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Date : 21/05/2003
Source: The Presidency
Title: J Zuma: Answers to questions in NA


REPLY FROM THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT, MR J ZUMA, TO QUESTIONS FOR ORAL REPLY IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, 21 May 2003

QUESTION NUMBER: 13

Dr S J Gous (NNP) to ask the Deputy President:

Whether, in view of the importance of the AIDS debate, the position, powers and functioning of the SA National AIDS Council will be given more national publicity and promotion; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

REPLY

There is consensus within SANAC that the Council should be given a more public face and the Council is therefore busy developing a very specific communication strategy. SANAC also releases a media statement after each council meeting, informing the public of issues that were discussed and decisions that were taken. This has assisted a great deal in improving the flow of information.

The SANAC secretariat will soon be strengthened by the appointment of two liaison officers who will, amongst other things, promote and co-ordinate SANAC activities and functions within government and civil society, and liase with the media. The work of the various sectors will therefore be communicated more effectively and continuously.

QUESTION NUMBER: 14

Mr K A Moloto (ANC) to ask the Deputy President:

Whether South Africa played any role in the recent inauguration of the President of Burundi; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

REPLY

The transfer of the Burundian presidency from the former President, Pierre Buyoya - from the Tutsi political family - to President Domitien Ndayizeye - from the Hutu political family - on 30 April in terms of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement of 2000 was enormously significant and shows that the Burundi Peace Process is very much on track.

A senior South African delegation comprising of former President Mandela, the Ministers of Defence and National Intelligence, the Premier of the Western Cape and myself attended the occasion.

As members are aware, South Africa is the facilitator of the Burundi Peace Process and has been instrumental in the negotiations that culminated in the signing of the two cease-fire agreements between the Transitional Government of Burundi and the armed political movements. Former President Mandela, in 2000, played a pivotal role in the agreement that led to the establishment of the transitional government whose arrangements have led to the presidential handover.

The cease-fire agreement signed last year provided for the establishment of an African Mission to monitor and supervise the implementation of the cease-fire. South Africa, together with Mozambique and Ethiopia, was requested to contribute troops towards the Mission, with South Africa being identified as the lead country for this purpose. The three countries agreed to the request and the deployment is now gradually taking place. To date South Africa has close to 1000 soldiers in Burundi.

South Africa's role in the inauguration ceremony needs to be seen against this background. Our main task was to positively influence developments pertaining to the peace process; lend moral support to the outgoing and incoming leaders; encourage all stakeholders to support the new leadership and to urge the movements still outside to join the transitional arrangements.

Whilst at the inauguration, we also called on the outgoing and incoming leaders to work together to pursue the attainment of the sustainable peace in Burundi.

QUESTION NUMBER: 15

Ms E Ngaleka (ANC) to ask the Deputy President:

Whether, with reference to South Africa's proposed bid for the Soccer World Cup 2010, the Government will give any support to the Bid Committee, including lobbying other countries to support South Africa's bid; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details.

REPLY

Our Government fully supports South Africa's bid to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

At its meeting last week, Cabinet considered a report submitted by the Minister of Sport and Recreation on the World Cup bid. Cabinet agreed in principle to set up an inter-ministerial committee, with myself as convenor and Minister Balfour as my deputy, to oversee government's input into the bid.

The Bid Company has now been invited to make a formal presentation to the inter-ministerial committee who will in turn submit a report to Cabinet for its consideration.

Of course, we recognise the immense importance of this bid not only for South Africa but also particularly for our continent. Football is, without a doubt, the major sport of choice in Africa and by bringing the World Cup to our shores, it will give us the opportunity to not only showcase our ability and capacity to host major events but also to demonstrate to the world the wealth of talent and potential that we have as football playing nations.

It remains the right of any country in Africa to bid for this prestigious event and whilst we are acutely aware of the competition that we face, we are confident that our strengths as a country to host such events will stand us in good stead.

As Government we will do all that we can to assist the bid committee lobby to ensure that the majority of the voting members of FIFA cast their votes in our favour.

I call on all members of this House and indeed all South Africans to support the bid for the 2010 World Cup to be hosted in South Africa.

QUESTION NUMBER: 16

Mrs L R Mbuyazi (IFP) to ask the Deputy President:

Whether South Africa as a nation has made any progress in the quest for moral regeneration over the past year; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

REPLY

The answer is, I believe, an unqualified yes.

Since the launch of the Moral Regeneration Movement on 18 April last year, considerable progress has been made in the drive to push back the moral decay in our country.

The government-civil society partnership under the umbrella of the Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM) has been the leading vehicle in the national effort to intensify the campaign against moral degeneration.

A national Moral Regeneration Working Committee has facilitated and encouraged the formation of MRM provincial and regional structures, because it believes that effective action towards restoring the moral fibre of the nation must be made at the grassroots level.

MRM working committees have been established in six provinces, with the exception of KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and North West, where interim structures are in place and working towards the establishment of fully fledged committees.

The Movement has now been publicly launched in the Free State, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape with the support of the provincial governments and other stakeholders. The Gauteng and Limpopo Provinces have scheduled their launches between May and June 2003.

A Secretariat has been established to implement the MRM programme of action. The Office of the Secretariat is accountable for its operations to the Executive Committee, which in turn accounts to the National Working Committee.

The Moral Regeneration Movement has been registered as a Section 21 Company to enable it to engage in fundraising activities in order to sustain itself.

The activities being undertaken by the Movement in the provinces range from training workshops to raising awareness about the need to engage in campaigns that strive for a healthy, caring and harmonious society. Individuals, organisations and constituent sectors have been engaged in a number of activities that complement the work of the Movement in the areas of promoting respect for human rights, the fight against child and women's abuse, promoting accountability and the fight against corruption.

The campaign for a Moral Charter was launched on 31 January this year. The campaign calls on all the people of South Africa to contribute towards the writing of a charter that will lay the basis for united action towards the building of a moral society. The conference to adopt the Charter will now take place next year and not this year as was previously announced. The reason for the postponement is the realisation by the Movement that more in-depth consultations are necessary in rolling out the process.

I hope that honourable members will soon be able to report to this House on progress made in their constituencies on the Moral Regeneration wcampaign as we all have a responsibility to promote its implementation.

Issue by The Presidency
21 May 2003

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