Rights Day commemoration, Solomon Mahlangu stadium, Thembisile Hani
Municipality
21 March 2009
Programme director
Members of the Executive Council, Members of Parliament and Members of
Parliamentary Legislature
The Executive Mayors of Nkangala District Municipality and Thembisile Hani
Local Municipality, honourable Councillor S Mashilo and honourable Councillor V
V Nkosi respectively
Honourable Mayors and Councillors
Traditional leaders
Leaders from political parties and labour organisations
Spiritual leaders and all community leaders in our midst
Our cultural workers
The residents of Thembisile, the Nkangala District, and Mpumalanga as a
whole
Distinguished guests
Comrades and friends
On this historic day on our national calendar, the whole South African
nation gathers in various centres to commemorate Human Rights Day. Today, we
commemorate the 1960 Sharpeville massacre in which more than 60 people were
brutally murdered by the apartheid police during a peaceful protest against the
imposition of pass laws. Pass laws demanded that all ânativesâ carry documents
which authorised their presence in any given area. These laws were meant to
control the influx of black people into the cities and restrict their freedom
of movement.
Alongside many heroes and heroines in the history of our liberation
struggle, the martyrs of the 1960 massacre sacrificed their lives in the fight
against gross violations of basic human rights by the repressive apartheid
government. In all its manifestations, the liberation struggle was a quest
towards creating a rights based society whose core values espouse the enjoyment
of democratic freedoms, justice for all, human dignity and the progressive
realisation of socio-economic rights. With the commitment, tenacity and
selfless sacrifice of liberation forces and countless martyrs, the apartheid
state was vanquished.
Programme director, last nightâs Premiere of the Lion of the East musical
play re-enacted the violation of human rights and atrocities to which workers
on the farms were subjected by potato farmers. The story of the 1958 potato
boycott led by our legendary struggle icon, Gert Sibande, is a stark reminder
of the quest to create a society underpinned by the values of human rights,
human dignity and justice.
Today, we pay tribute to many martyrs, heroes and heroines whose selfless
commitment to freedom and democracy laid the foundation for the creation of a
human rights based society. We thank them because today South Africa is a
better place to live in.
Programme director, the year 1994 was a watershed year which ushered in a
democratic Constitution that embodies the aspirations of a human rights based
society. The Bill of Rights enshrined in the Constitution constitutes the
bedrock of our democratic state and enjoins all South Africans to promote,
nurture and protect hard won freedoms and human rights.
Fifteen years on, we continue to be guaranteed the right to equality and
human dignity, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, demonstration or
picketing, freedom of association and freedom of movement and residence. The
institutions of our democratic state continue to promote civil liberties and
protect citizens from the abuse and violation of human rights.
On 22 April next month, South Africans are accorded yet another opportunity
to exercise their democratic right to vote and elect the government and leaders
of their choice. It is an opportunity to deepen democracy and inculcate a
strong culture of human rights.
As we celebrate Human Rights Day, we must be reminded of our obligation not
to take the human rights we are enjoying for granted, but should ensure that we
entrench these rights to benefit future generations and sustain a human rights
based society. All registered voters are encouraged to come out and vote on 22
April. In part, we must exercise this right to pay homage to countless martyrs
who paid the price for the freedom we enjoy today.
Programme director, over the last five years, the province has made a
significant contribution towards the progressive realisation of socio-economic
rights to which Mpumalanga citizens are entitled. We have paid particular
attention to ensure that everyone has access to health care, quality education,
water and sanitation, adequate housing and economic development opportunities
to address poverty and unemployment challenges. We have also taken adequate
measures to promote the protection of the environment to make sure that
everyone lives in an environment that is not harmful to their health or well
being.
Over the last five years, the province dedicated substantial resources to
accelerate the delivery of housing alongside basic services such as water,
sanitation and electricity. This commitment is driven by our understanding that
access to decent housing is a fundamental human right that is a critical
measure of the quality of life that citizens enjoy. It is also an important
contribution to the alleviation of asset poverty among poor households. It is
encouraging that between January 2004 and January 2009, the province built 57
553 housing units, thereby providing shelter to many poor and vulnerable
families.
Equally, we have always been cognisant of our obligation to improve access
to quality education to everyone, especially poor households with no capacity
to finance the educational needs of their children. Education is a fundamental
human right that empowers individuals to access development opportunities and
break the inherited cycle of poverty. Undoubtedly, quality education is also
critical in providing skills necessary for economic and social development
needs of the province.
Through the implementation of âno feeâ schools policy, the province has
invested resources to enhance access to education by the poor. To date, 952
schools have been declared âno feeâ schools, benefiting 420 238 learners. To
assist learners from poor households, the implementation of the school
nutrition programme is benefiting 573 725 learners, representing 40% of the
total learner enrolments in the schooling system. The nutrition programme will
be extended to all quintile one secondary schools in April this year.
As a province, we have also made significant strides in expanding access to
early childhood development. The number of learners accessing Early Childhood
Development (ECD) grew from 18 301 in 2004 to 50 196 in 2008.
