National Assembly - 13 June 2008
FRIDAY, 13 JUNE 2008 __
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
____
The House met at 09:01.
The House Chairperson, Mr G Q M Doidge, took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS – see col
CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST WISHES TO PARALYMPIC TEAM
(Draft Resolution)
Mr M J ELLIS: Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the House –
1) notes that the South African team for the 2008 Beijing Paralympics
was announced by the South African Sports Confederation and
Olympics Committee, Sascoc, at Olympic House on Wednesday, 11
June;
2) further notes that this is the first time that Sascoc has made the
official Paralympic announcement;
3) recognises that the numerous achievements enjoyed by our disabled
sportsmen and women in the past have placed South Africa in the
international spotlight;
4) further recognises that these athletes inspire all South Africans
with disabilities to gain confidence and dignity through
participating in sports and encourages them never to give up; and
5) congratulates all our disabled sportsmen and women who have made
the South African Paralympic team and wishes them well for
Beijing.
Agreed to.
StAbbing of Comrade Mcebisi Skwatsha
(Member’s Statement)
Mr M R SONTO (ANC): Chairperson, the ANC expresses its outrage at the stabbing yesterday of Comrade Mcebisi Skwatsha, the provincial secretary of the ANC in the Western Cape. Comrade Skwatsha had just finished addressing an ANC meeting whose aim was to communicate the decisions that the provincial leadership of the ANC had taken on various matters. We condemn in the strongest terms this act of thuggery.
As South Africans, we face a challenge to uproot the seeds of violent conduct and to convince all our people that violence is an unacceptable way of resolving differences in organisations and in society. We commend the swift action taken by the members of the SA Police Service in arresting the alleged perpetrators of this heinous crime. I thank you.
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HEALTH CARE GIVERS
(Member’s Statement)
Mr M WATERS (DA): Chairperson, instead of looking for ways to make the high quality of health care in the private sector available to all South Africans, the Minister of Health has taken a path, with the Health Amendment Bill tabled last week, that will very likely cause South Africa to lose these skills completely.
There is no doubt that prices are too high in the private sector. But government is to blame for creating an uncompetitive environment and for enforcing an artificial divide between the public and the private sectors. The DA’s proposal, which we have delivered to the Minister of Health and the Minister of Finance this week, is aimed at bridging this divide.
The DA believes that the state must continue to subsidise health care for the poor and supervise its delivery. But through public- private partnerships the management of every public hospital should be put out to tender, and the door must be opened to any of South Africa’s private health care providers, or any other suitably qualified body, to submit tenders to run any of these hospitals. Frere Hospital must be at the top of the list for management takeover.
This will not only improve quality, but will lead to the shortening of waiting lists for operations and reduce the hours patients currently have to wait before seeing a doctor.
The DA believes that the potential exists for our country to deliver a world-class health service that meets the needs of all its people. But only by using all the skills available to us can we achieve this.
CORRUPTION AND INTIMIDATION in DEPARTMENT OF correctional services
(Member’s Statement)
Mrs S A SEATON (IFP): Chairperson, the IFP has noted with concern that a senior Correctional Services official, Nadira Singh, unexpectedly resigned at the end of last week. Her sudden resignation does raise some serious concerns and questions.
In a department plagued by various problems such as corruption, she was a leading force in exposing employees who were involved in fraudulent tender processes, medical aid fraud and petrol card abuse.
It is with this in mind that the IFP would like to express its concern at reports that she resigned, giving 24-hours notice, because she now fears for her own safety.
The IFP calls for a full investigation to be launched into whether or not this is indeed the truth, and if found to be true, it once again highlights the deep-seated critical problems of corruption and intimidation within the Department of Correctional Services. I thank you.
DISAPPEARANCE OF STANZA BOPAPE
(Member’s Statement)
Ms N P KHUNOU (ANC): Chairperson, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the disappearance of Comrade Stanza Bopape. This patriot of unsurpassed courage and a fighter for freedom disappeared in the prime of his life.
The ANC also pays tribute to many other comrades and patriots who lost their lives 20 years ago for the cause of freedom, including Dulcie September, Sebolelo Mohajane, Johny Makatini, Benedict Moshoke, John Motshabi, Irene Mkwayi, Hector Nkula, Michael Lucas, Sicelo Dhlomo and John Gaetsewe, to mention but a few. These are the heroes and heroines to whom we as people are eternally indebted.
The loss of these patriots was a moment of great sadness in our nation’s history. This 20th anniversary reminds us of the courage and heroism that led to the birth of our democratic order and inspires us to intensify the effort to build the kind of society for which they so bravely fought and paid the ultimate price.
STABBING OF MCEBISI SKWATSHA
(Member’s Statement)
Mr G T MADIKIZA (UDM): Chairperson, the UDM is saddened by the news that Mr Mcebisi Skwatsha, the ANC’s Western Cape Secretary, was stabbed last night. We extend him our sincerest wishes for a full and speedy recovery.
We are also disturbed by the trend that we have witnessed of an element of thuggery entering into our public lives and politics. The best traditions of conducting negotiations and discussions and reaching consensus are making way for the sort of dog-eat-dog politics that has no place in our democratic society or organisation. We call upon the ANC to act swiftly to instil discipline amongst its members and prevent this culture of intolerance from taking root and becoming the norm.
SETAS
(Member’s Statement)
Mr T J BONHOMME (ANC): Chairperson, we are perturbed to note yet again that out of the local government’s Setas the financial statements of energy and construction have drawn qualifications from the Auditor-General. The provision of much-needed skills for this country is put in jeopardy when the entities established to advance training, and therefore employment and economic growth, either fail to spend their allocation or misuse funds earmarked for serving the people.
A second concern is the high staff turnover in some Setas, and this relates to CEOs and CFOs. More particularly this is especially troubling as it renders the organisations rudderless. An equally exasperating phenomenon is the regularity with which disgraced senior officials of some Setas simply resign to escape censure only to resurface in similar positions in other state entities. This tendency points to the urgent need to overhaul and tighten the monitoring of the conduct and performance of senior public servants.
DANGER IN MINES
(Member’s Statement)
Ms A M DREYER (DA): Mr Chairman, while MPs are sitting comfortably in this well-lit and temperature-controlled House, thousands of mineworkers are toiling in dark and humid conditions deep underground.
South Africa is still very dependent on mining, which has been the backbone of our economy. But mining is a dangerous business. Two hundred mineworkers die annually in work-related accidents.
While the Mine Health and Safety Amendment Bill aims to reduce risks, there will always be unavoidable accidents. We have all seen pictures of rescue workers carrying injured mineworkers to the surface. What happens to these people, often disabled for life? Who cares for them when they cannot return to work?
The National Union of Mineworkers fought for Simon Radebe while he was still a worker. Now that he sits in a wheelchair, the Compensation Fund is his safety net. But the Compensation Fund is dysfunctional and it’s not compensating people who rely on life-saving medication, adult diapers, wheelchairs and oxygen. This fund, under the Department of Labour, is a bumbling bureaucracy and suffers under administrative mismanagement. For the sake of restoring the dignity of the injured workers, the DA believes the time has come to outsource this fund.
Mr H P CHAUKE: On a point of order, Chairperson, I don’t know if the rules permit us to amend that motion, especially with today being Friday the 13th! I think there’s something wrong with … [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr G Q M Doidge): It’s a statement hon Chauke, you can’t amend it.
CONGRATULATIONS TO CORRECTIONAL SERVICES COMMISSIONER
(Member’s Statement)
Mr D V BLOEM (ANC): Chairperson, I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Department of Correctional Services, and in particular the commissioner, on the change in the manner in which the department is conducting its business. The portfolio committee has observed a greater openness in engaging with parliamentary committees, and the commissioner is receptive to feedback and accountability.
The new leadership displays determination to involve society in finding solutions to the challenges faced by Correctional Services. The commissioner has introduced platforms for critical debate with role-players and society.
The ANC believes that corrections is a societal responsibility and therefore all of us must roll up our sleeves and help to make Correctional Services a better and more successful department.
CHALLENGES FACING SA POLICE SERVICE
(Member’s Statement)
Mrs I MARS (IFP): Chairperson, one of the challenges facing the SA Police Service in the fight against rampant crime is to uproot elements of criminality amongst its members. To have more than 300 policemen who are accused of serious crimes such as murder, rape and armed robbery is a cause for great concern.
Perceptions of the police as inefficient and corrupt are in fact on the increase. The very fact that 120 policemen were dismissed in the past two years for such heinous crimes has, to a certain extent, justified these perceptions.
The IFP believes not only in tightening security checks at entry level, but also in getting rid of the rotten apples and prosecuting them as a matter of urgency. It is obvious that one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel.
The perception that the police can easily escape the rule of law must be proved to be wrong. The police must be clean, proper and fit to serve the people.
SAFETY AND SECURITY CONFERENCE IN STRAND
(Member’s Statement)
Adv A H GAUM (ANC): Chairperson, on 16 April 2008 the constituency office organised a community conference on safety and security. The ANC resolved in their January 8 Statement that communities should be mobilised in the fight against crime.
The conference, which took place at the Strand municipal offices, was addressed by the Deputy Minister of Safety and Security, hon Susan Shabangu. It was attended by 100 participants from 46 community organisations, churches, NGOs, political parties, neighbourhood watches and community police forums.
The conference focused on the following matters: the role of the community in ensuring safer communities; the role of neighbourhood watches; the role of community police forums; the negative influence of drug abuse on the youth and steps to curb drug abuse; crime at schools and proactive steps to deal with it; and encouraging the community not to buy stolen goods.
The participants resolved that community members should be motivated to join community police forums and neighbourhood watches to ensure a safe and secure living environment.
PROBLEMS OF EFFICIENCY IN PUBLIC ENTERPRISES
(Member’s Statement)
Mr E W TRENT (DA): Chair, the importance of public enterprises to our economy cannot be underscored. As such, we must remain vigilant to ensure that these enterprises are operating effectively and efficiently. It is our concern that Eskom is only the first of our state-owned enterprises to be gripped in crisis. South African Airways, our national carrier, has allowed standards to slip to such an extent that real safety concerns are beginning to be raised by many people.
It has been reported that during a recent flight, an SAA pilot elected to take off without warning passengers to fasten their seatbelts, and the same plane made an abrupt about-turn five minutes into the flight and landed at high speed, stalling halfway down the runway. On some flights, discoloured and allegedly mouldy food is served to passengers.
