STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS
Left: An armed guard prepares for a 21-gun salute before the State of the Nation Address.
This page: A youth brigade lines up to greet the President before his arrival at the annual opening of Parliament.
Our programme “Taking Parliament to the People” has been one of the platforms we used to promote such engagement through specialized meetings during our visits in provinces. Our Select Committee for Women, Children and People with Disabilities has engaged in a number of collaborative projects with counterparts in the National Assembly, and with UNICEF, to try to place matters relating to vulnerable groups high on the agenda. As part of our set of activities to mark the 15th anniversary of the NCOP, the Children’s Rights Seminar was hosted to promote and protect the rights of children and stimulate debate on children’s issues. We provided an opportunity for key stakeholders in Parliament, cabinet, provincial Legislatures, local government and civil society
to deliberate on what is required for a better future for South Africa’s children. The overall thrust was to encourage and promote a holistic approach to legislation on diverse issues affecting children.
Identifying priorities for the care of children
To do this we needed to identify the key obstacles and challenges to children’s rights. We succeeded in identifying some priorities, thereby contributing towards the “creation of a legacy” for the fourth Parliament and produced a publication entitled Investing in Children: Some Critical Debates in South Africa. During that seminar, we
highlighted the fact that children are the most vulnerable in our society. This is despite the fact that our constitution guarantees them the right to family
or parental care, or to appropriate alternative care when removed from the family environment. We stressed that it was our responsibility as parents, especially those of us who were also public representatives, to ensure that our children enjoy their rights under our democracy. Doing so is an important intervention for a better future for our country.
Parents or legal guardians of a child, assisted by the state, have the responsibility to look after the welfare of the child. In spite of our best intentions, we still find children facing enormous challenges. These include poverty, abuse and violence, and a lack of access to early childhood development, especially for rural children.
Furthermore, lack of proper recreational facilities forces
children into experimenting with life-threatening substances such as drugs. Raising children requires good parenting skills which are often lacking among parents. We also examined the influence of the changing environment and technology.
A plan of action
The following recommendations were proposed on how the NCOP could stand up for and protect children and other vulnerable groups:
• The country must collect data based on specific indicators that will show the progress that has been made on the laws developed by Parliament. • Attention must be given to ensure obligatory provision of education programmes to children in conflict
The Parliamentarian | 2013: Issue One - South Africa | 89
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