Programme Director
Acting Deputy Director-General for Social Development
MMCs and councillors present
Executive managers and officials of the department present
Members of various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) present here today
Dumelang bagaetsho!
Allow me to start by thanking the organisers of this occasion which seeks to deal with a matter that is very close to my heart. As a female MEC and as someone who has worked closely with communities at various levels and especially at grassroots level, I understand the importance of this occasion.
It is indeed an honour for me to be here today for yet another landmark programme. As the North West Province, we pride ourselves for taking national priorities seriously and for acting promptly to implement them. Today we are moving a step forward towards protection of victims of various forms of violence and crime against humanity.Victims’ empowerment is a priority programme. I feel privileged to be the one to officially launch the Provincial Victim Empowerment Integrated Plan.
We are a country, a province and a society with a sad history of violence and the current administration as led by the African National Congress (ANC) has since post 1994 started a process of nation healing. However many of our families are still subject to violence in their neighbourhoods, communities and especially domestically. Regrettably, we have inherited violence and we are a sick society that needs healing.
The extent and impact of the apartheid violence has planted seeds deep in our people and it is taking a lot from us to uproot these social ills. As a government with a full understanding of where we come from and what our people have gone through, we have established various forms of corrective and rehabilitation measures as a means to rebuild our nation. We have gone beyond these measures as we have now introduced also various forms of victims’ empowerment programmes that are aimed at empowering victims of various types of violence and crime against humanity.
Ladies and gentlemen, through the Victim Empowerment programme, our government aims at making the criminal justice system more victim friendly and minimise the negative effects of crime on victims through the development of integrated services for the victims of crime and violence. We have a vision for a society in which crime prevention is prioritised and the rights of the victims of crime and violence are acknowledged and effectively addressed within a restorative justice framework.
We must restore the pride of the victims of crime and violence!
Our people must find console in justice!
Justice must protect our people from perpetrators of crime and violence!
As we move towards the 16 Days of Activism Against Violence on Women and Children, we must do so with full consciousness of what this campaign seeks to achieve. This launch of the Provincial Victim Empowerment Integrated Plan must then inform the 16 Days of Activism Against Violence on Women and Children. It must not be business as usual.We must begin to see impact because now we will be guided us on how we must approach this important campaign.
The Provincial Victim Empowerment Integrated Plan should make our work a lot easier.It gives effect to the National Crime Prevention Strategy, Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998 and the Service Charter for the victims of crime (Victims charter). So it should assist us to implement key policy directives on empowering victims of crime and in dealing with perpetrators of crime and violence against humanity.
As an integrated strategy, this plan seeks to bring all stakeholders on board.We need to see a more coherent approach where our department, the South African Police Service, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the National Prosecuting Authority, the Department of Education, the Department of Correctional Services and civil society at large work together and find common ground to uproot crime and violence in our society.
With this Provincial Victim Empowerment Integrated Plan, we must therefore work together to protect the most vulnerable in our society. I am not saying men are not victims of crime and violence but we know very well that our mothers, women and children are the most vulnerable and statistics does indicate that they are the most hit by violence and crime. Women and children are especially the most victims of domestic violence. Let us work together to uproot domestic violence from our homes and communities. As neighbours, it is our responsibility to report domestic violence. Don’t just keep quite when your next door neighbour is being harassed and brutalised.
Se eme go fitlhelela go tswa setopo mo next door. Act immediately!
Help us report these acts of violence and build a better society and families.
Programme Director, I am confident that the Provincial Victim Empowerment Integrated Plan will go a long way in helping us to stop crime and violence against humanity. Let us implement it.
I thank you!