Our once proudly South African enterprises that have made such a major contribution in the past to reinforcing international investor confidence in our country are at risk, and yet the government continues to appear unconcerned.
Pilots are leaving SAA in droves. Our technical and maintenance staffs are thin on the ground. We are losing pilots who have up to seven licences. This is an almost irreplaceable commodity, a pilot that can fly seven different aircraft. Yet they are now leaving for other countries.
Whilst I still feel very safe in SAA plane as I stand here today, I am not so sure whether I will still feel that way in six or 12 months from now. The hon Minister for Public Enterprises be here and should respond to our concerns about these public enterprises. Thank you. [Time expired.]
HOUSING AT PENNYVILLE, NEAR SOWETO
(Member’s Statement)
Nom D C MABENA (ANC): Sihlalo, ngemuva kokuhlala emtlhatlhaneni ongemuva kwendlu iminyaka engaphezu kwamatjhumi amathathu, uKkz. Harriet Mthembu oneminyaka ema-78 ungomunye wabantu abama-720 abangena endlini ezitja ze- RDP e-Pennyville eduze neSoweto. UKkz. Mthembu uthi besele alahlekelwe lithemba lokuthola indlu. Ngiyamdzubhula: “Akhenge ngikholwe iindlebe zami lokha abasebenzi bomNyango nabangidosela umrhala bangitjhela bonyana nginikelwe indlu e-Pennyville.” Wangezelela ngokuthi: “Ngiyathaba ngombana emaswapheleni nginendawo ekungeyami.”
IZamimpilo ingenye yamaProjekthi athuthukisa ukwakhiwa kwezindlu ezihlangene nokufaka ingeniso ethenjiswe muNyango wezeZindlu eGauteng neDorobho yeJwanasbhege. IProjekthi le ithome ngomnyaka ogadungileko begodu izokwakha izindlu ezi-2 800, eziyi-1 200 zazo zizokuba ngeze-RDP, ezima-800 ngezebhondi kuthi ezima-400 maflede wokuhlalisa abaqatjhi.
Ukuthuthukiswa kwe-Pennyville kukhambisana namano amatjha wokusebenza komNyango, anqophe ukutjhugulula ubujamo bokwakhiwa kwezindlu enarheni ngokuhlanganisa kanye nokubeka imiphakathi eendaweni eziseduze namathuba womnotho. (Translation of isiNdebele paragraphs follows.)
[Mr D C MABENA (ANC): Chairperson, after living in a shack behind a house for more than 30 years, Mrs Harriet Mthembu, who is 78 years old, is one of the 720 people who have received a new RDP house in Pennyville next to Soweto. Mrs Mthembu says that she had lost hope of getting a house. I quote: “I didn’t believe it when I got a call from the department’s officials saying that I had been allocated a house in Pennyville.” She went on to say: “I am happy because in the end I have my own place.”
Zamimpilo is one of the projects that develops the building of integrated houses that will bring some form of income. These houses were promised by the Gauteng Department of Housing and the City of Johannesburg. This project started last year and 2 800 houses will be built, of which 1 200 will be RDP houses, 800 will be bond houses and 400 will be flats for tenants.
The development of Pennyville is in line with the new strategy of the department, whose aim is to change the system of building houses in this country, by integrating and placing communities in economically viable places.]
The ANC is committed to the realisation of the right of the people to be decently housed and to raise their families in comfort and security.
Ngiyathokoza. [Iwahlo.] [I thank you. [Applause.]]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr G Q M Dodge): We have additional slots. The first one will go to the ANC. IMPROVEMENT OF PEOPLE’S LIVES AN IMPORTANT PRIORITY OF GOVERNMENT
(Member’s Statement)
Nksz Z A NDLAZI (ANC): Mhlalingaphambili, ubonelelo ngeendawo zokufihla intloko nokwakha ikamva eliqaqambileyo labantu bakuthi nelizwe lethu, kuya kuhlala kuyinjongo ephambili yorhulumente oxhuzula imikhala nokhokelwa ngumbutho wesizwe i-ANC.
Kwiinyanga ezimbalwa eziqgithileyo abahlali base-Joe Slovo, kwaLanga, kweli leNtshona Koloni, bebengundaba-mlonyeni bezama ukuphikisana neenjongo zikarhulumente zokuphuhlisa indawo abahlala kuyo.
Le ngxubakaxaka yade yaphelela ezinkundleni zamatyala, apho urhulumente waphuma etshaya kuba iinjongo zakhe zazicace nakuthathatha. Into eya icaca mvanje yeyokuba kukho oomfunzeweni abazimisele ukulahlekisa nokugrogrisa abantu bakuthi.
Kwezi veki zimbalwa zigqithileyo, abahlali abalangazelela impilo nobomi obungcono bavuma ukufuduswa basiwe kwiindawo ezingcono, apho baya kulinda khona izindlu zabo. Thina singamalungu ombutho wesizwe i-ANC siya kuthi gqolo sisebenzisana nabantu bakuthi ekwakheni ubomi obungcono. Siyabulela. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa member’s statement follows.)
[Ms Z A NDLAZI (ANC): Chairperson, the provision of houses and building a better life for our people and our country will remain the main objective of the ANC-led government.
A few months ago residents of Joe Slovo at Langa in Cape Town were the talk of the town as they tried to stop the government’s objective to develop their residential areas.
This matter ended up in the courts and the government won the case as its objectives were extremely clear. It is becoming obvious lately that there are rogue elements that are determined to mislead and terrorise our people.
A few weeks ago, residents who are yearning for a better life agreed to be relocated to temporary accommodation to wait for the completion of their houses. We as the ANC-led government will constantly work closely with our people in building a better life for all. Thank you. [Applause.]]
POOR ORGANISATION OF PUBLIC HEARINGS
(Member’s Statement)
Mnr A J BOTHA (DA): Agb Voorsitter, die Staatskoerant en die publikasie van die parlementêre komitee het agb lede in kennis gestel van openbare verhore van die Portefeuljekomitee oor Openbare Werke, sonder om die aanvangstye of bymekaarkomplekke in die meeste gevalle aan te dui. Hierdie onaanvaarbare toestand is vererger deur die versuim om hierdie verhore in die plaaslike media te adverteer, kwansuis omdat daar nie daarvoor begroot is nie.
In Bloemfontein is daar, byvoorbeeld, eers die dag voor die verhore, na veelvuldige navrae by sowel die wetgewer as die Mangaung-munisipaliteit, uiteindelik vasgestel dat ‘n tent opgeslaan sal word in ’n deel van die stad waar straatname nog nie aangebring is nie.
Eers nadat die hulp van die verkeersafdeling ingeroep is, kon goed georganiseerde deelnemers uiteindelik die plek vind, maar die plaaslike inwoners het eers teen die einde van die vergadering opgedaag of heeltemal die vergadering gemis. As gevolg van hierdie algemeen onbeholpenheid is een byeenkoms in die Transkei afgelas nadat slegs tien mense opgedaag het, terwyl ’n ander een gekanseleer is omdat die ANC lede deur die party aangesê is om Kaapstad toe te reis vir ’n vergadering.
Hierdie gedrag deur ’n portefeuljekomitee sou onder enige omstandighede skandalig wees, maar om so op te tree met die gevaarlike en aanvegbare Onteieningwetsontwerp, grens aan kriminaliteit. Hierdie voorgestelde wetsontwerp wat die grondwetlike eiendomsreg van elke enkele Suid-Afrikaner aantas, is selfs verwerp deur ’n ANC-leier, Joemat-Pettersson. Die DA het ’n parlementêre ondersoek geloods na hierdie manier van openbare verhore in die geheim bedryf. Dankie. (Translation of Afrikaans member’s statement follows.)
[Mr A J BOTHA (DA): Hon Chairperson, the Government Gazette and the parliamentary committee publication informed hon members of public hearings of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works without stipulating, in most cases, the starting times or meeting venues. This unacceptable situation was exacerbated by the failure to advertise these public hearings in the local media, apparently because this had not been budgeted for.
In Bloemfontein, for example, after many enquiries to the legislature as well as the Mangaung Municipality, it was eventually established, only a day before the hearings, that a tent would be put up in a part of town where street names have not yet been put up.
Only after the traffic department had been called on for assistance, could well-organised participants eventually find the place, but the local residents only arrived towards the end of the meeting or did not show up at all. As a result of this general ineptness, one meeting in the Transkei had to be cancelled after only ten people turned up, whilst another had to be cancelled because ANC members were instructed by the party to travel to Cape Town for a meeting.
This behaviour by a portfolio committee would be disgraceful under any circumstances, but to behave in such a fashion with the dangerous and contentious Expropriation Bill, borders on criminality. This proposed Bill, that impacts on the constitutional property rights of every single South African, has even been rejected by an ANC leader, Joemat-Pettersson. The DA has launched a parliamentary inquiry into this manner of conducting public hearings in secret. Thank you.]
TRAINING OF SENIOR OFFICIALS AT LOCAL LEVEL COMMENDED
(Member’s Statement)
Mrs S A SEATON (IFP): Chairperson, with numerous qualified audit reports in the past showing local municipalities’ underspending or reflecting incorrect financial information, the IFP welcomes the initiative by the National Treasury to train senior officials in leadership and municipal finance.
The lack of service delivery from provincial to local government has, to a certain extent, often been blamed on the lack of skills. The IFP hopes that the training of senior officials at local level is just the start of government interventions to address the problem of much-needed skills in financial monitoring and supervision.
A turnaround in service delivery is urgently needed as proved only recently by the violence directed at foreigners, not to mention the uprising in Khutsong last year. The IFP therefore urges the National Treasury to extend and implement this initiative through all tiers of government as quickly as possible so that the effectiveness of proper supervision and monitoring is felt where it is needed most by the public. STABBING OF COMRADE MCEBISI SKWATSHA PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HEALTH CARE GIVERS DISAPPEARANCE OF STANZA BOPAPE SETAS DANGER IN MINES CHALLENGES FACING SAPS PROBLEMS OF EFFICIENCY IN PUBLIC ENTERPRISES HOUSING AT PENNYVILLE, NEAR SOWETO POOR ORGANISATION OF PUBLIC HEARINGS TRAINING OF SENIOR OFFICIALS AT LOCAL LEVEL
(Minister’s Response)
The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Thank you, Chairperson. The members have tabled a very wide variety of statements and clearly I will not be able to respond to all of them.
Suffice it to say that we are equally horrified at the disgraceful stabbing of Comrade Mcebisi Skwatsha at a meeting in Worcester and we will support the hon Sonto in calling for all persons, be they members of the ANC, any other party or the general public, to conduct themselves with due regard to the law.
