Speaker's notes for Limpopo Premier Mr Sello Moloto during the International Children's Day and the launch of Youth Month, Krause Primary School, Thabazimbi, Waterberg District Municipality

Programme director,
Traditional leaders,
Executive Mayor of Waterberg District Municipality,
Mayor of Thabazimbi Municipality,
Councillors,
Representatives of the National Youth Commission,
Chairperson of the Limpopo Youth Commission,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Children of Limpopo,

Theme: "Deepening youth participation through service"

* We count a rare honour and privilege on our part, to share in the celebration of this year's International Children's Day and the launch of Youth month. June the 1st is celebrated in almost every country throughout the world as an International Children's Day. The day originated from the World Conference for the Well-being of Children held in 1925 in Geneva, Switzerland, as an international platform for the protection of children rights. In South Africa, this day marks not only International Children's Day but the start of Youth month which is a very significant month in our calendar.

* This year's Youth Month, in particular, promises to be a memorable one which will also mark the 31st anniversary of the 1976 Soweto student protest and related uprisings. June the 1st is also the first day of Child Protection Week which is the time when we educate our people about issues of child abuse and neglect. When one takes into account all the activities that will be taking place this month, it therefore can be said that, June is both a youth and a children's month.

Programme director

One of the greatest achievements of our freedom and democracy has been the development of a dynamic
Constitution, which contains a Bill of Rights that protects the rights of every citizen including children and the youth. Since
1994, our government has ratified many international conventions, so as to create a better life for young people and our children. Our decision to ratify these conventions stemmed from the understanding that, children and young people are tomorrow's adults and therefore deserve our support and protection.

Through various instruments, we have succeeded in ensuring that all children have the right to:
* to a name and a nationality from birth;
* to family care or parental care;
* basic nutrition, shelter, basic healthcare services and social services
* to be protected from maltreatment, neglect and abuse
* to be protected from exploitative labour practices.

* As we celebrate Child Protection Week and the International Children's Day in particular, we must take stock on how far our country has gone in making these rights a reality. In order to give effect and meaning to the rights we have earlier alluded to, our government has so far taken bold steps to ensure that the rights of children and of the youth are represented in the highest echelons of government machinery including in the Presidency and Premier's offices, so as to highlight their relevance and importance.

* To this end, we have seen many children of our country benefiting from the various programmes led by our democratic government. Amongst these programmes include; free medical care in state hospitals and clinics for children under six years of age, school nutrition programme, which benefits over one million children a year and child support grants (CSG) which are accessed by not less than one million children. We have also ensured that all our districts establish child friendly courts in line with our commitment to protect juveniles or young offenders. Over and above these interventions, our Department of Health and Department Social Development, continues to subsidies over 1 000 crèches which benefit over 35 000 children. The no-fee schools policy is another latest addition to the number of measures which government has embarked upon to try and improve access to education for the majority of children from poor backgrounds.

* Researchers have proven time and again that the first decade of life in any child is the most critical window of opportunity which influences his or her behaviour throughout life. This is the reason why our government is creating all possible opportunities for children to learn. Through Early Childhood Development (ECD), school nutrition programme, no-fee school policy and other interventions, we believe that our children now have the best possible opportunities to learn without facing the kind of difficulties which their parents faced.
* We have lessened the burden on our parents to pay school fees in order to ensure that children from poor families are not deprived of the opportunity to learn. Free schoolbooks are supplied by government to learners, which therefore means that there cannot be an excuse for any learner not to perform.

Programme director

* Notwithstanding these opportunities, we must also emphasise the point that discipline is paramount for any child to achieve his or her dream. This starts with children being respectful and listening to their parents and their teachers. From where we stand, we expect children to do what children are expected to do best, which means, going to school and, not rushing into doing things that are only reserved for adults. I always say that, of the 60 years that human beings are expected to live in this world, children can make the best use of only 16 years to sacrifice and study hard in order to become something in life.

This therefore means that children, who make the best use of their first 16 years, can live better for the remaining part of their 44 years as opposed to spending the remaining part of their 44 years living in poverty. If children can take this message to heart, there would be no reason for anyone to engage in drugs, or to fall pregnant at a young age. It is a well-proven fact that the most successful people who make it in life are those who work hard as opposed to those who are simply talented. We expect you as children to work hard and grab the opportunities that your parents never had during their youthful days.

Programme director

* Therefore, as we launch Youth month this year, let us be reminded about the role each one of us can play to make the lives of young people and children worth living. As we recall the heroic struggles of yesteryear, let us recommit ourselves to the vision that inspired the 1976 generation of youth that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white. It is in the same vein that we are always disturbed to hear about incidences such as the ones which happened here in Thabazimbi where a child was shot dead by a white person for being mistaken for a rabid dog. Such incidences smacks of racism and cannot be allowed to go on in a free South Africa where everybody is treated equally by the Constitution.

* In this regard we continue to repeat what we have always said that white communities must be the ones to make the loudest noise when the victim is black, and accordingly black people should do the same when the victim is white. This would obviously serve to discourage the racist perpetrators who might be thinking that they are advancing a white course by killing black people and the opposite will be true for black people.

Programme director

* As the theme for this year's Youth Development Month say, our youth have an obligation to deepen participation in their communities through service. This requires that we volunteer our skills in order to fill all the necessary gaps that make it difficult for our people to achieve a better life for all.

* The National Youth Service Programme, in which over 3 000 unemployed youth are being registered in the province is well on track. In our view, the programme builds on the foundation laid by such programmes as the Expanded Public Works
Programme (EPWP), Umsobobvu Youth Fund programmes and learnerships or internships initiatives which are but some of the opportunities that are there to enable young people to participate meaningfully in the country's socio-economic development.

* However, while millions of young people stand to benefit from these initiatives, we are remain aware that many others still face the challenges of unemployment and lack of skills and access to opportunities. This is not to mention those who are infected and affected by the scourge of HIV and AIDS and those dealing with poverty. We must work hard to ensure that these social ills are not transferred to future generations as they have the potential to undermine the good progress our country has made in the area of social transformation.

* In this regard, we further make a call to private sector companies to become more concrete and more responsive in their commitment towards youth development initiatives. We believe that public-private partnerships (PPP) can go a long way in exposing our youth to the opportunities that are now available. As always we are confident that the youth of our country will rise to the occasion and do everything in their power to grab the opportunities and serve their communities with pride.

I thank you

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Limpopo Provincial Government
1 June 2007