Date: 15/03/2008
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government
Title: SA: Creecy: Human Rights Day Rally

Address presented on behalf of the Gauteng Provincial Government by MEC Barbara Creecy for Sports Arts Culture and Recreation Human Rights Day Rally, Sedibeng Rally

Programme Director
Members of the Executive Council
Executive Mayors
Members of the Mayoral Committee
MPs and MPLs
Councillors
People of Sharpeville
Comrades and Friends

It gives me great pleasure to address you today on behalf of the Gauteng Provincial Government at this rally in honour of Human Rights Day. On Friday 21 March we will commemorate the 48th anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre and pay tribute once again to those who laid down their lives in the struggle against apartheid.

The massacre which took place in Sharpeville on 21 March 1960 was a brutal reminder of the depravity of the apartheid government, its callous disregard for human life and the extent to which it was prepared to go to defend white minority rule.

The people who were killed by apartheid police at Sharpeville 48 years ago were among many who had gathered to protest against the pass laws. The pass laws were part of the system of influx control, which was one of the cornerstones of the apartheid system, which sought to deny black people their birthright and valued their existence only as pools of cheap labour for the mines, factories and kitchens of the white minority.

To commemorate and pay tribute to those who laid down their lives for our freedom we declared 21 March, Human Rights Day. On this day, we also remember the dark past from which we emerged victorious to give birth to our new nation and rededicate ourselves to continue to protect and advance the human rights that we have won and pledge to continue to strive for human rights for all.

This year the provincial government together with the City of Sedibeng have developed a month long Human Rights Festival which we hope will be an annual tribute to the courageous people of Sharpeville who laid the foundations for the democracy we enjoy today. On 21 March this year, we will gather as usual at the Sharpeville Memorial Site with the families of those who lost their lives, to lay wreaths and pay tribute to their memory.

Over the past three months we have witnessed a number of violations of our Bill of Rights. I am referring here to the shockingly racist video and intimidation of workers and students at the University of the Free State, the racist murder of a three month old baby, a ten year old boy and two other people at Skierlik informal settlement in the North West and the assault of a young woman at the Noord Street Taxi Rank for wearing a mini skirt.

The incidents violate the rights to life, equality, human dignity, freedom and security enshrined in the Bill of Rights of our constitution. These rights are at the very foundation of our democracy. It was to guarantee these rights that sixty-nine people laid down their lives here in Sharpeville forty-eight years ago. To honour their sacrifice and the sacrifice of thousands of others who lost their lives in the struggle against brutality, inhumanity, oppression and exploitation we have to say: "These violations must stop!"

There is no place in our society for the perpetrators of these appalling crimes. They must be arrested and face the full consequences of the law for their actions. There is no justification or excuse for their behaviour.

As we condemn their behaviour, we must also pause and ask the question why are such incidents still happening in a democratic South Africa? Why have we not been able to stamp out the demons of racism and gender oppression in our society? Why do we still face such fundamental challenges to our goal of building a caring society?

The answer to these questions lies in both public and private life. As government we have a duty to ensure that our educational programmes continue to emphasise the content and the relevance of our Bill of Rights and our constitution. We will continue to combat crime and other forms of anti social behaviour in our schools through the school safety programme. Through our life orientation programmes we will continue to teach young people moral and ethical values. In this regard the introduction of a National School Pledge to raise awareness amongst young people of democratic principles and values.

The Gauteng Provincial Government is also leading a war on criminals who terrorise our communities and who violate the rights of men, women and children to safety and security on a daily basis. Under the banner of Operation Take Charge, 2000 community patrollers have been trained over the past year and another 2000 will be trained this year. Community Policing Forums have been re-launched and retrained throughout the province and thousands have been mobilized to assist the police in the fight against crime.

While we should acknowledge that crime is steadily declining in the areas of common assault, rape, assault and robbery, we should equally confirm that violent crime, the abuse of women and children and house robberies in certain areas remain unacceptably high. But we can now look back and say, despite the difficulties we are together in fighting lawlessness and crime.

However, the efforts of government and communities will not succeed in combating human rights violations, unless each and every one of us takes active responsibility for the ideas, the values and the behaviour that goes on in our own families and our own homes.

It is our responsibility as parents and as adult role models in this society to sit around our own family tables with our own children and confront the negative attitudes and behaviours that undermine the culture of human rights we are trying to create. Unless we are prepared to do this in our own homes we will never create the caring society we all long to see in our country.

At the same time as we challenge those in our society who actively seek to undermine our rights, it is also important that today we spend some time evaluating our progress in building the social and economic rights contained in our Bill of Rights.