This is absolutely disgraceful conduct and such people are not welcome in our organisation, and as leadership we will act against such people and ensure that we restore the confidence of the people of South Africa in the ANC as well as in its leadership. With regard to the matter of health care costs, as far as I understand the Bill on the matter of how we regulate costs in the health sector will come before Parliament and once it has been deliberated upon by the committee we will then have a decision.
Suffice it to say, the interest of government is to ensure that indeed we decrease the very high costs of health care in many, many private institutions in the country, given the need to have greater access for all South Africans to health care. Given the large measure of needs, it is impossible for the public sector to be the entire and single provider of health care for the majority in our country. We therefore do need a framework that would ensure that there is greater access enjoyed by all South Africans; and this is the intention of the policy.
As for the matter of the resignation of a public official, public servants may resign for a range of reasons and it is difficult for me to know the background and I would suppose the hon member and the committee could proceed to look into this further.
I would support the ANC’s tribute to particularly the young men and women who sacrificed their youth and their lives for us to have the liberation we enjoy today. Many of them gave up their education, their homes, their youth in order to ensure that today we could stand here and engage with each other as leaders - as the President of the country called for yesterday - committed as leadership to building our society and not merely to point fingers.
This is what Stanza Bopape hoped for, as did all the other comrades who lost their lives and their youth in their sacrifice for liberation. And as we say this we recall that Monday 16 June is Youth Day and is again an opportunity for us to bow our heads in memory of all those young people who sacrificed for South Africa’s freedom.
The Setas remain a matter upon which the Minister of Labour is fully engaged. He has indicated that he would work towards improving the performance of Setas. Hon members noted in the debate of the Labour Budget Vote that indeed there has been an improved performance. As government we will continue to ensure that the Setas do execute their full role. We must say it is a minority of the Setas that tend to let us down. The majority of Setas are performing very well and are providing skills that are very useful and taken up in our economy.
Finally, I think we all are very supportive of the efforts of the Minister of Minerals and Energy to improve health safety. It is not this government that seeks that there should be accidents in mines, loss of life and injury to our people, and I think that Parliament could certainly look at the matter of whether the Compensation Fund should be reviewed in order to provide improved support for those who are injured, maimed or, in fact, lose their lives. This is something that Parliament could hold hearings on and advise the executive as to the findings, but all of us are committed to increasing health safety and to our people being safe as they work in the mines.
An HON MEMBER: Chair, could the hon Minister answer a question?
The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: I am not sure why the hon member is continuing to engage. I also would say … [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr G Q M Doidge): I just want to inform the hon member that these are responses to statements, you had an opportunity to make a statement. There are further questions, so use the next opportunity.
The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: With respect to the matter of corruption in the Police Service, again I would repeat, the majority of policemen and policewomen in our country are honest, hardworking persons who are trying to do their best to address crime in our country. It is a minority that are corrupt and it is important that we acknowledge that there are policemen and policewomen who do their jobs properly, and we thank them for their service to the nation. We also say to the Minister of Safety and Security that certainly those who are corrupt or do not perform at their jobs as they should must most certainly be thrown out of the Police Service.
We certainly would agree that public enterprises and the various parastatals are important institutions for the economy of South Africa. While we are not aware of mouldy food and so on, we would say we acknowledge that SAA continues to win international prizes both for safety as well as for service. And therefore I think if the hon member has been served a meal with fungus I encourage him to write to the CEO of SAA to indicate his complaint; but we do know that South African Airways is one of the best airlines in the world.
The housing delivery programme of government both in Langa and in Pennyville in Soweto confirms the conviction of the Minister of Housing to ensure that our people have proper shelter in which they live. The promise of the ANC that all shall have shelter, which is articulated in the Freedom Charter and in our law, must be realised by our government, and we will continue to deliver housing and proper shelter and communities to the people of South Africa.
With regard to the matter of access to land, clearly the situation with respect to land access in South Africa is unacceptable. If we are saying we want, as South Africa, to fight the rise in food prices by producing more we must make sure that our people have access to land. And one of the ways would be to address the matter of expropriation by government in order to give more and more South Africans the opportunity to grow food, to be productive and to be part of supporting our economy. Again, the Bill the hon member of the DA referred to will come before the House for Parliament to debate.
Finally, with regard to local government, we are committed through Project Consolidate, Siyenza Manje and other government initiatives to ensure that we support local government to truly deliver to our people. But again we say those local governments where we have failings tend to be the minority of local governments. In the main, local government is delivering and is making a difference in our country. Thank you.
REFUGEES AMENDMENT BILL
(Second Reading debate)
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS: Chairperson, hon members, following the pronouncement that we made last year, we present the Refugees Amendment Bill today for consideration by this House.
We took the decision as part of the work that is being done through the Turnaround Project that, in order to transform and streamline the process for status determination, certain legislation changes will have to be enacted.
The status determination process for persons claiming asylum in South Africa still remains a complex, tedious and contentious issue, both for asylum seekers and for the department itself. This created enormous inconvenience for asylum seekers, as their status remained uncertain for long periods and thus negatively impacted on their socioeconomic livelihoods. As a result of this, many asylum seekers have fallen victim to abuse by corrupt officials and uncaring and abusive employers.
Lack of understanding of the intricacies of the management of international migration within our communities has the potential to turn this issue into an emotive one, as we have seen with the recent spate of xenophobic attacks. Thus the current streamlining process is aimed at improving our system in terms of operational management, quality of determinations, case management, standardised procedures, organisation and technology.
This amending Bill before you, therefore, is aimed at supporting these initiatives and ensuring that the new systems are in line with the law. It should therefore not be confused with the process for a review of the immigration policy that we referred to during our Budget Vote debate recently. Inevitably, the refugee laws will also be subject to vigorous scrutiny and changes as part of the overall policy review.
The basis for our refugee laws remains the United Nations, Organisation of African Unity, OAU and other related international instruments. We are certain that the amendments that we are presenting before you will enhance our capacity and ability to meet our obligations with regard to protection in line with these conventions.
In recent years South Africa has seen an ever-increasing number of asylum applications. The department has faced criticism for the slow pace of status determination, largely due to the systematic weaknesses we have referred to. We also continue to face the difficulty of mixed flows of migrants that create serious problems in our management of migration. These flows include refugees, as well as those who fall into the category of economic migrants who seek employment and to conduct informal trade.
Most of these migrants, however, enter the country irregularly and should they realise the need to regularise their status, they then seek asylum. This has resulted in the clogging up of the asylum system, creating huge backlogs that have made it difficult for us to process genuine cases on time.
We have therefore decided in this amendment to rationalise the number of administrative and appeal entities currently stretching the bureaucracy involved in status determination. The Bill seeks to establish a single Refugee Appeals Authority and provides for greater efficiency and flexibility. Unnecessary overlaps between the functions of the various entities will also be addressed.
During the discussions of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, we have also recognised the need for a fast-tracking provision to expedite longstanding cases. This was also made necessary by our experiences in dealing with the recent Refugee Backlog Project.
Chairperson, I hereby present the Refugee Amendment Bill for consideration by this House. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Mr H P CHAUKE: Speaker, thank you very much for this opportunity.
Santlha ke rata go leboga ba ba tsereng karolo fa re bontshana ka Molaotlhomo o. Se ke se itumelelang thata ke gore tema e e tserweng ke maloko a komiti e bontshitse gore ba itse se re kopanetseng go se siamisa bogolo re lebile bafaladi le tiro e Lefapha la Merero ya Selegae e e dirang go leka go thusa batho ba ba tswang kwa ntle ka makwalo. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[Firstly, I would like to thank all the people who participated in the process of amending this Bill. Furthermore, I appreciate the efforts taken by members of this committee, I am convinced that they know why we are here, especially how the issue of foreigners is being dealt with and what the Department of Home Affairs is doing to help them to obtain the relevant documents.]
Mhaka yikulukumba leyi nga kona hi leswaku, loko hi fika eAlexandra hi kume kuri na vanhu lava humaka eMozambique vo tala ngopfu. Lava va nga kotiki na ku twisisa mhaka ya hina loko hi vulavula hi xilungu. A hi boheka ku toloka hi vulavula Xichangana kuri hi va byela kuri lexi hi xi endlaka ePalamente I yini leswaku hi kota ku va pfuna hi ti “application” ta vona.
Nawu low hi wu pasisaka namuntlha wu nyika Director-General wa Home Affairs matimba leswaku a kota ku pfula ti “refugee centres”. Ma tsundzuka kuri eka nkarhi lowu nga hundza ndzi vulavule hi ti “refugee centres” ta “five”, ku nga Marabastad, Rosettenville, Cape Town, Port Elizaberth na Durban.
Matimba lawa hi ma nyikaka Director-General hi leswaku a pfuli tinwana ti “refugee centre” ku fana na va Lebombo na Musina laha ku nga na vanhu vo tala lava humaka eMozambique na Zimbabwe va kota ku pfuniwa hi ku tsarisa. Va nga ha fambi mpfhuka wo leha. Sweswi va famba ku hundza 700 kilometers ku suka eMusina kumbe Libombo ku fika ePitori. Loko va fika ePitori va fika va kuma leswaku a va koti ku pfuniwa. Va suka va ta laha Cape Town hikwalaho mi vonaka Cape Town Harbour kuri na matende lawa ya nga tala lahaya handle. (Translation of Xitsonga paragraphs follows.)
[The most important issue here is that when we arrived in Alexandra we found many people who came from Mozambique. These people could hardly understand our mission due to their incompetence in English. We were obliged to rope in interpreting services to explain our role and responsibilities in Parliament that could also have a bearing on the processing of their applications.
The Bill we are passing today vests the Director-General of Home Affairs with the power to open refugee centres. You will recall that in the past I made mention of five refugee centres, namely Marabastad, Rosettenville, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban.
The powers entrusted to the director-general provide for the opening of other refugee centres to speed up the registration process in centres such as Lebombo and Musina where there are many foreign nationals from Mozambique and Zimbabwe. And these people will no longer have to travel very long distances. Presently they travel more than 700 kilometres from Musina to Pretoria. On arriving in Pretoria they still do not get help. That forces them to proceed to other cities like Cape Town; hence there are too many tents all around.]
Ngoba inkinga enkulu ukuthi laba bantu uma befika laphaya ePitoli bathola ukuthi abakwazi ukuncedwa ngoba indawo iyodwa kuphela. ukusuka eLimpopo kufuneka uhambe ibanga elingamakhulu ayisikhombisa uzofika eMarabastad.
