Address by Hon. Premier TSP Makwetla at the Human Rights Day Commemoration, Solomon Mahlangu Stadium, Thembisile Hani Municipality
21 March 2009
Programme Director
Members of the Executive Council, MPs and MPLs
The Executive Mayors of Nkangala District Municipality and Thembisile Hani Local
Municipality, Hon Clr S Mashilo and Hon Clr VV Nkosi respectively
Honourable mayors and councillors
Traditional leaders
Leaders from political parties and labour organisations
Spiritual leaders and all community leaders in our midst
Our cultural workers
The residents of Thembisile, the Nkangala District, and Mpumalanga as a whole
Distinguished guests
Comrades and friends
On this historic day on our national calendar, the whole South African nation
gathers in various centres to commemorate Human Rights Day. Today, we
commemorate the 1960 Sharpeville massacre in which more than 60 people were
brutally murdered by the apartheid police during a peaceful protest against the
imposition of pass laws. Pass laws demanded that all ‘natives’ carry documents
which authorised their presence in any given area. These laws were meant to
control the influx of black people into the cities and restrict their freedom of
movement.
Alongside many heroes and heroines in the history of our liberation struggle,
the martyrs of the 1960 massacre sacrificed their lives in the fight against
gross violations of basic human rights by the repressive apartheid government.
In all its manifestations, the liberation struggle was a quest towards creating
a rights-based society whose core values espouse the enjoyment of democratic
freedoms, justice for all, human dignity and the progressive realization of
socio-economic rights.
With the commitment, tenacity and selfless sacrifice of liberation forces and
countless martyrs, the Apartheid State was vanquished.
Programme Director, last night’s Premiere of the Lion of the East musical play
re-enacted the violation of human rights and atrocities to which workers on the
farms were subjected by potato farmers. The story of the 1958 potato boycott led
by our legendary struggle icon, Gert Sibande, is a stark reminder of the quest
to create a society underpinned by the values of human rights, human dignity and
justice.
Today, we pay tribute to many martyrs, heroes and heroines whose selfless
commitment to freedom and democracy laid the foundation for the creation of a
human rights-based society. We thank them today South Africa is a better place
to live in.
Programme Director, the year 1994 was a watershed year which ushered in a
democratic Constitution that embodies the aspirations of a human rights based
society. The Bill of Rights enshrined in the Constitution constitutes the
bedrock of our democratic state and enjoins all South Africans to promote,
nurture and protect hard won freedoms and human rights.
Fifteen years on, we continue to be guaranteed the right to equality and human
dignity, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, demonstration or picketing,
freedom of association and freedom of movement and residence. The institutions
of our democratic state continue to promote civil liberties and protect citizens
from the abuse and violation of human rights.
On 22 April next month, South Africans are accorded yet another opportunity to
exercise their democratic right to vote and elect the government and leaders of
their choice. It is an opportunity to deepen democracy and inculcate a strong
culture of human rights.
As we celebrate Human Rights Day, we must be reminded of our obligation not to
take the human rights we are enjoying for granted, but should ensure that we
entrench these rights to benefit future generations and sustain a human
rights-based society. All registered voters are encouraged to come out and vote
on 22 April. In part, we must exercise this right to pay homage to countless
martyrs who paid the price for the freedom we enjoy today.
Programme Director, over the last five years, the Province has made a
significant contribution towards the progressive realization of socio-economic
rights to which Mpumalanga citizens are entitled. We have paid particular
attention to ensure that everyone has access to health care, quality education,
water and sanitation, adequate housing and economic development opportunities to
address poverty and unemployment challenges. We have also taken adequate
measures to promote the protection of the environment to make sure that everyone
lives in an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being.
Over the last five years, the Province dedicated substantial resources to
accelerate the delivery of housing alongside basic services such as water,
sanitation and electricity. This commitment is driven by our understanding that
access to decent housing is a fundamental human right that is a critical measure
of the quality of life that citizens enjoy. It is also an important contribution
to the alleviation of asset poverty among poor households. It is encouraging
that between January 2004 and January 2009, the Province built 57 553 housing
units, thereby providing shelter to many poor and vulnerable families.
Equally, we have always been cognisant of our obligation to improve access to
quality education to everyone, especially poor households with no capacity to
finance the educational needs of their children. Education is a fundamental
human right that empowers individuals to access development opportunities and
break the inherited cycle of poverty. Undoubtedly, quality education is also
critical in providing skills necessary for economic and social development needs
of the Province.
Through the implementation of ‘no fee’ schools policy, the Province has invested
resources to enhance access to education by the poor. To date, 952 schools have
been declared ‘no fee’ schools, benefiting 420 238 learners. To assist learners
from poor households, the implementation of the school nutrition programme is
benefiting 573 725 learners, representing 40% of the total learner enrolments in
the schooling system. The nutrition programme will be extended to all Quintile 1
secondary schools in April this year.