In his opening address to the Gauteng Legislature in February this year, Premier Shilowa noted that we are now entering the last lap of the current government term ending in 2009. In March 2005, Premier Shilowa spoke here in Sharpeville about the five commitments of this term of government namely to:

* stimulate faster economic growth and drastically reduce unemployment
* fight poverty and build secure and sustainable communities
* develop healthy, appropriately skilled and productive people
* deepen democracy and nation building and realise the constitutional rights of all the people and
* build an effective and caring government.

In his opening address to the legislature in February this year, the Premier noted that "our policies and programmes have assisted in growing the economy and in ensuring the attainment of our national goal to halve unemployment and poverty by 2014."

He went on to note that the 2007 Community Survey conducted by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) shows that the percentage of informal settlements in our province has dropped to 22,6 percent.

* The percentage of households using electricity remains the highest in the country at 83,5 percent. The percentage of households with piped water now stands at 97,9 percent.

* The unemployment rate in our province shrunk from 30, 8 percent in 2003 to 22,6 percent last year. The labour absorption rate improved from 47,3 percent to 52,1 percent in the same period.

* Our economy continues to create new jobs. In just one year, between March 2006 and March 2007, an additional 146 000 new jobs were created in Gauteng, according to StatsSA. This brought the total jobs as at March 2007 to 3,4 million.

The Gautrain project alone contributed 28 400 jobs during 2007 and it is expected that these jobs will increase to about 33 000 this year.

Small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMME) provide a key mechanism to expand participation in the economy. Government projects to support SMMEs this year include:

* Smart assistance, a portal which will serve as a knowledge bank with online tutorials, guides for start-ups and coaching for emerging entrepreneurs
* Financial support SMMEs including piloting micro-financing loans above the Apex Fund limit for small businesses with the aim of introducing these products by 2009
* A strategy to strengthen the cooperative sector has been developed and funds allocated to support 100 cooperatives by 2009. A range of other initiatives are underway to promote youth and women owned enterprises in key economic sectors including transport and construction
* Further development of small contractors and the creation of more jobs as part of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). Particular attention will be paid to providing funding and business development support to women
* Since 2004 Gauteng has been able to take thousands of people out of grinding poverty by creating 16 594 homestead food gardens with another 6 098 gardens in this financial year. More than 101 community food gardens have been developed and there are more than 1060 emerging farmers.

One of government's key commitments has been the rollout of basic services to communities, including the provision of a certain amount of free water and electricity to poor households. Today 1 225 854 households are receiving free basic water and 1 150 416 households free basic electricity.

In 2003, 12 332 buckets were identified for eradication and replacement with waterborne or Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) systems. The provincial government has committed itself to eradicating all buckets in Gauteng and by November 2006 most had been replaced. However, additional research in 2006 revealed that the figure had increased to 13 588, with specific areas in need, including Kokosi, Alra Park, Ratanda and Westonaria. The remaining buckets are expected to be eradicated by June this year. Sedibeng residents will be pleased to note that the Gauteng Provincial Government has entered into a partnership with national and local government to upgrade the sewerage system in the region.

The initiative which will cost R680 million, will replace aging water treatment works and pump stations and will improve the water quality of the Vaal River and some of its tributaries such as the Klip River. It will also have a positive impact on basic services for residents in the district, and open the way for tourism, leisure and related investment, boosting sustainable job creation.

As we pursue economic growth, we are equally pursuing social development to address the social needs of all our people and reduce social inequality and poverty.

In 2004 we undertook to, within five years, formalise all informal settlements that existed at that time with a view to eradicating them by 2014. We said we would provide water and sanitation to every household in the province within five years. Our target was to formalise 122 informal settlements by 2009. To date 66 informal settlements have been formalised and we have set a target of formalising a further 56 in 2008/9 to reach the target of 122. A total of 41 informal settlements have been eradicated.

Through the programme to formalise and eradicate informal settlements, 103 948 dwellings have been upgraded and provided with basic services. These sites are now ready for the construction of proper houses. In the year ahead, ten additional informal settlements will be eradicated and 13 hostels will be upgraded.

By the end of March this year we will have delivered 58 552 houses. Through the mixed housing development, alternative tenure and urban renewal programmes, we will fast track housing delivery to ensure that we meet our target of 120 000 housing products delivered by 2009.

While we have made great strides in the provision of decent shelter for our people, we know that there are still many who are waiting and want to know where they stand. Premier Shilowa announced the creation of an integrated database of people who have applied for houses has been finalised and the housing waiting list will be published before the end of March this year.