Uma befika eMarabastad baba baningi ngoba amandla oMnyango awakwazi ukubasiza njengoba sesikhulumile nasekuqaleni ukuthi umngcele wethu yiwo owenza ukuthi uMnyango waseKhaya uxineke kakhulu ngoba lababantu baningi kanti futhi uMnyango waseKhaya awunawo amandla.
Bese-ke bayasuka sebeza eKapa. Uma befika khona bahlale laphaya esikhumuleni semikhumbi njengoba ubona sekuze kwakhiwa namatende, manje balala emiqgeni ngamapulasitiki, izimvula ziyanetha kanjalo.
Manje into eyenziwa yilomthetho uzonikeza uMqondisi Jikelele amandla okuthi avule izindawo la kubonakala ukuthi kuyadingeka ukuthi kube nalezo zindawo. Ngaleyo ndlela leyo sithi-ke thina Khongolose ukuzama ukusiza abakhoseli. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[The major problem that these people are facing is that on their arrival in Pretoria they find that they cannot be assisted because there is only one place of operation. And then they have to travel for about 700 kilometres from Limpopo to Marabastad.
When these people get to Marabastad, they find that it is overcrowded because the department does not have the capacity to assist all of them. As we have mentioned earlier, our border is the main reason why the department finds itself in this state, because these people come in large numbers and the department does not have the capacity.
They then move to Cape Town. On their arrival there they stay at Cape Town Harbour and you can see that they have even erected marquees there. They have now resorted to sleeping on the roadsides using plastic bags as blankets, when it rains.
This Bill is going to give powers to the director-general to build refugee camps where necessary. And with this, we as the ANC are trying to help refugees.]
Another issue relating to this Bill is the whole question of entitlement; those rights that we are always talking about. Most of the refugees, those who qualify for refugee status, use red identification documents, which clearly set them apart from South African citizens. Most banks, in fact, reject this document.
So we are saying that as part of trying to harmonise relations and restore the rights of refugees - I’m not talking about illegal immigrants - let us begin to accord them the very same rights that the hon Malusi Gigaba has spoken about.
We are signatories to the UN convention on refugees and OAU conventions on Refugees. I think we must begin to fulfil those entitlements and those commitments that we have made as a state. And we are doing that, because if one looks at health and education, most of our refugees are able to access health and educational facilities.
Another problem that we must address is that of employers employing illegal immigrants, because it has led to South Africans saying that refugees are taking their jobs. Employers have found an opportunity to exploit the majority of asylum seekers. If you go to some of our restaurants, to some small businesses and spaza shops in town, you will find that the majority of people that are employed there are foreigners, and that is a fact that we must recognise.
I spoke to the Minister of Labour the other day and told him that it’s time that we tightened the screws in this regard. There is nowhere in the world where this situation would be allowed. The immigration law says that anyone who employs an illegal immigrant will be found guilty and will be sentenced to jail without the option of a fine, or something to that effect. I therefore think that we need to strengthen that arm of government and make sure that the inspectorate of the Department of Labour, together with Home Affairs’ immigration officers, are able to enforce the law by making sure that nobody employs an illegal immigrant. Doing this would definitely help prevent the kind of problems that we are faced with. [Applause.]
On that note, I do not want to waste much time. I know that I was given 30 minutes to speak. [Interjections.] I beg your pardon? [Interjections.] Well, the hon member is speaking on behalf of the employers. He says that they don’t have a choice, or something like that. [Interjections.] It’s fine then, I didn’t hear you well.
What we are saying is that this Bill will definitely go a long way towards addressing the challenges that we are faced with. On 20 June, which is World Refugee Day, we and the Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs will be hosting a refugee dialogue. This will be an engagement between us and NGOs that are playing a critical role in dealing with issues of refugees.
We have invited a number of departments to come and participate so as to enable us to find a way of dealing with the policy on integration, which is a very fundamental policy of the ANC. There is nowhere else in the world where you will find such a policy.
However, we need to give a little bit of expression to that policy by engaging and making sure that people understand what it is that we are talking about when we speak of integration. It is not integration if you just tell people to go and find a place to stay. There are certain things that we need to fix so that this problem does not occur again.
On that note, I want to thank you very much, members, and I want to thank you, Comrade Naledi, for your wonderful response during question time. We appreciate the kind of leadership we have in Parliament.
Ms H WEBER: Madam Speaker, the DA welcomes the Refugees Amendment Bill which was passed by the committee recently. The two major amendments are: firstly, the creation of the position of the refugee status determination officer at any refugee reception office or any other place designated by the director-general. The Refugee Appeal Board will consists of as many people as the director-general considers necessary. The chairperson and one other member must be legally qualified.
Secondly, the identity documents given to refugees and asylum seekers will be similar to South African ID documents. The last three figures of the barcode will reflect their status. These are welcome moves and go a long way towards legalising refugees, as the chairperson has mentioned. Home Affairs has had a lot of negative publicity recently - probably because South Africa has signed a number of conventions allowing free movement across borders without preparing for the consequences. It has become obvious that this free movement has to be regulated. People must be documented, and that goes for our own people as well. Our borders are extremely porous and not only asylum seekers come through, but also people with bad intentions. We must realise that everyone must have some form of identity document - either from their home country or here.
Allow me to highlight some facts from the Auditor-General’s report. The Auditor-General states that as at May 2006 there is a backlog of 97 097 refugee applications. We hope the new Bill will address this backlog.
The Auditor-General further has a problem with the money which is paid to service providers caring for foreigners. Since I have served in the area of social development I equate everything with the child support grant or old age pension. My problem is that service providers are paid R251 per day, which is more than a child support grant for a month. This is paid for each prohibited person up to a maximum of 3 250 people held in a facility.
If my maths serves me correctly, that equates to R7 530 per month per person and yet our own older people are expected to live on R940 per month. When I read this I was hoping that the figures were wrong but the Auditor- General does not make mistakes. Some prohibited persons stay for as long as 157 days. The reason given: “The unco-operative attitude of certain foreign missions”. Forgive me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that a foreign mission is responsible to its host country. The second concern that the Auditor-General has is the cost of transport. From my personal experience - I come from a farming community - I have seen people being transported back to Mozambique but before the transport had returned, all the people were back again. Madam Speaker, something is very wrong.
The DA wishes the director-general well in his turnaround process. He has a mammoth task. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mrs I MARS: Madam Speaker, Deputy Minister, colleagues, the 1998 Refugees Act gives effect to the relevant international instruments, principles and standards relating to refugees or the reception into South Africa of asylum seekers and regulates applications for the recognition of refugee status.
A number of amendments in the Bill before us today deal with the issues of definition and alignment and, in other words, are of a technical nature. We accept these amendments. A matter of importance is the dissolution of the current Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs and the Refugee Appeal Board, which are to be replaced by the proposed Refugee Appeals Authority.
It must be understood when we talk about an appeals authority that if an asylum seeker is denied asylum and appeals to the appeal board for a review and the appeal is declined, he or she then falls under the immigration laws. Now we support this, but obviously we have to wait and see whether it will mean a speeding up of the of process of assessing the status of refugees.
There is continued concern about the processing of asylum seekers, which carries a significant backlog. Now the Minister responded to this and obviously this was recognised by initiating the Backlog Project which we hope will not only clear the backlog but will also ensure that no further backlog will occur.
We were therefore distressed by what appears to be a leaked report by the Backlog Project team in the Mail & Guardian. We would appreciate it if the Minister would comment on this matter before commenting or passing any judgment.
Furthermore, we would attest to the urgent need for more refugee reception centres and seek assurance that adequate funding and skilled staffing requirements are at the top of the agenda. It is also necessary to advise our public to understand our obligation towards asylum seekers and refugees in terms of international conventions signed by South Africa as a state party. It is not only from a legal perspective that we have to inform them, but more importantly, from a humanitarian one. We feel that if there had been better dissemination of these facts some of the recent outbreaks of violence could have been avoided. South Africa’s problems concerning migrations are not unique in our global society. People living without hope of ever achieving a satisfactory lifestyle will always be tempted to migrate towards economically more developed states. At the same time, no country can afford to have tens of thousands of undocumented people within its borders.
With the recent disturbances in Zimbabwe these numbers have increased and it is our duty to ensure that the required facilities to deal with these possible temporary migrants are dealt with as a matter of urgency. We have discussed this matter with many Zimbabweans and the majority of them assured us that they would like to return to their country of origin as soon as there is political stability; so there has to be specific accommodation for our neighbours from the north.
The IFP has carefully considered the amendments and we support the Bill. I thank you.
Mrs C DUDLEY: Madam Speaker, Ministers and colleagues, the ACDP supports this Bill which provides for matters with regard to the establishment of refugee reception offices, the establishment of the Refugee Appeals Authority, clarification and revision of procedures relating to refugee status determination and obligations and rights of asylum seekers. It also provides for unaccompanied foreign children in need of care, in terms of the Children’s Act, to be issued with an asylum seeker permit and be assisted by a children’s court. Also, a person with a mental disability needing asylum would now be able to be assisted in terms of the Mental Health Care Act.
Recent violent attacks on foreign nationals, which horrified the nation and the world, focused attention on the plight of foreign nationals and the Home Affairs Department’s abominable handling of asylum seekers. A report submitted in March this year by a team charged by the Minister with assessing and addressing the huge backlog in processing asylum seekers reveals that after two-and-a-half years of clearing the 1998 to 2005 backlog, a new backlog of staggering proportions has developed with the influx of refugees since August 2005.
When refugees have no official status or documentation they cannot access jobs, health services or education and are at the greatest risk of xenophobia-related incidents. We simply must find the capacity to respond to the current needs and ensure that we don’t have informal settlements forming as refugees are forced to set up camp while waiting for shockingly delayed processes.
The UN World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance Declaration of September 2001 urged states to comply with obligations under international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law in relation to asylum seekers, refugees and displaced persons.
The report, however, states that the department has been in constant violation of these laws. The ACDP hopes this legislation will improve this situation for asylum seekers and calls for its urgent implementation. The promised policy review is also eagerly awaited. I thank you.
Ms S RAJBALLY: In 2004 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees highlighted that South Africa is home to more than 4,2 million refugees, second to India. Noting this and the recent xenophobic attacks, the MF considers this Bill crucial to both the management and the filtration of refugees into South Africa. We apologise for the barbarism imposed on foreigners in our country, with the assurance that this is not the way of democratic South Africa.
