Director of Proceedings, Reverends Phala and Mohlala, and Ms Mkhabela,
Executive Mayor of Sekhukhune District Municipality, Cllr Mogobo Magabe,
Mayor of Greater Tubatse Local Municipality, Cllr NJ Mahlake,
Congregants,
Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
I am deeply honoured to be in your midst as we meet in prayer for family reorganization and moral regeneration, crime and police killings, and peace and stability. Today’s Prayer Service takes place during the Month of August. August is historically Women’s Month, the month during which the country pays tribute to the thousands of women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 in protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women.
This historic march was a turning point in the role of women in the struggle for freedom. Since that historic day in 1956, women from all walks of life became equal partners in the struggle for a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.
In recognition of the role that women played during the liberation struggle and continue to play today, the Government of South Africa declared August Women’s Month and 9 August is celebrated annually as Women’s Day. This year’s Women’s Month theme is: “56 years of women united against poverty, inequality and unemployment.”
The democratic government has done a lot in the course of empowering women and freeing them from their triple bondage – on the basis of race, gender and class. Since the dawn of freedom and democracy, the democratic government has taken bold and decisive steps to institutionalize gender equality and women empowerment. These strides in gender equality and women empowerment have manifested themselves in the following ways:
- Increase in the representation of women in the legislatures and civil service
- An array of liberating and empowering laws have been passed
On our part as the Department of Safety, Security and Liaison we have dedicated the month of August to mobilizing the Limpopo public to “break the silence against women and children abuse.”
In line with this commitment we have embarked on crime prevention activities in all our districts in the province. The crux of these crime prevention activities are the following:
- To encourage victims of crimes against women and children, and domestic violence to report their violations
- To ensure that relevant stakeholders are familiar with the Domestic Violence Act and that it is effectively and efficiently implemented
- To discourage community members from the commission of crimes against women and children
- To restore the victims’ confidence in society and in themselves, and to encourage them and their close family members to utilize available victim support resources
I will be failing in my duty if I fail to mention two of the tragedies that have recently befallen our country, Lonmin Marikana and Mookgophong. The Lonmin Marikana tragedy has claimed 44 lives and left scores injured and others arrested. This tragedy has rightly imposed itself into the consciousness of the country and the world. It is a black spot in our miraculous transition from apartheid to freedom and democracy.
Let us pray that the democratic government receives the intelligence and wisdom to bring closure to this sad chapter in our history. Closer home we on Saturday, 18 August 2012, woke up to the gruesome finding of the Kekana children’s bodies in the bushes outside the town of Naboomspruit.
The three children, two boys and a girl had been reported missing on Thursday after they failed to return to Montadi Youth Care Centre where they lived on recommendations of social workers.
They were gruesomely stoned to death and initial police investigations revealed that the girl was raped before she was killed. This barbaric act has rightly received wide condemnation, including from the Presidency and the Ministry for Women, Children and People with Disabilities.
The police are working around the clock to bring perpetrators to book in the shortest possible time. The community of Mookgophong will not sleep peacefully until the killer or killers are apprehended and convicted for their vile act of taking these young and innocent lives. Let us pray for the police to find courage and guidance as they pursue the killer or killers.
The cruel killing of the three children is an indictment on us as a civilized society that has a responsibility over its children. It goes to the heart of our sense of morality and responsibility.
This brings us to today’s Family Reorganization Prayer Service. The Prayer Service comes at an opportune moment to self-introspect and seek divine intervention as we seem to flounder in the social wilderness without a moral compass to point us home.
Many of the social ills wreaking havoc in the South African society and threatening our young democracy are as a result of rampant moral decay. Today we are confronted by the painful reality as depicted by William Butler Yeats in his poem: “The Second Coming”:
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity
This is about where we find ourselves – facing imminent doom!
The degree of moral degeneration threatens our very existence. This is no exaggeration. Doom and gloom are staring us in the face, waiting for us to blink before they take over and destroy everything in their wake.
All is however not lost. There is still hope. Hope lies in our collective faith in the Almighty. It is in troubled times like these that we turn our eyes to the Almighty and plead for His intervention.
The Church is our last line of defence. We call on all South Africans of all faiths and denominations not to falter or tire to pray for the restoration of the original family and our moral values. Your prayers today have inspired us to go out in the broader society to ensure that good triumphs over the evils we have to contend with on a daily basis.
I thank you!
