T Makwetla: Human Rights Day

21 March 2007

Programme Director,
Members of the Executive Council, MPs and MPLs,
The Executive Mayors of Gert Sibande District Municipality and Govan Mbeki
Local Municipality, Honourable Councillor A Gamede and Honourable Councillor S
Nkosi,
Mayors and councillors,
Traditional leaders,
Leaders from political parties and labour organisations,
Spiritual leaders and all community leaders in our midst,
The people of Govan Mbeki and the entire Gert Sibande District and Mpumalanga
as a whole,
Distinguished guests,
Comrades and friends,

The occasion of commemorating Human Rights Day today speaks to us about the
heroic deeds of generations before us whose gallant fight against injustice and
repression of human freedoms created possibilities for us and future
generations to enjoy human rights that are now enshrined in our
Constitution.

As a nation, this day is a monumental symbol of human conquest and sacrifice
that evokes the immortality of the human spirit in the quest for human liberty
and dignity. We must celebrate this day so that we constantly remind ourselves
about the sacrifices and the high price paid to enable us to enjoy the benefits
of freedom and democracy. The celebration of this day by our people throughout
the country today sends a message that in this season of hope we have made
great strides in building a people-centred society that guarantees human
dignity, equality and freedom for every citizen.

In his address at the opening of Parliament (National Assembly, 25 June
1999), President Thabo Mbeki reinforced the government's commitment to the
construction of a caring and people-centred society:

"What will guide us in everything we do will be the challenge to build a
caring society? This society must guarantee the dignity of every citizen on the
basis of a good quality of life for every woman, man and child, without regard
to race, or colour or disability. It must be sustained by a growing economy
capable of extending sustainable and equitable benefits to all our people. We
seek to replace a society which, in many instances, has been and continues to
be brutal and brutish in the extreme."

"Over the centuries this has condemned millions to a catastrophic loss of
national identity and human dignity, land dispossession, classification and
denigration as sub-humans and the systematic destruction of families and
communities. The society we seek to replace was, to a significant degree, built
on the law of the jungle of the survival of the fittest. Accordingly, the
weakest who were denied access to power became the landless, the unemployed,
the uneducated, the surplus people deported to the so-called homelands, the
victims of abject poverty."

For all of us this our celebration today signifies progress and liberation
from the 'law of the jungle' and the human indignity of land dispossession,
forced removals, torture, destruction of families and communities. It is our
responsibility to make our children and future generations treasure and protect
the hard-won achievements in the creation of a rights-based society in our
country. As a province we are sending a message that you must "know your rights
and accept your responsibilities." It is incumbent upon all of us to learn
about our political and civil rights so that we exercise these in a responsible
manner. We need to understand what our economic and social rights are so that
we take responsibility and participate actively in the progressive realisation
of these rights.

'Knowing your rights' is the first step that empowers individuals and
citizens to protect their rights by seeking redress in cases where there are
violations and abuse of human rights. Accepting responsibility means that
individuals should exercise their rights and freedom in a manner that does not
infringe on other people's rights. It also means that citizens have a
responsibility to co-operate with government and human rights oversight
institutions in exposing 'ugly and repulsive' elements that contribute to the
violations and abuse of human rights in our communities.

Despite our successes in building a caring human rights-based society, we
need to continue addressing delivery challenges posed by the State's capacity
constraints to achieve the progressive realisation of human rights. Poverty,
infant mortality, ill-health, illiteracy, abuse of women and children, crime
and homelessness continue to seriously undermine the rights of women, disabled
people and children and the progress we are making in this arena.

As we celebrate advances in building a human rights-culture in our country,
our efforts are undermined by those who continue to violate the rights of farm
workers. Worker rights on the farms are human rights. They need to be respected
and enjoyed by those of our community who work on the farms. Our partnership
with organised agriculture should strengthen efforts aimed at improving living
and working conditions of workers in the agricultural sector.

Safety and security rights of communities are threatened by few rogue
elements bent on terrorising citizens to achieve personal interests. The recent
spate of attacks and molestation of children and women, including the elderly,
cannot be allowed to continue unchallenged. Some of these perpetrators live in
our communities with us and are our neighbours and cousins. As communities, we
need to take responsibility to collectively fight against these dastardly deeds
in partnership with the police so that we reclaim our human dignity, freedom
and security. We need to break the silence and act decisively to isolate
criminal elements, build community support networks and social cohesion.

Programme Director, as we celebrate this day, let us make sure that we forge
ahead with our commitment to develop and empower women; to equalise
opportunities for people living with disabilities and to protect and develop
our children. Atrocities perpetrated against women and children continue to
undermine the values of a rights-based and caring society.

As government, we should continue to sustain our efforts to improve access
to socio-economic opportunities for the disabled persons and create safe
environments for them to live in. We also need to promote and protect the full
participation and equality of people with disabilities in government public
programmes and services for their benefit, empowerment and development.

Government job creation and poverty alleviation programmes such as the
Expanded Public Works Programme and Masibuyel' emasimini will continue to
target women, especially rural women, many of whom live in abject poverty,
without jobs and access to basic services.

Programme Director, in our State of the Province Address last month, we
tabled the government programmes and targets for the Medium Term Expenditure
Framework period, as well as the implementation targets for this financial year
2007/08. Our key programmes and targets are underpinned by an understanding of
a rights-based approach to development and service delivery. It is an approach
that acknowledges that as a developing province we need to accelerate and
sustain our work towards the progressive realisation of second-generation
rights. It is an approach that puts the poor at the centre of key development
interventions so that our understanding of their economic and social rights
that they are entitled to influence the thinking and designing of our
programmes.