In 1994 we realised that we are a nation of people with global roots and that colonialism and apartheid had formed our country. In 1996 we were proud to be part of this rainbow nation and we were on our way to transformation, unity and democracy.
Is it possible that we have forgotten our past so soon and that we could perpetrate cruel and barbarous victimisation and discrimination? The MF feels it is necessary for us to remind our people of our past and of the past that made us a rainbow nation. We need to go into our constituencies and work on building relationships between communities and refugees who may be resident in our area. The MF gives its full support to the Refugees Amendment Bill. I thank you.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS: I think it would be incorrect to say that there are 4,2 million refugees in South Africa. These figures are being used to hype up emotions, and the Southern African Migration Project has also been making this point. These figures are unscientific and based on no evidence. I think we need to avoid using them.
One of the things that we are doing as part of the turnaround strategy is to ensure that there are standard operating procedures in all our offices. The negative spin-off is that where there have been great improvements in terms of our refugee management systems in Cape Town, many people have begun to move from other countries towards the Cape Town office. This creates a serious clogging up of the system as they have to deal with large numbers of people.
Secondly, with the introduction of the smart ID card, there will be one form of identification for all categories of people with status in South Africa, including citizens, permanent residents and refugees. The legislative implications in this regard are being considered. I want to thank hon Weber for supporting the Bill, even though I think her comments were about something else that we are not discussing today. However, she raised important issues which we will come back to at a later stage.
With regard to a leaked report on weaknesses in the system and a lack of integration in the Backlog Project, we initiated the Backlog Project ourselves because we recognised exactly those weaknesses. The intention of the Backlog Project was to help us to scientifically identify the nature of the problems that we were facing. Therefore, it was correct that the report came to us in the manner that it did and highlighted those issues. There are issues which we are addressing in the Turnaround Project that we are implementing right now.
So the project was successful because we were able to process 111 000 applications. We are, therefore, dealing with the issues that were raised with regard to the weaknesses in our systems and all of those things. Sixty thousand of the cases that we had to deal with were redundant; they were empty files because the people had applied to more than one office. In some instances it was people who sought to get into the system irregularly, some of them through fraud and some of them by trying to get married. We have dealt with all of those issues and we are satisfied.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees indicated in 2006, when he came here, at the South African refugee policy is among the best in the world. The hiatus though was at the level of implementation - the administration of the policy. That is the matter that we are trying to deal with, amongst other things, through this legislation that we are proposing here.
So it is quite good that we had to introduce these changes in order to be able to improve on the implementation of our policies because, as we indicated ourselves, these problems have created great inconvenience for many of the asylum seekers in our country and have undermined their socioeconomic livelihoods.
We would like to thank all the hon members for supporting this piece of legislation and for their constructive comments, many of which will be taken on board even when we begin the process to amend the entire immigration policy. Thank you very much.
Debate concluded.
Bill read a second time.
AGRICULTURAL DEBT MANAGEMENT REPEAL BILL
(Second Reading debate)
Mr M R MOHLALOGA: Madam Speaker, hon members, the Agricultural Debt Management Act was passed by this Parliament in 2001 and created the Agricultural Debt Account, which is used as a mechanism to manage agricultural debt repayment, the administration of monies in the account, the determination of the purpose for which funds in the account may be used, auditing and reporting on the account, debt agreements, interest rates as well as the collection and writing off of debt.
The establishment of the account further emanates from the Agricultural Credit Act of 1966 which gave financial assistance to farmers pre-1994, some of whom had more than one loan agreement. The Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the National Treasury, agreed to repeal the Agricultural Debt Management Act. This is due to the account being classified as a trading entity.
With the account being classified as a trading entity, problems were created for the administration of the account, as it did not yet comply with the prescripts of generally accepted accounting practices. This resulted in implementation problems and a qualified audit opinion in the Auditor-General’s report for 2006-07.
The repealing of the Act will, however, not mean that financial controls will not be in place to manage funds that are in the account or that still need to be recovered. The committee, during its deliberations on the Bill, had to satisfy itself that adequate measures are in place to ensure that funds in the account are accounted for within the prescripts of the Public Finance Management Act, PFMA.
The committee further sought confirmation that the funds in the account would be used for the intended purpose, namely agricultural development projects. To this end, the committee engaged with the National Treasury, which indicated that the funds would be dedicated for future agricultural development projects and would be dealt with in terms of the processes associated with funds in the National Revenue Fund and the PFMA.
The committee further satisfied itself that although the account would cease to exist, the department would still report on the funds in the account via the annual reports and this would ensure that the committee, during its oversight role, would be able to monitor the activities associated with the funds that were supposed to be in this account. The committee will further ensure that these funds are adequately used for the advancement of emerging farmers.
Quite often when the committee is confronted with a three clause Bill, it is accepted that it is a technical amendment and that the Bill can be dealt with speedily. However, the portfolio committee did not adopt this approach, but rather, through its deliberations with the Department of Agriculture and the National Treasury, unpacked and discussed the possible and unintended consequences that may arise. We have satisfied ourselves that the repealing of the Act will not have negative effects.
To this end, the committee further requested an opinion as to whether the retrospective clause in the Bill met the constitutional requirements and thus did not infringe on anyone’s vested rights. The committee was thus satisfied that this provision did meet the constitutional requirements.
As much as the Agricultural Credit Act was established to give assistance to farmers pre-1994, it is clear that these farmers received benefits from the previous government and as such had access to assistance as and when they needed it. Today some still have loans on the Debt Management Account, long after the Agricultural Credit Boards have been disestablished or have ceased to exist.
During these trying times of rising input costs in the agricultural sector and the rising food costs, it is imperative that our emerging and subsistence farmers are given the necessary and adequate assistance to enable them to develop into and graduate as commercial farmers.
This committee will ensure that through its oversight role the funds that would have been in this account are used effectively to support our emerging and subsistence farmers. This is a critical step, and as the chairperson of the portfolio committee I will have to ensure that this matter receives high priority.
The portfolio committee adopted the Bill without amendments and it is pleasing to note that the Bill was further adopted without any objections from any of the parties. I would like to call on the members to support this Bill. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
There was no debate.
Bill read a second time.
YOUTH IN ACTION TO BUILD A CARING SOCIETY AND RENEW HUMANITY’S BEST VALUES
(Debate on Youth Day)
Mr S J NJIKELANA: Thank you, Madam Speaker, Ministers and their Deputies, fellow MPs and members of the public.
Maqabane, lutsha lwakuthi eMzantsi Afrika luphelele – nditsho iintlanga zonke ngobuninzi bazo – xa sisondela ekubhiyozeleni i-100 leminyaka ekho uKhongolozi, kunye nengama-32 sibhiyozela uSuku loLutsha, makhe sijonge, siphicothe ukuba ulutsha olu, umbuso kunye noluntu lwenza ntoni ukukhe lududule luxhentsise ulutsha ukwenzela ukuba lube kwinqanaba lokuba lube nenkathalo kwaye luqiniseke ngobuntu balo. Bathi ke: “Umthi ugotywa usemtsha.” (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Comrades, youth of South Africa – I refer to all people of racial groups that are here – as we approach the 100 years celebration since the ANC was established, and 32 years of celebrating Youth Day, let us examine and explore what the organisation and the community have done to keep the youth occupied in order to become responsible and feel proud about their humanity.An old saying goes: “Bend the tree while it is young.”]
Any creative practitioner of an ideology will target youth as an integral part of sustaining that ideology throughout generations and millennia. However, it is only a supreme ideology that stands the test of time. As we all know, most organisations have youth wings to fulfil these needs.
Uthi umntu: “Izikumkani ziya kubhanga zitsho zife”… [The saying goes: “Even kingdoms will fall and perish one day …]
… but an ideology of the highest development, built on humanity’s best values, will prevail. It is such an ideology that then generates genuine and everlasting patriotism. It brings peace and prosperity to each country, as well as nation-building.
While advancing a case for patriotic youth, my concern is about the role and impact of various agents of socialisation, especially the media. A substantial portion of the content that is beamed out by the SABC is definitely not conducive to efforts that foster patriotism. It is a very minute number of programmes that can be identified as being well-disposed to productively building a young mind and therefore preparing it for nation- building.
Madam Speaker, 16 June was also a manifestation of selfless devotion, sacrifice without expecting material reward, and above all, a bedrock of genuine patriotism. The youth of 1976 were prepared to die for a cause that would last and benefit later generations.
Madiba, as the first champion of a rainbow South Africa, had this to say in this very Parliament on 6 February 1998:
To find a lasting solution to all these challenges requires a community spirit amongst all of us – a New Patriotism, which finds root within the populace. We must build our nation into a community of citizens who appreciate their civic duty as each one of us improves our wellbeing.
However, at times we need to ask ourselves the extent to which the dominant value system in our country either adds value to or unfortunately undermines the noble efforts of conscientising the youth on various issues such as HIV/Aids, mobilising the youth into active participation in the transformation of our country and building a prosperous Africa and a new world order, just to name a few.
At any stage of societal development, the morality of society is always a function of both political and ideological consciousness. Comrade Castro once said, and I quote:
But our work is not a work of stone, is not of materials, but of consciousness, of moral values. And that is lasting. We need youth that are internationalist in their outlook and conduct, because internationalism is also about caring for our neighbours, including children, the elderly, those who are fragile, and all who may be of foreign origin.
What is then expected of the youth? At its 22nd national conference in 2004, the ANC Youth League resolved to –
… create a volunteer youth corps to build a spirit of volunteerism and patriotism in South Africa, especially in the run-up to World Cup 2010.
Appreciating the legacy of caring about others through volunteerism, as has been championed by our leaders, ought to be one of the prime objectives for the youth in its campaigns for a better life for all. What is expected of the youth, irrespective of race, colour, creed or political affiliation, is to respond to this call in large numbers. Let us use this opportunity for the youth to discover itself as leaders as well as citizens of the future.
Challenges that face our country when it comes to preparing the youth for a caring society are, among other things, degenerate values as espoused through decadent movies, sexual perversion, consumerism which is propelled by materialistic values, racism and xenophobia and practices that take advantage and exploit the labour of the youth due to their desperation for jobs.
How do we then, as the state and civil society, create an enabling environment for the youth’s participation in building a caring society and renewing humanity’s best values?