Programme director, access to quality health care services remains one of
the fundamental human rights that we should continue to advance to improve the
health profile of our communities. Through the hospital revitalisation
programme, we have enhanced the capacity of our hospitals to deliver quality
health care. Progressively, we have increased the number of primary health care
facilities to improve access to health care services. Over the last five years,
we have ensured that the number of Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities has
increased from 167 in 2004 to 270 in 2008. As part of our efforts to reverse
the spread of HIV and Aids, the number of patients accessing anti-retroviral
treatment has increased to 39 878.
Programme director, access to safe adequate water and sanitation is a
fundamental human right that constitutes an important determinant of the
quality of life that citizens enjoy. As highlighted in the State of the
Province Address this year, 72,7% have access to water at Reconstruction and
Development Programme (RDP) level and above. We have reduced the number of
households with inadequate access to water to 257 912, constituting 27,3% of
the households in the province. Of this amount, 3,5% households have no access
to infrastructure at all.
Through the implementation of Water for All interventions, the province
wants to ensure that communities have access to water services infrastructure
and clean water by 2010. Access to clean and safe water is essential for human
development the prevention of water borne diseases which cost human lives.
The recent cholera crisis in the province brought into focus concerns about
the contamination of our water resources and the need to institute stringent
water quality management and monitoring measures. If we are to mitigate the
spread of deadly diseases such as cholera, it is important that our water
purification infrastructure is effective to enhance water quality. Various
initiatives are currently being implemented by municipalities to upgrade
sewerage plants and related infrastructure in order to prevent possible
contamination of water resources.
Through the implementation of our heritage, greening Mpumalanga, and tourism
flagship, we should continue to implement measures to prevent environmental
degradation and pollution. As a basic human right, access to a clean
environment requires communities to adopt practices and behaviour that
discourage pollution and damage to the environment through littering,
contamination of water resources and irresponsible disposal of waste and
hazardous substances. As communities, let us take collective responsibility for
the protection of our environs as part of affirming our right to a safe and
clean environment.
As celebrate Human Rights Day, we must reaffirm our collective commitment to
addressing poverty, unemployment and under-development challenges. Despite
remarkable strides we have made in fighting poverty and social deprivation,
many families continue to be subjected to the indignity of hunger and poverty.
As government, we will continue to facilitate improved access to skills
development and opportunities for self-employment.
The launch of our Anti-Poverty War Room Campaign this is part of our ongoing
contribution to tackling poverty in Mpumalanga. This campaign focuses on
profiling the poor and most deprived households to identify their specific
needs and help them to access government services and development
opportunities. In this way, we provide safety nets that would assist in
alleviating poverty among the identified households. In the initial pilot
phase, six poverty stricken municipalities will be targeted for the
implementation of the Anti-Poverty War Room Campaign. These are Mkhondo, Albert
Luthuli, Thembisile, Dr J S Moroka, Bushbuckridge and Nkomazi
municipalities.
Over the last five years, our Expanded Public Works Programme created more
than 100 000 job opportunities and thereby enabling the youth, women and
persons with disabilities to access skills development and employment
opportunities. Our National Youth Service programme continues to provide
opportunities for the development of our youth in the province.
More than 1 135 young people in Mpumalanga have benefited from loans
disbursed by the provincial office of Umsobomvu Youth Fund. The value of loans
disbursed since 2006 amounts to more than R10 million and a total of 1 703 jobs
were created.
In addition, more than 2 000 vouchers totalling in excess of R24 million was
spent benefiting 1 106 women, 27 people with disabilities and creating 804 job
opportunities. Business vouchers were designed to help young people gain access
to quality business development support, including accounting, bookkeeping,
business plan development, tendering support etc.
Programme director, we believe that the envisaged National Youth Development
Agency will give further impetus to youth empowerment initiatives in
Mpumalanga.
Government will also continue to facilitate access to funding and business
development support to entrepreneurs and small businesses to ensure that we
contribute to economic growth and the creation of employment opportunities.
The implementation of the Maputo and Moloto Development Corridors will
contribute to promoting investment and the creation of employment
opportunities.
Programme director, as communities, we should continue our collective
resolve to defeat crime and its devastating impact on human development and
prosperity. We should mobilise all community stakeholders to reclaim our right
to a safe and secure environment. Our streets, homes and villages should be
safe and free from the abuse of women, children, the elderly and persons with
disabilities.
Programme director; let me conclude by enjoining all the citizens of the
province to commit to the vision and aspirations of human rights based society
guided by the core values bequeathed to us by the struggle martyrs. In every
facet of our social development endeavours, we must protect the legacy and
honour of those who paid the price for us to attain freedom, democracy and
human rights that we enjoy today as a free nation.
Glory to the martyrs of Sharpeville.
Long live Human Rights Day.
Thank you.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
21 March 2009
Source: Mpumalanga Provincial Government (http://www.mpumalanga.gov.za)