Our government policies and programmes are premised on the need to enable
citizens to enjoy their rights of access to education. The introduction of 'no
fee' schools policy points to the government's commitment that no child will be
denied access to education because his or her parents are poor. Education is a
human right for every child. To date, Mpumalanga has declared 983 schools as
"No Fee Schools" and thereby reaching out to 404 431 learners who will receive
free education. As parents, we need to know these rights so that principals do
not charge school fees in these schools.

Programme Director, the creation of a caring society will be realised
through our improved access to healthcare and welfare services for the poor in
the province. As we announced in the State of the Province Address, we are
allocating financial resources to support Home Community Based Care centres
that provide community-level support for vulnerable families. We have committed
to training and employing more nurses and social workers to provide health and
welfare services to our communities.

Through the hospitalisation programme, we are ensuring that our hospitals
and primary healthcare centres respond to the needs of our communities. We want
our communities to enjoy their right to have access to adequate healthcare
facilities and services. We continue to expand the capacity of our emergency
health services so that we are able to respond to emergency needs to save
lives. Everyone has a right to life.

A rights-based approach to development requires of us to empower communities
to take decisions and responsibility for their own development. Public
participation and social accountability are key elements of the rights-based
approach we need to take towards developing our communities. As we celebrate
the Human Rights Day, the message we are sending is that 'take responsibility
for your rights' means that as communities we should actively take part in the
development of Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) for our localities to
influence the nature of development and the progressive realisation of our
rights.

We need to monitor the implementation of development programmes that impact
on the attainment of our rights by engaging with our councillors through
development fora and Izimbizo. Our political leaders and government officials
are 'duty bearers' for the development of our areas and should therefore be
subjected to public scrutiny by communities. As communities, we need to ensure
that the progress in addressing our economic and social rights is not
undermined by those who vandalise community infrastructure for self-interest.
We need to report those who divert resources earmarked for development
programmes to their needs for self-interest and accumulation of personal wealth
at the expense of achieving social and economic rights for the poor.

When, for example, vandalism of sanitation and water services infrastructure
takes place in our communities, you must be aware that it is a violation of
your rights to access clean water and decent sanitation. To protect these
rights, communities have a responsibility to partner with authorities to ensure
that these destructive elements are bearing full responsibility for their
irresponsible actions.

Programme Director, our developmental flagship project 'Water for All' is
intended to achieve the rollout of water services infrastructure to communities
by 2010. As government, we are focusing financial and programme management
resources to ensure that the right of access to clean water is achieved. The
central role of community participation and interaction will ensure that
municipalities are able to identify beneficiaries of this project, especially
in areas affected by poor water services infrastructure. The responsibility on
communities will be to support government by ensuring that the realisation of
their rights is not undermined by vandalism and theft once the services have
been provided.

Colleagues and friends, "everyone has the right to an environment that is
not harmful to their health or wellbeing and to have the environment protected,
for the benefit of present and future generations." To respond to this human
right to the clean environment, we are prioritising the 'Greening of
Mpumalanga' as part of the main flagship project 'Heritage, Greening Mpumalanga
and Tourism.'

Mpumalanga is endowed with a scenic and pristine environment. It is
important that we implement sustainable environmental management practices to
protect our environment from degradation. The 'greening agenda' should see the
province expanding areas under conservation to make sure that biodiversity,
including sensitive ecosystems, is protected for the benefit of present and
future generations.

We should improve the health profile of the environment that we live in
through the implementation of effective waste management practices to prevent
diseases resulting from poor environmental management practices and pollution.
Our municipalities are expected to improve capacity for hazardous waste
disposal to create a clean environment for communities. To advance the vision
of a green province, communities will be supported to plant grass and trees in
the areas where they live. Community cleaning campaigns will take place in
every municipality to promote and educate our citizens about the significance
of caring for the environment. Our efforts reflect our commitment to an
environmentally clean province, which will benefit the province in achieving
other economic and social rights resulting from tourism growth and job
creation.

As part of exercising their rights to a clean and healthy environment,
communities are encouraged to educate their children about the importance of
caring for the environment. Taking responsibility for your rights means that we
should stop all littering in public places and use designated places for waste
disposal. Our socialisation at home should inculcate a culture of taking
responsibility for the environment.

Programme Director, poverty and unemployment remain as human rights issues
that must be addressed by the province. To halve unemployment and reduce
poverty by 2014, we need to implement economic development programmes that
contribute to economic growth and create needed jobs in the province. To this
end, the province is prioritising economic development initiatives along the
Maputo and Moloto development corridors to unlock growth and the creation of
job opportunities. In addition, our road infrastructure projects for the repair
and maintenance of coal haulage routes in Gert Sibande should generate job
opportunities for the people of the region.

For us, all these economic development opportunities mean that the province
puts a high premium on the progressive realisation of economic rights as a
necessary condition of achieving total emancipation from the indignity of
underdevelopment and poverty. Indeed, every citizen has a right to work in
order to earn a living from an honest day's labour and in the process to
develop to their fullest potential.

Comrades and compatriots, our nation has reached a point of no return in its
quest and attainment of a humane and caring society that respects human dignity
and freedoms. Never should we allow any distractions by a minority of sinister
elements in some sectors of our community from the path of realising a culture
of respect for human rights. This day should be the day when we commit to forge
ahead with resolute tenacity to achieve human rights for all.

Year after year, as this day comes and goes our country's mission to
consolidate a human rights-based culture in our lives must continue to prosper.
Let the spirit and sacrifices of many martyrs of our land inspire the efforts
of many generations to come until we attain the society of our dreams.

I thank you.

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
21 March 2007