Programme director,
Mayor of Greater Tzaneen Municipality Cllr D Mmetle,
Kgoshi Maake,
Councillor R Shingange and Cllr Mahasha from Greater Tzaneen Municipality,
Mopani District Municipality Member of the Mayoral Committee for Social Services Cllr Moshobane SH,
SAPS Provincial Commissioner Lt General Simon Mpembe,
Provincial Chairperson of the NYDA Frans Moswane,
Distinguished Guests,
Comrades,
Ladies and gentlemen.
I wish to take this opportunity to thank all the speakers who came before me for the wonderful reflections you have made on the importance of this month. I’m particularly pleased with the emphasis all speakers have made on the need to tirelessly fight against abuse which is subjected to those in our society who are most vulnerable. It is the responsibility of everyone and not just women or the police to fight abuse of any kind wherever it manifests itself.
I’m aware that this is supposed to be a joyful month in the calendar of women as we celebrate the victories scored by heroic women on the 09th of August 1956. The proud legacy of such women as Lilian Ngoyi, Charlotte Maxeke, Albertina Sisulu, Helen Joseph and many others is there for all to see.
Women today as we speak enjoy the same rights as men. To a large extent women’s dignity has been restored although much more still needs to be done. Women have got access to free medical care, social grants for their children and access to housing amongst other benefits.
Programme director, at the same time I must hasten to say that whilst we are proud to celebrate the many achievements of women during this important month, we however cannot fail to notice the sorrowful episodes which happened in our province and country over the last few days.
As we meet here today at Ga-Maake, the entire nation is troubled with a series of very traumatizing events across the country - one of which happened in this village on the 11th of August. The resurgence of contact crimes especially sexual and family related violence in this part of our province is very worrisome indeed. The recent vengeful violence which left a girl in her 20’s dead together with her 31 year old partner in a blaze of fire was indeed ruthless and very shocking to say the least.
The message of hope we have for you as members of the community is that when under attack from your spouse or a family member do not hesitate to approach members of the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) under the South African Police Service (SAPS). The FCS units have been reintroduced to deal specifically with all family violence related crimes, child protection and sexual related offences.
They are available in all 16 SAPS clusters across the province and can be of help when a person is a victim of intra-familial crime such as attempted murder, domestic violence, rape, incest, indecent assault, assault GBH, kidnapping or abduction. We have full confidence in the men and women who are in charge of this unit and believe that they can secure more successful convictions if given cooperation by members of the community.
Programme director,
Still in the same breath, I must also say that our country has been taken aback by the shocking incident of the 34 miners who perished at Marikana on Thursday, the 16th of August. This cannot go unmentioned as it does seriously also affect the heartbeat of our nation. As if this was not enough we again suffered a serious blow as a province last Saturday, on the 18th of August when it was learned that three school going kids of ages between 9 and 12 were found murdered outside Mookgopong. One of them a young girl is alleged to have been raped.
Upon hearing the news, the Provincial Commissioner and I visited the area to get first-hand information. I must say that, we were highly disturbed by what we heard and saw. As the police explained to us the manner in which the kids died in the bushes where the bodies were found, it became clear to us that here we are dealing with very evil people who neither have souls nor regard for human life.
It is our wish that the Task Team that has been set up to investigate these murders should leave no stone unturned in uncovering the truth. It is high time that we put an end to murders of this nature in our province. The perpetrators of this callous deed do not belong to our country. They should be apprehended and sent to jail for the rest of their lives.
The importance of protecting children against violence and abuse cannot be overemphasised. As a country we have a Bill of rights which protects every citizen including children. Our government ratified as early as 1996 the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child so as to safeguard the interest of all children against exploitation and abuse.
The Bill of Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the child have all been drawn up with a purpose to uplift the potential of every child to become a better citizen of tomorrow. However, we are the first to admit that laws alone and even institutions of care are never enough to guarantee children’s welfare if we as parents do not play our part.
As the old adage goes, charity begins at home! It is the duty of every parent to take care of their children by ensuring that they have shelter, food, healthcare, education and most of all proper guidance. At the same time it is expected that children as well must start behaving like children and not adults. They must respect their parents and teachers. Shunning wrong company and bad influences is the first step you as a child or a young person must take in order to escape a life of sex, drugs and alcohol. There is no future for this country if young people are not encouraged to start focusing on education above everything else.
Programme director,
Let me conclude by saying that this week has been declared a week of mourning by President Zuma in memory of the 44 people who lost their lives at Marikana in the North West. The death of 34 miners and the two other policemen should never have happened in the first place. The tragic incident should serve as a constant reminder of the journey which we as a country still needs to traverse to overcome deep rooted inequalities across class, race and gender lines.
However credulous were the actions of these miners; no matter what they did or did not do, the fact of the matter remains that human life was lost and lost unnecessarily. We know for certain that amongst those who were killed are parents of children and breadwinners of families. This incident has left many widows who will be left without partners. Families have broken down as a result of this action and with this have come all sorts of vulnerabilities.
It is highly probable that children who are left behind may never know or enjoy parental guidance as they grow up. It is left upon us who are living both as individuals and as collectives to take full moral responsibility of what happened by ensuring that the children of these miners are shielded from the life of crime and abuse.
The Constitution and the labour laws of the country have been put in place to regulate and avoid exactly what we saw in Marikana. What happened in Marikana should never happen in Limpopo. Let us draw lessons from these experiences and become wiser by the day as a nation.
Lastly programme director,
- I wish to repeat again that, let us all break the silence against women and child abuse!
- Let us report family violence and sexual offences to the police.
- Let us protect all our children against any form of violence and abuse!
- Let us join hands with our municipalities to make our neighborhoods safe by joining the CPFs and the Community Safety Forums
The SAPS Toll Free number of 086 00 10111 is still available to help you!
I thank you!