Both state and progressive civil society – and I emphasise progressive civil society – are waging a raging battle to create the correct environment for the youth to be shaped as patriotic citizens. Given that socialisation and even resocialisation is never politically neutral, South Africa faces the challenge of ensuring that the content and character of the information communicated, through primarily the SABC and printed media, embodies patriotism. For patriotism to thrive amongst the youth in South Africa, whatever initiative, campaign or effort is mounted to promote it, due sensitivity to diversity of cultures is of paramount importance. Given that our country has made strides in caring for the disabled within such a short time, the UN has decided to pilot the implementation of its Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities here in South Africa. Such a decision could not have been taken lightly, and the youth, in particular, has all the energy to drive the pilot programme to a resounding success.
Throughout our revolution, the youth, under the banner of the ANC, through the guidance of the Youth League and allied organisations, has always replenished the leadership echelons.
Morality, as well as its generation, extends beyond mere respect for the elderly; it means respect for nature, the air we breathe and the water we drink. It means respect for life itself.
There is a symbiotic relationship between patriotism and humanity’s best values. We South Africans have ably captured this in the Bill of Rights. It is high time we ensure that every time we celebrate 16 June, Youth Day, we also advance this noble cause.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr M B Skosana): Thank you, hon member. I realise that we might be facing National Assembly debate fatigue. Earlier on the Speaker was referred to as “Chairperson”, now the Chairperson is referred to as “Madam Speaker”. [Laughter.]
Mr G R MORGAN: Chairperson, hon members, the topic of today’s debate is indeed an apt one: Youth in action to build a caring society and renew humanity’s best values. A caring society is an ideal many hon members, no doubt, sincerely aim to bring about, but in reality it is not something we are achieving.
In fact, we are perhaps not making too much progress at all. And yes, a caring society is linked intricately to the second part of the debate topic, “renew humanity’s best values”, for if one has to genuinely care about others, one has to have empathy for those people who are vulnerable, and one needs a vision of a better place, if a caring society is to be achieved.
On Youth Day each year we pay tribute to the brave youths of 1976 who stood up against an oppressive government. Many lost their lives, most lost their innocence. It was a time of great idealism. Youth had a vision of the type of society that they wanted to live in and they had dreams about what they as individuals wanted to achieve.
But Youth Day is also an opportunity to look at the state of the youth today. The picture is a mixed one. There are successes, but it is my contention that the idealism of youth has been lost.
It is the age group of young adults that have been left behind in our country. For many, if not the majority, the society they live in is not a caring one and one is reminded about this each waking hour of the day. Finding a job is a difficult prospect when the competition for limited opportunities is so fierce.
It is compounded when one lacks practical skills or the benefits of a quality education. It is made worse when one’s family is poverty-stricken and cannot support itself on the meagre grant it receives. It is heightened when you are afflicted by a communicable disease that was entirely avoidable and potentially treatable, but the public health care system cannot offer the individual care you require. It is escalated when one lives in fear of being attacked in one’s own community by thugs who are caught up in the very cycle of hopelessness that you are.
It is no coincidence that a large number of the people that committed violent acts against foreigners recently were young people. There is no excuse for what they did, but one cannot but wonder whether a sense of frustration or helplessness, in the face of a society that has not thrown up the opportunities that young people so desire, drove much of this xenophobia.
It must certainly be a driver of crime in general, as youth who lose respect for themselves lose respect for the sovereignty of others in society. It is probably a driver of the risky sexual behaviour at the heart of our Aids pandemic, because many young people cannot envision for themselves a life of promise in their future. The situation is bleak, but it can be turned around. A caring society is one that provides opportunities for all its people. It makes provision for those people who are most vulnerable to ensure that no one is left behind. It allows ordinary citizens to articulate what they want to achieve in their own lives without the state telling them what they can or cannot achieve.
Regaining the activism of 1976 is a necessity for South Africa today. If citizens do not have hope, then as a country we will never reach our full potential and we most certainly will not overcome the issue of race which pervades every aspect of society and often holds us back.
In order to reignite the idealism and engender new hope, we need to create work opportunities for young people. The removal of the barriers to youth employment, effectively created by employment legislation that protects those who already have jobs, must be aggressively attacked. It is a reality that employers are often reluctant to hire young people. Besides the fact that young people may not have the skills, it is the prospect of not being able to dismiss the young people if they prove to be poor at their jobs that often dissuades employers from hiring them.
It is time to re-examine ideas around a dual labour market and special entry wages for young people that will allow employment in this demographic of the economy to flourish. It does not have to been seen as a threat to those currently in employment. We all stand to gain as a society when we all feel as if we have something to contribute to society. Let the state provide the regulations and let the market deliver the jobs. And let the state redouble its efforts at investment in human capital.
Nobel Prize winner, Michael Spence, speaking in South Africa this week about how to achieve sustained economic success, underscored the importance of developing human capital. He noted that early childhood malnutrition produces a near permanent reduction in children’s ability to acquire cognitive and noncognitive skills, and that if this was widespread, it was a constraint on growth.
The state must redouble its efforts at ensuring that the health of young people is not compromised because even if opportunities do exist in the economy, an individual is not able to truly seize an opportunity if afflicted by ill health.
Lastly, reigniting hope is crucial to ending the brain drain. It is hard enough trying to impart new skills to young people. We cannot afford to lose these skills once they are developed. When this happens we all lose.
This week a close friend of mine in Durban, Tim, a qualified accountant who works in the banking sector, announced that he and his wife and young child were leaving for Australia in late July. I have not had time to quiz him on why he is leaving. The reasons why people are leaving are often intensely personal and none of us should be judgmental about it. It normally has nothing to do with a lack of love for our country or its people. It usually has something to do with whether one can see a place for oneself in the future, and whether the society you live in is safe, respects your individuality and promises to provide new opportunities. I am sad he is leaving, as I am sad about everyone who leaves this country of great prospects. Let’s reignite the hope. Let’s recreate the idealism. Let’s make the caring society so often glibly referred to in this House a reality. I thank you. [Applause.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr M B Skosana): Thank you, hon member. I don’t know why the hon member did not mention it himself, but I am informed that the hon Morgan will be running in the Comrades Marathon this weekend. [Applause.] We wish him well, together with other MPs who are also participating in this event.
Dr U ROOPNARAIN: Chairperson, colleagues, today I stand before you to pay homage to the many who sacrificed their lives in the June 16 uprising. We have to ensure that our democracy is embraced and nurtured by both young and old as we all want to leave a legacy behind.
The youth are not interested in how many pieces of legislation we pass, they are interested in deliverables. The IFP believes it is time to embrace the values of ubuntu, tolerance, unity in diversity and respect for human rights. Mahatma Ghandi called it non-violence or “satyagraha”. Our Constitution is founded on it, on human dignity.
My colleague, the hon John Bhengu, has written an entire book on ubuntu and today I would like to quote from his book. He says:
We live in an age of cultural disarray and cultural decay. An age filled with ruins and fragments of morality, therefore, our intellectual landscapes are littered with allegorical tales of deterioration, rather that the dramatic narratives of reconciliation.
Many members in the course of this week have spoken about the challenges facing the youth, but 1976 and 2008 speak of two very different eras. In 1976 the youth were at the vanguard of the liberation struggle. In 2008 we see an African refugee being sacrificed and we also see the youth turning to crime and substance abuse.
In 1976 the youth were the pride of the nation. In 2008 the youth are consumed by greed and materialism. In 1976 the youth sacrificed education for liberation, but where does it all start? It begins with nurturing, internalising values, a value system that is not legislated upon, turning it into some kind of ideology like apartheid.
The world desperately needs activism. We need agitators of change, equality, peace and freedom. We should not practise a smorgasbord of diplomacy in which we pick and choose when we want to do the right thing. Today we have become a totally inclusive Parliament, a mosaic of different race groups, cultural and linguistic groups, all held together by the common thread of wanting to do good. I’m running out of time so quickly! In conclusion, to paraphrase Dr Martin Luther King:
The youth must not be the thermometers that record and register the temperature of society, but thermostats that transform and regulate society.
Most importantly, to instil in youth the right values.
I just feel that values are the shield that you carry with you throughout life. It protects you from whatever life throws at you. So let us reclaim the spirit of ubuntu. It is the essence of our Africanness.
Today, despite the growing recognition of their needs, young people in many parts of the world continue to be marginalised and ignored. Their status as a group which is experiencing disproportionate levels of poverty and unemployment is frequently overlooked. As a result the youth are three times more likely than adults to lack jobs. Today let us go back, hand in hand, and reclaim the spirit of ubuntu. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr G T MADIKIZA: Chairperson, hon members, more than 30 years after the youth of South Africa took to the streets to defy the apartheid regime and face the guards and armoured vehicles, our country has changed significantly.
The old order was shaken to its core by this mass display of disaffection and it laid the foundations for the mass protests that gained momentum during the 80s, until eventually the apartheid regime had to acknowledge that it could not oppress millions when they resisted this oppression as a collective.
The youth of that generation are now the leaders of today and under their guidance the country has shaken off the shackles of that terrible past. We have moved, in these three decades, from that totalitarian dispensation to a democracy founded on one of the most outstanding constitutions in the world. The entire dispensation is built upon the recognition of the inherent dignity of each person and the whole set of basic human rights that flow from that assertion.
When we look at it in that context, we can say that for the generation of 1976 the promise of democracy has been fulfilled, that the new South Africa has indeed delivered what they dreamt of. But recently, during the xenophobic violence and more generally in the past few years, we have witnessed violent protests in many communities across the country.
One of the most noticeable aspects of these protests has been the prominence of our youth in these activities. While the youth of 1976 may feel that democracy has delivered for them, many of the youth of 2008 do not feel the same way. It points to a deep sense of marginalisation and exclusion that pervades many of our communities and fills the youth with hopelessness and frustration.
It is our duty to ask how it can be that 14 years of freedom could have given rise to such a widespread disenchantment among the youth. In 1976 the youth rose up to demand political freedom and in 2008 the youth are again stirring, this time to demand economic freedom.
Once again education is at the heart of the matter and again under the spotlight is government’s failure to provide a proper education and the conditions for that education to be translated into a decent livelihood. We ignore these warning signs at our own peril. I thank you.
Mrs C DUDLEY: Chair, I am just guessing, but could it be that recent reports of youths being the main perpetrators of violent attacks on foreign nationals have somehow inspired this Youth Day topic?
Now, in view of the considerable resentment expressed by South Africans in affected communities towards foreign nationals, because they are seen to be taking jobs or because they have been successful entrepreneurs, findings contained in a recent survey on entrepreneurship among youth are of specific interest.
