Issued by Department of Social Development
28 May 2001
MEC Angeline Motshekga,
Distinguished guest,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
And most importantly, our children whose rights to be protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation is upper most in our minds and hearts.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak at this official launch of the Survivor Kit Project here in Gauteng which also coincides with the start of Child Protection Week. Although I welcome the opportunity to speak, I would like to underline the fact that I have also come to listen.
I have come to listen to the child survivor who is taking their first tentative steps out of the dark cold corner of abuse and neglect.
I pledge that within my powers, I will take every step with you. Government at all levels is committed to healing our traumatised society and there is no place in our public service for those public servants that cannot find it within themselves to take every step with you. We will never forget that a defining feature of our democratic struggles in South Africa was the involvement of young people in the fight to create a better life for all.
I have also come to listen to the caregiver that is a friend to all children in need. To each one of you individually, I say thank you. Your generous hearts and welcoming arms keep the hope in our society afloat. Government is committed to working with you and supporting all your efforts. Because of the nature of our work, many of us in government forget that Batho Pele starts by being a friend to all. The every day act of being a friend and bringing a smile into another person's life is the seed that always falls on fertile soil.
I am also here to listen to the members of the South African Police Service whose commitment and dedication is necessary to enforce protection. Thank you for your perseverance in difficult circumstances and thank you for not betraying our trust. The SAPS has been assigned a leadership role in government's Integrated Justice System and Victim Empowerment Projects. These carefully planned projects must be implemented in a smart way and we must keep the rights and needs of our young people in clear focus as we go about accelerating change.
I am also here to listen to the social service professionals who continue to commit their lives to service to others. I applaud you for holding tight to your convictions and weathering the emotional storms and heart wrenching experiences that accompany provision of social welfare services. Your calling is not a thankless task and I am committed to being your champion in government.
Government will soon be tabling new comprehensive child care legislation that will clear away the incompatibilities and inconsistencies in the multiple pieces of legislation that previously encumbered your work. As Minister for Social Development, I am committed to empowering all social service professionals. This requires that decisions about social service provision should be made at the local level. This stance is consistent with Government's committed to building well-resourced metropolitan and municipal councils.
The dream of providing of survivor kits to abused and abandoned child is only becoming a reality because of the sponsorships and partnerships that are being established with all the social partners in our society. There are many thousands of volunteers who make the dreams and hopes of our young people and children come true. I thank you for keeping the ethic of Ubuntu alive.
During this year, which is also the International Year of Volunteers, government is making systematic efforts to further strengthen the spirit of volunteerism which is the heartbeat of a caring society.
On this occasion, at the launch of Child Protection Week, I would like to express my gratitude to all the social partners who are working with government. Faith based organisations, the labour and civic movements, and the business sector are all contributing their knowledge, experience and skills to the task of child protection. Government is committed to learning from you and working with you.
A number of companies including Novatis, Colgate Palmolive, ABSA Trust, Phillips and Nestle have all contributed generously and made it possible to put together the survival kits for abused and abandoned children. Your various programmes of social responsibility are appreciated.
Chairperson, I would like to devote the rest of this brief address highlighting important upcoming milestones in government's Integrated Justice System Project and the Victim Empowerment Project. These projects have been identified as priorities for the 2001/2002 financial year by all Departments represented in the Justice and Crime Prevention Sector. Before I do this, however, we must all take note of the events of the past week that once again highlight the importance of intensifying our efforts at child protection.
The City of Johannesburg has taken the decision to endorse a resolution to close down a hotel in the CBD notorious for child prostitution and violent crime. We all applaud this move and call upon the council to move swiftly to close the other identified buildings in the CBD that have a consistent history of crimes against children. We are a society that fought against crimes against humanity authored by the state. We will uproot those so-called businessmen who profit from crimes against our children.
I would all of us to take a moment and commiserate with the Eden Park community in the East Rand. There have been a number of brutal murders, abductions and rapes of young girls in the community over the past three months. We share the outrage and anger of all the residents of Eden Park and all law-abiding people in our country.
To the people of Eden Park we say 'Umntwana Womnye Umntu Ngumntwana Wam. Umntwana Wam Ngumntwana Womnye Umntu.' ('My child is your child and your child is my child).' We share your suffering.
I would like to reassure the criminal gangs and elements respond for these crimes that the government is committed to pursuing you relentlessly We are working with the community and will ensure you face the full force of the law.
Last Friday was Red Nose Day and around the country thousands of people participated in events to raise money for various charities. The child and family welfare organisations throughout our country need our support for the vital services that they provided. The poverty in our country, HIV/Aids and sexual abuse are all issues that affect each and every one of us. We should therefore all use Child Protection Week to mobilise the necessary resources and engage in advocacy work.
We should also continue to confront the problems within our own ranks and take the necessary corrective measures. Last week a number of serving officers in the South African Police Services in Pretoria were arrested for abusing the trust placed in them and allegedly participating in a child-sex ring that targeted children in safe-houses. The South African Police Services has to be congratulated for acting with due haste and taking the appropriate actions. Both within society and within our own ranks we cannot tolerate such gross violations of the trust we place in members of the security services.
There have also been cases of malpractice among social service professionals that need to be addressed. In the case of the Noupoort Christian Care Centre, the general provisions of the Prevention and Treatment of Drug Dependency Act of 1992 are not being compiled with. The Department of Social Development is working with the Centre to ensure that the Centre is registered as a treatment centre. The Centre, however, has to adhere to the set norms and standards and the social service professionals working at the Centre must be trained and monitored. The physical abuse of patients cannot be tolerated. I will be meeting a group of concerned parents within the next day or two to discuss these issues.
Chairperson, I would like to conclude this brief address by highlighting important milestones in government's programme to combat crimes against women and children.
More than a 100 Victim Empowerment projects have so far been established and this year a keep concern is the monitoring of these projects to ensure that they are accomplishing their agreed objectives. Secondary victimisation occurs in various ways and we must remain sensitive to this fact.
We are also half way through a three-year training programme on victim empowerment that is being provided to all functional members of the SAPS. Partnerships have been established with Business Against Crime and the Western Cape Tourism Board to support community based support programmes. The upgrading of VEP facilities at identified police stations in all nine provinces is also scheduled for completion during this year.
In addition to these milestones, by October this year, it is planned that child protection registers will be operational in all provinces. As part of the 'safer schools projects' the Captain Crime Stop programme is being implemented in pre-primary and primary schools. Despite the implementation of these various programmes, the realisation of the survival, development, protection, and participation rights of children is the work of all social partners.
It requires the rediscovery of social solidarity and the ethics of care.
I thank you.