While growing numbers of Gauteng residents have access to jobs and other economic opportunities, too many people remain trapped in poverty. If we are to call ourselves a caring society we must continue to expand our anti-poverty programmes to reach those in need and the most vulnerable members of society. The Bana Pele programme will continue to give hope, courage and strength to thousands of children who receive free school uniforms, exemption from school fees, free scholar transport, health care, school feeding and psycho-social support. The number of children receiving school uniforms has increased from 24 700 in 2006 to 80 000 in this financial year.

Electronic infrastructure has been installed in 2 500 schools, clinics and social development sites to facilitate easy referral of children between services in health, education and social development. Access to these e-government services will be expanded in the coming financial year.

In the coming year we will give priority to the implementation of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) strategy, the strengthening of the ECD institute, the finalisation of ECD norms and standards and the effective and integrated delivery of ECD services.

It is still our aim to phase in Grade R into the formal schooling system by 2010 so that all Grade R learners are part of the compulsory education system. As part of the strategy to alleviate the effects of poverty, redress imbalances of the past and ensure all children exercise their right to basic education, we eliminated school fees at Gauteng's poorest schools as from January 2007. More than 378 000 learners in 426 schools benefited from this initiative. From April this year, 49 percent of learners in Gauteng will not be required to pay school fees. This will benefit more than 865 000 learners in over 1 055 schools.

The pursuit of quality education remains our priority. This includes programmes and targets in gateway learning subjects, including financial literacy and entrepreneurship.

The 2007 matric results have shown that improvements do occur when under-performing schools receive support from government. Results in schools that were identified for hands-on support improved last year. This indicated the need to continue this support and further implement the resolutions from last year's provincial and regional education summits, with particular attention to the education of the African child.

In the year ahead, we will provide support to those in the 2007 class that failed matric. A total of 51 centres have been identified to provide tuition to learners who will sit for their exams in May/June this. The phasing out of the old curriculum on a part-time basis will continue until 2011. During 2008, we will introduce a province-wide literacy programme in support of the national literacy strategy.

The construction of 58 new schools which commenced in 2006 is scheduled for completion for the 2009 academic year. This will enable us to provide for the increasing educational needs of our people as a result of population growth and in-migration.

The provision of accessible, quality health care remains critical to the development of a healthy, skilled and productive population. We are piloting smart card technology in hospitals as part of our turnaround strategy that seeks to reduce waiting times, improve the quality of health care and ensure a minimum level of care and health care services at all health care institutions.

We have exceeded our target to train 3 000 community health workers. We now have 3 500 community health workers who have been trained and deployed throughout the province. They play a crucial role in health promotion, caring for the frail and aged and treatment adherence for those infected with tuberculosis (TB), HIV and AIDS. The scope of the programme will be broadened this year to include facility-based caregivers and care-workers. A further 1 000 will be trained annually for the next three years.

The prevention of ill health is central to improving the quality of life of our people. Particular attention will be paid to preventive health care and the promotion of healthy lifestyles.

In the coming year, every child under the age of one year will be immunized against preventable disease such as polio and measles. The elderly and adults with compromised immune systems will also be vaccinated against flu.

As part of our comprehensive strategy against HIV and AIDS, the Gauteng health department will introduce multiple therapies to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child from April this year.

The programme to provide anti-retroviral drugs to people living with AIDS continues to give hope to many of our people. Whereas in the past people were reluctant to enlist, growing numbers are now willing to come forward. We have far exceeded our earlier targets. Currently there are 104 560 people on the programme, including 10 195 children, and we plan to reach 158 000 people by the end of March next year, taking us closer to our goal of universal access to anti-retroviral therapy for eligible people.

In the coming year we will continue to train, recruit and further improve the conditions for our health professionals to encourage them to remain in the public sector and boost the performance of our health care institutions. We are pleased to note that as a result of the steps we have taken, the number of doctors and nurses who resign from our hospitals and clinics has dropped.

Clearly, we still have a considerable task in ensuring that the fundamental human rights enshrined in our constitution become a reality enjoyed by all. But we remain positive about advancing towards realisation of human rights for a better life for all. If we look back on what we have achieved together as government, communities and other stakeholders, we can be confident about the future.

As the Gauteng government, we remain fully resolved to complete our 2004 mandate, and to meeting our longer term vision of halving poverty and unemployment by 2014. We must continue to work together to entrench human rights as a platform for creating a Gauteng that that offers a better life for all its citizens.

Thank you!