takes place; it should recognise and deal with the connection between these two chronic diseases.
But no report can tell us about the stigma that is associated with the disease. Study after study has shown that people are sometimes scared of testing because the very act of testing can be interpreted differently. Instead of those who test being recognised for the courage they are displaying, they would tend to be excluded and be treated as if they are lepers, treated in the same way that the biblical Lazarus was treated.
The industry should continue to encourage workers to test so that they know their status. Aligned to this is the need to find testing mechanisms or methods that do not lead to stigmatisations of those who do take part.
I am also led to believe that in some cases, testing is not necessarily an issue. In fact, it has been noted that the uptake for testing has climbed over the years. This is to be encouraged and companies who have taken an active role in championing this need to be commended.
What becomes a challenge is when people test, get results and go into denial mode. They would cite things like they are being bewitched and this then is a justification for not taking antiretrovirals. Instead of taking the life saving antiretrovirals, our people take to quackery that suggests that imbiza will make them healthy. Nothing could be further from the truth.
This is a sad state of affairs. We need to find ways to make it easier for people to go access their medication without suffering the attendant stigma and being isolated for their condition.
We also need to find a way for reporting that is more effective and gives us a true picture of the challenge that we face in this industry. In the recently issued New Growth Path, mining has been identified as one of the key drivers for creating jobs and boosting the economy.
Mining requires a strong and healthy workforce and it is in the interests of us all – business, labour and government to ensure that there is treatment but before there is treatment, people should go out there and test to know their status.
The message this year from the Department of Health and the South African National AIDS Council is ‘We are responsible’.All of us must take the responsibility to get tested. All of us must take responsibility in doing what is right and encouraging our workers, colleagues, partners and even our enemies to get tested.
We are responsible for protecting women and children. We are responsible for reporting a neighbour or colleague whose actions is against the very ethic of responsibility and accountability that we espouse.
In short the future is in our hands and calls upon all of us do what is right. In the National Strategic Plan for HIV and AIDS and Sexually Transimtted Infections of 2007, government set itself two primary objectives:
- Reduce the rate of infections by 50 percent by 2011
- Cover 80 percent of the people who need to be on antiretrovirals (ARVs) by 2011
On 15 October Cabinet committed to acceleratingthe national AIDS response and to meeting the targets of the national strategic plan (NSP) by 2011. There is also a target to have 15-million people tested by June 2011. There was a time when we spoke of 2010 as something far off the horizon. It is now almost past. The year 2011 is but a few days away and we need to take this into account. So the time to act is now.
All of these grand plans involve each of us and these interventions require us to take an active interest. The mining industry is the backbone of our economy contributing at least 18 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) and we cannot look away while the engine of the country is being ravaged. This December and in days, months and years to come, we need to rededicate ourselves to being part of the solution and not the problem.
We need to act and act swiftly.
I thank you for your attention.
Source: Department of Mineral Resources
