Angry Mabuza warns residents not to do sex as a form of pleasure when bored
02 December 2013
An angry Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza strongly lashed out at Mkhondo [Piet Retief] citizens for being careless when engaging in sexual activities saying unsafe sex created more problems for the society.
Premier Mabuza was speaking during the Zazi Campaign in Driefontein outside Piet Retief on Saturday. The on-going campaign was part of the build-up activities by the provincial government to the World Aids Day commemoration.
The campaign is aimed at discouraging young girls from engaging in premature and unsafe sexual activities with older men [sugar daddies]. It further seeks to empower young girls to know their strength and refuse to depend on men for money and other favours in return for sex.
Mabuza said young girls should not use unprotected sex as a form of pleasure as it led to pregnancy and diseases such as HIV and Aids. Gert Sibande District has high prevalence of HIV and AIDS at 46 percent throughout the country with Mkhondo local municipality at 56 percent.
He urged the citizens to stand up and fight against the pandemic which was destroying the nation. He said lack of family values contributed to such problems as some parents were not strict enough but allowed their children to disobey and misbehave. Some parents would come home drunk and not be responsible for the well-being of their children, said Mabuza.
While delivering his address on the stage, people shouted back and interrupted at the Premier saying they had nothing to do as they were unemployed but to make babies.
“As a government we acknowledge that there are people who are unemployed yet, but they cannot use sex as a form of pleasure because they are bored. This thing creates problems in our society. Young girls get pregnant and once they have babies it becomes a responsibility of government’s.
“Babies are not bricks that are used in building houses. They have a life; they must be planned for properly and be loved. They just cannot be borne by a mistake and worse be infected with HIV because their parents did not know their statuses. What kind of a nation are we that kill its own children,” asked Mabuza.
He said desperate young girls were regrettably involved in intimate relationships with “infected elderly men” who used them as sex objects and who did not care about their future. He lashed out at their fathers and mothers for not playing their parental role in instilling morals on their children adding that babies could not be raised only on government’s social grants.
“How come that an old man would see another man’s girl-child as a girlfriend but sees his as a child that deserves to be protected? Such people are deliberately destroying our nation. What kind of a nation whose men sleep with young girls of 14 years old? We are saying no to people who destroy the future of our children.
“I do not like the men who take advantage of our children. They are not the real men. It is unacceptable that some men would woo young girls with money and small things like airtime for cell-phones. The numbers of pregnant learners at our schools are shockingly alarming. The nation is dying and we are all doing nothing but shift the responsibility to government. Who will stay in the RDP houses the government is building because everyone is dying?
“I don’t understand why children should be given cellular phones when they are not working. What do they do with these phones, because they end up asking airtime from the wrong people who have ulterior motives? These children then become easy target and end up being infected with HIV,” said Mabuza.
He explained the damning statistics of high HIV prevalence in the Gert Sibande District had been drawn from pregnant women who were mainly young. He urged the traditional leaders to endorse the government’s efforts of medical male circumcision in order to contribute towards the reduction of infections.
Studies show that chances of acquiring an HIV infection are reduced by 60 percent when a male is circumcised. The provincial government is targeting to have at least 500 000 males circumcised in the current financial year whereas the national department of health is targeting more than 4 million males n 2015.
“We can talk about these until our hair turn grey. The time is nearer, those who have ears should listen, all I am asking for is that please change your behaviour. We have built three beautiful schools in your area, go and utilise the opportunity by concentrating on your studies become better people for your families. This country needs you,” said Mabuza.
Mabuza further urged those who were already on anti-retroviral treatment not to default on medication when they felt better. He stressed that everyone needed to know their statuses by testing in order to be treated early if there was a need. Earlier in the day, Zazi girls led by Miss Mpumalanga [Ntando Kunene] marched and submitted a memorandum to the Premier asking him as the provincial chairperson of the Mpumalanga Aids Council to ensure their protection from older men who used them as sex objects.
They asked him to ensure that their Zazi campaign was sustained and supported as it created a platform for young girls to openly talk about sex and learn from the discussions. They said they were “tired” of being pregnant at a young stage and not enjoy their youth stage, and that they had had enough of being sexually used by older men.
Issued by Zibonele Mncwango
Spokesperson: Mpumalanga Premier
Tel: (013) 766 2453
Mobile: 079 491 0163
E-mail: zmncwango@mpg.gov.za