As a Province, we have also made significant strides in expanding access to
early childhood development. The number of learners accessing ECD grew from 18
301 in 2004 to 50 196 in 2008.
Programme Director, access to quality health care services remains one of the
fundamental human rights that we should continue to advance to improve the
health profile of our communities. Through the hospital revitalization programme,
we have enhanced the capacity of our hospitals to deliver quality health care.
Progressively, we have increased the number of primary health care facilities to
improve access to health care services. Over the last five years, we have
ensured that the number of primary health care (PHC) facilities has increased
from 167 in 2004 to 270 in 2008. As part of our efforts to reverse the spread of
HIV and Aids, the number of patients accessing anti-retroviral treatment has
increased to 39 878.
Programme Director, access to safe adequate water and sanitation is a
fundamental human right that constitutes an important determinant of the quality
of life that citizens enjoy. As highlighted in the State of the Province Address
this year, 72.7% have access to water at RDP level and above. We have reduced
the number of households with inadequate access to water to 257 912,
constituting 27.3% of the households in the Province. Of this amount, 3.5%
households have no access to infrastructure at all.
Through the implementation of Water for All interventions, the Province wants to
ensure that communities have access to water services infrastructure and clean
water by 2010. Access to clean and safe water is essential for human development
the prevention of water-borne diseases which cost human lives.
The recent cholera crisis in the Province brought into focus concerns about the
contamination of our water resources and the need to institute stringent water
quality management and monitoring measures. If we are to mitigate the spread of
deadly diseases such as cholera, it is important that our water purification
infrastructure is effective to enhance water quality. Various initiatives are
currently being implemented by municipalities to upgrade sewerage plants and
related infrastructure in order to prevent possible contamination of water
resources.
Through the implementation of our Heritage, Greening Mpumalanga, and Tourism
Flagship, we should continue to implement measures to prevent environmental
degradation and pollution. As a basic human right, access to a clean environment
requires communities to adopt practices and behaviour that discourage pollution
and damage to the environment through littering, contamination of water
resources and irresponsible disposal of waste and hazardous substances. As
communities, let us take collective responsibility for the protection of our
environs as part of affirming our right to a safe and clean environment.
As celebrate Human Rights Day, we must reaffirm our collective commitment to
addressing poverty, unemployment and under-development challenges. Despite
remarkable strides we have made in fighting poverty and social deprivation, many
families continue to be subjected to the indignity of hunger and poverty. As
government, we will continue to facilitate improved access to skills development
and opportunities for self-employment.
The launch of our Anti-Poverty War Room Campaign this is part of our ongoing
contribution to tackling poverty in Mpumalanga. This campaign focuses on
profiling the poor and most deprived households to identify their specific needs
and help them to access government services and development opportunities. In
this way, we provide safety nets that would assist in alleviating poverty among
the identified households. In the initial pilot phase, six poverty-stricken
municipalities will be targeted for the implementation of the Anti-Poverty War
Room campaign. These are Mkhondo, Albert Luthuli, Thembisile, Dr JS Moroka,
Bushbuckridge and Nkomazi municipalities.
Over the last five years, our Expanded Public Works Programme created more than
100 000 job opportunities and thereby enabling the youth, women and persons with
disabilities to access skills development and employment opportunities. Our
National Youth Service programme continues to provide opportunities for the
development of our youth in the Province.
More than 1 135 young people in Mpumalanga have benefited from loans disbursed
by the provincial office of Umsobomvu Youth Fund. The value of loans disbursed
since 2006 amounts to more than R10 million and a total of 1 703 jobs were
created.
In addition, more than 2 000 vouchers totalling in excess of R24 million was
spent benefiting 1 106 women, 27 people with disabilities and creating 804 job
opportunities. Business vouchers were designed to help young people gain access
to quality business development support, including accounting, bookkeeping,
business plan development, tendering support etc.
Programme Director, we believe that the envisaged National Youth Development
Agency will give further impetus to youth empowerment initiatives in Mpumalanga.
Government will also continue to facilitate access to funding and business
development support to entrepreneurs and small businesses to ensure that we
contribute to economic growth and the creation of employment opportunities.
The implementation of the Maputo and Moloto Development Corridors will
contribute to promoting investment and the creation of employment opportunities.
Programme Director, as communities, we should continue our collective resolve to
defeat crime and its devastating impact on human development and prosperity. We
should mobilise all community stakeholders to reclaim our right to a safe and
secure environment. Our streets, homes and villages should be safe and free from
the abuse of women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities.
Programme Director, let me conclude by enjoining all the citizens of the
Province to commit to the vision and aspirations of a human rights based society
guided by the core values bequeathed to us by the struggle martyrs. In every
facet of our social development endeavours, we must protect the legacy and
honour of those who paid the price for us to attain freedom, democracy and human
rights that we enjoy today as a free nation.
Glory to the martyrs of Sharpeville.
Long Live Human Rights Day.
I thank you.
Issued by: Office of the Premier