Did you know that most South African youths believe it is government’s responsibility to provide them with work, according to the annual University of Cape Town Global Entrepreneurship Monitor study and that nearly a third of respondents said they would definitely not accept a low- paying job and would rather be unemployed? These trends do not bode well for entrepreneurship or the labour market and perhaps have other even more worrying implications.
Faith in entrepreneurship is particularly low among black and coloured youth, as there is a low level of innovation and many who do get involved in businesses make or sell the same things as others. Limited access to capital is a major deterrent, but social factors such as crime are the biggest stumbling blocks. About 76% of respondents in the Western Cape and 68% of respondents in Gauteng felt that starting a business was just too risky; that they would get robbed or mugged and their efforts would be wasted. Another drawback is drug abuse.
The report urges government to establish an integrated model to help youth entrepreneurship in South Africa and the ACDP supports this call. When our young people catch the vision and begin to succeed as entrepreneurs, this youth in action will be better placed to build a caring society. The ACDP further calls for this integrated plan to include instruction on the value of moral values based on solid, proven principles. Thank you. [Applause.]
Nksz N N SIBHIDLA: Sihlalo namalungu ahloniphekileyo, ndibulela ithuba lokuba ndibe ngomnye wabachongiweyo ukuza kuthetha apha namhlanje, xa sikhumbula indima eyabanjwa lulutsha lowe-1976. Namhlanje sikhumbula amagorha namagorhakazi athi anikela ngempilo yawo ukuze mna nawe singcamle le nkululeko siyingcamlayo namhlanje.
Namhlanje yiminyaka engama-32 esi siganeko senzekayo. Sihlangene namhlanje sikhumbula amadoda neentokazi ezathabatha isigqibo sokuba aziyi kuphinda siphile ngaphantsi kwengcinezelo, kwaye azisoze zavumela impilo yezizukulwana ezilandelayo idotyolelwe phantsi lucalu-calulo.
Ulutsha lowama-’76 lwalusazi mhlophe ukuba lunoxanduva lokuzakhela ikamva. Zazininzi izinto ababengazenza njengolutsha, kodwa bakhetha ukulwa nengcinezelo ukuze kwakhiwe isizwe esikhululekileyo nesingacaluliyo ngokwebala. Kungenxa yesibindi nentshisekelo yala maqhawe ukuze sibe namhlanje siphila kwisizwe esikhululekileyo.
Xa namhlanje sikhumbula la maqhawe, kubalulekile ukuba sikhe sibheke apho siphuma khona ukuze sikwazi ukuhlahla indlela eya phambili. Siphuma kwixesha apho iimfuno zolutsha zazingahoywanga ngurhulumente wocalu-calulo, apho ulutsha lwaluthathwa njengezaphuselane ezingenakamva. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Ms N N SIBHIDLA: Chairperson and hon members, let me thank you for this opportunity I have been given to make a presentation here today, when we remember the role played by the youth of 1976. Today we remember heroes and heroines who sacrificed their lives to bring about the freedom that we have today.
It is now 32 years since this event took place. We have gathered here today to remember young men and women who took a decision that they would never remain under oppression, and would not allow the lives of the next generation to be oppressed by the apartheid regime either.
The youth of 1976 knew exactly what their responsibility was - to build their future. There were many things that the youth could have done, but they decided to fight against oppression so that they could build a free country which did not discriminate in terms of colour. It is because of the courage and zeal of those heroes that we live in a free country today.
When we remember those heroes today, it is important that we consider our past, in order to be able to move forward. We come from the days where the interests of the youth were not being considered by the apartheid regime. The youth were regarded as hooligans who had no future.]
Yingakho sizithola sikulezi zinkinga esikuzo namuhla uma sikhuluma ngentuthuko yabantu abasha. [That is why we find ourselves in the situation that we are facing today when we talk about youth development.]
The year of 1994 and the freedom it ushered in was not a miracle, as some have, but the culmination of years of a difficult struggle by the people of our country, many of whom paid the ultimate price when their lives were brutally cut short by the apartheid regime.
Freedom comes with responsibility. It is for this reason that, despite the difficulties we faced as a people in confronting decades of systematic marginalisation, we - unlike some destroyers and pessimists - have not lost faith in the ability of the African to not only earn his or her freedom, but also to make use of it to realise economic empowerment.
Decades ago our people gathered to establish an historic movement of the African people to act as their rallying point and platform from which to transform the country, so that it becomes a home to all who live in it; and that the rights of citizenship are not skewed to serve the interests of the few.
Since 1994 the ANC government has established institutions that would consolidate this freedom and reverse the effects of institutional discrimination. Accordingly, various pieces of legislation have been passed and various institutions have been established.
As we celebrate Youth Month, we celebrate an organised, systematic articulation of the challenges faced by our people over time and how best to resolve those challenges. Over time, even those who were indifferent to the ideals of the Freedom Charter today agree that this remains the noblest document to have ever emerged during the dark days of political oppression.
In essence, what the Freedom Charter stood for was to ensure that all our people, irrespective of race or gender, live in dignity and this is further articulated in the Constitution of the Republic.
However, some have used the poverty of our people as an injunction against the ANC government and have attempted to make a lie out of the truth that decades of marginalisation have not only created poverty but, indeed, have also distorted the economy along racial lines, so that the poverty problems are self-perpetuating. This lie, at its highest stage, seeks to mobilise our people, and our youth in particular, against the ANC-led transformation agenda and to defeat our revolution by blaming the ANC government for the legacy of apartheid.
Having understood the epoch of our political freedom, we have never promised our people an easy victory. We have noted that those who stand to lose from transformation have spread all sorts of lies in order to undermine this very transformation agenda, their primary aim being to preserve the ill-gained apartheid wealth disparities.
We know too well that it will take a lot of effort to reverse the effects of decades of apartheid misrule and usher in a social, economic and political dispensation as explained by the Freedom Charter.
While we note the socioeconomic circumstances around which crime and HIV occur amongst the South African population, we have always insisted that the main challenge of our people, and that of the youth in particular, is to ensure their economic participation through job creation and entrepreneurship schemes.
The National Youth Policy Review Convention held in 2006 acknowledged the reality of the past and the challenges of the future and accordingly made various resolutions that explained this and further showed the way forward. This National Youth Convention is a confirmation that our youth are very much politically conscious and are ready to continue playing their critical role in ensuring that the opportunities of democracy make economic sense to all our people.
We believe that the resolve to implement an integrated youth development strategy will assist to clarify, once and for all, how the various efforts to develop our youth may find synergy and ensure effective redress of their general marginalisation. This, in itself, will go a long way towards realising the ideals of the Freedom Charter. The ANC conference reaffirmed the view of the young people that we need to move with speed to establish a structure that will be empowered to implement this integrated strategy – the National Youth Development Agency.
Lolu hlelo Somlomo luzana ukuhlanganisa zonke izinhlaka zikahulumeni ukuze sikwazi ukubhekana ngqo nezidingo zentsha, okungaba yizidingo eziqondene nezemfundo, eziqondene nokubamba iqhaza ekuthuthukisweni kwezomnotho, impilo yabantu ngokubanzi. Ngakho-ke sinxusa uhulumeni nehhovisi likaMongameli ukuthi benze isiqinisekiso sokuthi lo nyaka awupheli singakhiwanga isikhungo esisha esiyobizwa ngokuthi yi-National Youth Development Agency.
Kumele kubuyekezwe uhlelo olubizwa ngokuthi yi-National Youth Service Programme. Lolu hlelo Sihlalo lwalakhelwe ukuthi silekelele isizwe ekubumbeni izimilo zentsha, kuqeqeshwe intsha emakhonweni ahlukene luphinde luvulele intsha amathuba emisebenzi. Esikubona kwenzeka njengamanje Sihlalo kwehluke kakhulu kulokhu lolu hlelo olwalakhelwe khona.
Ngakho-ke sinxusa Ihhovisi lePhini likaMongameli wezwe ukuthi lihlale phansi nazo zonke izakhiwo ezibhekele ukuthi kuqalwe ngalolu hlelo ukwenzela ukuthi sibone ukuthi singabuyela kanjani ezinjongweni ezazakhelwe lona lolu hlelo. Ziningi ezinye izinhlelo uhulumeni wethu athe wazakha ekubhekaneni ngqo nezidingo zentsha. Ngiyabonga Sihlalo. [Kwaphela isikhathi.] [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, this programme seeks to integrate all government structures so that we are able to deal with the needs of the youth directly, whether they be needs related to education, needs related to participating in economic development, or issues related to the people at large. We therefore urge government and the Office of the President to ensure that this year does not come to an end without the new agency, that will be called the National Youth Development Agency, having been built.
There is a need to review the National Youth Service Programme. This programme, Chairperson, was started with the intention of helping the nation to mould the behaviour of the youth, training the youth in different skills as well as creating employment opportunities for the youth. But what we now see happening, Chairperson, is very different from what this programme was initially set up for.
Therefore, we urge the Office of the Deputy President to sit down with all the stakeholders involved in implementing this programme so that we can see how we can go back to the objectives of setting up this programme. There are many other programmes that our government has come up with in order to directly address the needs of the youth. Thank you, Chairperson. [Time expired.][Applause.]]
Mr R B BHOOLA: Chairperson, South Africa’s legacy of colonialism and apartheid has left us with a huge foreign debt and inequalities in our society.
Today I stand here remembering the youth of those eras and the conditions under which they survived. I think of township life and how their playgrounds were battlefields. I think of their schooling and of our youth’s impact on and united fight against the apartheid regime. I think of their sacrificed childhood in a man’s war. Today we salute the youth of the Sharpeville massacre and vow to never let their sacrifice be forgotten.
Our children were mobilised against the apartheid regime from an early age and it was important that they were taught that all people are equal and that we need to aggressively protest against the apartheid regime to free our parents, our siblings and ourselves. Many survived the apartheid terror to tell of its barbarism, but are still haunted by the past.
It is indeed crucial that our children are allowed to enjoy their freedom and childhood, but it is very important that they are taught about this terrible past and are inspired as humanitarians to embrace all of humanity. As the hon Nelson Mandela said of our past: ``We shall forgive, but never forget.’’
It is in our young years that we develop and enhance our values to be responsible, respectable and dignified adults. The South African Youth Charter is important to socialise our children into the democratic values of our nation. We feel that the charter and the daily affirmation of the school pledge will have a great influence in socialising our children into the spirit of our Constitution.
Government departments have embarked on many projects to drive youth development into nation-building. We need to embrace the youth into multiracial living, acceptance and respect. If we can achieve living together, then we can work together and build a better South Africa together.
We believe the Youth Parliament to be an effective means of involving young leaders in Parliament. We need to realise that the best point at which to service our shortfalls such as school shortages is at school level. This is the point at which children dream of their futures. If we walk their dreams to reality, we would achieve far more than filling a post, we would be filling a life.
Our nation’s recovery is indeed dependent on our empowering our youth with the necessary tools to overcome the repercussions of our past and take South Africa to new heights. Mahatma Gandhi once said: ``A country that does not invest in the youth does not invest in the future.’’
Indeed, visible advancements in the rural areas, the introduction of no-fee schools, nutrition programmes, more study bursaries, the building of sports infrastructure, not only allow our youth to have equal opportunities but also to advance themselves in the labour market and in the sporting economy. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr M J MALAHLELA: Chair, I am tempted to say, as I am now, to the hon members that I am the last speaker and I would appreciate it if they listened.
Gobane ka Sepedi re fela re re e monate moseleng. [We always say the best things come towards the end.] In Seedi this means that it is usually towards the end where things will be far more interesting.
Of course, as a young person, I agree with quite a number of speakers who spoke here. We definitely should look into quite a number of things that they talked about. And also, as young people, we would want those issues to be attended to.
But I am compelled to disagree with the hon member G R Morgan, particularly when he speaks about the issue that employers are being dissuaded from employing young people because it is difficult to dismiss them. Let it sink in: Employers are dissuaded from employing young people because it is difficult to dismiss them! Are we building a South Africa where employers must first and foremost, before they employ a person; think about dismissals?
If that is the case, I am sure that our people will take a long time to vote the DA into power. Because when we speak about job security we are also saying to employers that when they hire these young people, they have the responsibility to develop their skills so that as and when they do participate in the activities of that company they are able to add value. As an employer you are then also adding value to their skills. I don’t think it would be correct for the market only to intervene by purposely dismissing young people. It can’t be correct. Surely, this can’t be true.
This year, 2008, is the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the ANC Youth League’s 1948 programme of action. I am looking at hon Gigaba, who became the president of the ANC Youth League, followed by president Mbalula and president Julius Malema. They all took their cue from the generation of Anton Lembede, Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and O R Tambo, because these are the people who revolutionised the ANC so that they could do the things they did. That is why we are saying, as young people, that we are also aware that this year is the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the 1948 programme of action of the ANC Youth League.
Chairperson, I also want to say that we don’t just waffle in the ANC; we provide leadership. That is why we welcome the Presidency’s resolve that they are going to bring the African Youth Charter to Parliament for ratification. What would be the intended consequences of the ratification of the African Youth Charter? It would then mean there has to be an adoption of the national youth policy about which the Presidency spoke so that after the policy has been adopted by Cabinet, it would be an Act of Parliament. This would bring about the amalgamation of the Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the National Youth Commission into what the hon Sibhidla spoke about - the National Youth Development Agency.
It is our intention, as young people, that when that is done, the National Youth Development Agency must not only be accessible and toll-free, but it must be present in every locality where young people are found so that young people are able to walk into this development agency for assistance so that we are able to use this agency to alter the material conditions that define our young people. We are therefore saying to the Presidency that they must speed up the process of fine-tuning the policy which exists already so that by the end of the year, before we rise, that policy will have been adopted, which would give then rise to the amendments that have been discussed.
As young people, we are also saying that the co-ordination of the Youth Parliament must be done very systematically. You don’t want to create a situation where we co-ordinate as if we are just responding to the Auditor- General to show that we have been utilising money, because that would be tantamount to fiscal dumping.
That is why we are saying, as the preparatory meeting is being held today, that we need to co-ordinate from the provinces and the districts till the National Youth Parliament sits so that all of these decisions that are being taken are not just being taken for the purpose of their being noted.
They should be filtered through to portfolio committees, which would then make it a point that all of these departments that have to deal with issues that relate to young people should also be able to include these in their strategic plans. Then we would not just be hiding behind the cross-cutting nature of issues that affect young people and yet unable to give an audit as to how to account for things that we should have been able to do. This also speaks to the way the Joint Monitoring Committee is structured. When you look at the Rules of Parliament you realise that the Joint Monitoring Committee cannot produce legislation but can only monitor jointly, which is also problematic. I think we need to look into this and then see how we can ensure that this joint monitoring group does not just become a talk shop but is also able to bite in terms of making sure that these Rules are changed creatively.
It should be noted as well that the things that all of these speakers spoke about – crime, poverty and HIV/Aids - are a direct consequence of our inability to have a streamlined way of dealing with issues that affect the young. That is why we are saying that all Members of Parliament must be able to understand the African Youth Charter so that they can understand what the consequences would be of the ratification of that charter by this House when it is brought to us.
Let me pay homage to the late Manyoro Lekota. He was one of the best stalwarts that the United Democratic Front had ever produced and was assassinated in 1990. Today marks the 18th anniversary of the passing away of Comrade Manyoro Lekota. His soul will definitely rest in peace, knowing full well that the young people of this country are eager to create conditions that will alter their material circumstances.
Let me also pay homage to Kolobe Mamabolo, one of our young people who passed away during the course of this week. He graduated as a pharmacist but decided to continue serving our people, destitute and hungry, in Mankweng Hospital, and when we lower his mortal remains we will make sure that whatever he stood for, we as young people we will take forward. Of course, we know that he liked to page through Morris Cornforth’s Theory of Knowledge and we definitely would make sure that young people of today are also exposed to the writings of Morris Cornforth.
Sibusiso Mamba was one of the young, energetic, egalitarian people to come from Soweto. He came to Cape Town to pursue his interests as a young man and when he went back to Soweto just to get a driver’s licence, he was killed. When we were at Avalon cemetery to lower his mortal remains, quite a number of his friends who gathered around his grave, in the language of our people in Alexandra said: “Hulle was ``mof’’ – they were high on drugs. All of them were collectively saying that as long as there is no alternative to bettering their lives, people would resort to criminal activities. And unfortunately they sang in unison:
We live our lives like this! We live our lives like this! We live our lives like this! Why?
Which then tell us that we have a responsibility to answer their questions so that they should not move across the Atlantic, when young people of this world in Africa are able to do what is better for them. Thank you, Chairperson.
Debate concluded.
The House adjourned at 10:55. ____
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
The Speaker and the Chairperson
- Introduction of Bills
(1) The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development
a) Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill [B 42 – 2008] (National
Assembly – proposed sec 75) [Explanatory summary of Bill and
prior notice of its introduction published in Government
Gazette No 31115 of 2 June 2008.]
Introduction and referral to the Portfolio Committee on
Justice and Constitutional Development of the National
Assembly, as well as referral to the Joint Tagging Mechanism
(JTM) for classification in terms of Joint Rule 160.
In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification
of the Bills may be submitted to the JTM within three
parliamentary working days.
(2) The Minister of Transport
a) Legal Succession to the South African Transport Services
Amendment Bill [B 43 – 2008] (National Assembly – proposed
sec 75) [Explanatory summary of Bill and prior notice of its
introduction published in Government Gazette No 31059 of 15
May 2008.]
Introduction and referral to the Portfolio Committee on
Transport of the National Assembly, as well as referral to the
Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM) for classification in terms of
Joint Rule 160.
In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification
of the Bills may be submitted to the JTM within three
parliamentary working days.
(3) The Minister of Health
a) Medicines and Related Substances Amendment Bill [B 44 – 2008]
(National Assembly – proposed sec 75) [Explanatory summary of
Bill and prior notice of its introduction published in
Government Gazette No 31114 of 2 June 2008.]
Introduction and referral to the Portfolio Committee on Health
of the National Assembly, as well as referral to the Joint
Tagging Mechanism (JTM) for classification in terms of Joint
Rule 160.
In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification
of the Bills may be submitted to the JTM within three
parliamentary working days.
(4) The Minister of Defence
a) National Conventional Arms Control Amendment Bill [B 45 –
2008] (National Assembly – proposed sec 75) [Explanatory
summary of Bill and prior notice of its introduction published
in Government Gazette No 31078 of 23 May 2008.]
Introduction and referral to the Portfolio Committee on
Defence of the National Assembly, as well as referral to the
Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM) for classification in terms of
Joint Rule 160.
In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification
of the Bills may be submitted to the JTM within three
parliamentary working days.
(5) The Minister of Science and Technology
a) Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research
and Development Bill [B 46 – 2008] (National Assembly –
proposed sec 75) [Explanatory summary of Bill and prior notice
of its introduction published in Government Gazette No 31130
of 13 June 2008.]
Introduction and referral to the Portfolio Committee on
Science and Technology of the National Assembly, as well as
referral to the Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM) for
classification in terms of Joint Rule 160.
In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification
of the Bills may be submitted to the JTM within three
parliamentary working days.
(6) The Minister for the Public Service and Administration
a) Public Administration Management Bill [B 47 – 2008] (National
Assembly – proposed sec 76) [Explanatory summary of Bill and
prior notice of its introduction published in Government
Gazette No 31113 of 2 June 2008.]
Introduction and referral to the Portfolio Committee on Public
Service and Administration of the National Assembly, as well
as referral to the Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM) for
classification in terms of Joint Rule 160.
In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification
of the Bills may be submitted to the JTM within three
parliamentary working days.
- Draft Bills submitted in terms of Joint Rule 159
(1) National Conventional Arms Control Amendment Bill, 2008,
submitted by the Minister of Defence. Referred to the Portfolio
Committee on Defence and the Select Committee on Security and
Constitutional Affairs.
(2) Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Bill, 2008, submitted by
the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Referred to the Portfolio
Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Select Committee on Economic
and Foreign Affairs.
TABLINGS
National Assembly
-
The Speaker
(a) Report of the Public Service Commission (PSC) on the Payment of Performance Incentives to Heads of Departments without Annual Performance Evaluations Conducted – March 2008 [RP 18-2008].
(b) Report of the Public Service Commission (PSC) on the audit into the granting of performance rewards in the Department of Education and Social Development at both the national and provincial levels – October 2007 [RP 234-2007].
COMMITTEE REPORTS
National Assembly
- Report of the Portfolio Committee on Finance on the Insurance Laws Amendment Bill [B26-2008] (National Assembly- sec 75), dated 13 June 2008:
The Portfolio Committee on Finance, having considered the Insurance
Laws Amendment Bill [B 26– 2008] (National Assembly – sec 75), referred
to it, and classified by the JTM as a sec 75 Bill, reports the Bill
with amendments [B26A-2008]
Report to be considered.