Transcription of remarks by Deputy President David Mabuza on the occasion of Men’s Parliament, Gert Sibande District Municipality

Honourable Premier, Mtsweni-Tsipane, 
Speaker,
Minister Mkhize,
Deputy Minister Bogopane-Zulu
Ladies and gentlemen
Program director, Speaker, thank you very much

By the way this is a Parliament, so these men and women are in Parliament. When you speak in Parliament they give you allocated time, if you are in opposition, they give you less time and if you are in government, they give you more time.

Thank you for affording us this opportunity, to speak in this Parliament. I am very happy that the progress that we’ve made in trying to organise men is starting to yield results and I can attest to the fact that I’ve never seen in this country since the advent of democracy, the way men were mobilised like we have done.

Men must stand up and do what is right. Out there is an outcry, young children are not happy, young girls, women are not happy, and the blame points to one direction – Men. I don’t know what kind of a society we want to build as men. A society where the rights of children are being trampled, a society where the rights of women are being trampled. 

It was very painful to see women marching in the streets, talking about men. Maybe it is high time to change. I am happy that you have volunteered to come to this Parliament to be part of this Parliament, to be part of a program for change.

I want to commend you for that that you have taken it upon yourself to stand up and be counted among those people who want to see change and change must happen. 

We are calling on everyone, on every sector of our society to stand up and fight this scourge of abuse of our children, especially girls, of abuse of women. Every minute, every hour a woman is being abused by men. We must change.

To the leadership of this parliament of the men’s sector, thank you for the effort you have put to mobilise young men, boys, girls, mobilise older men to change. 

South Africa is almost 25 years into democracy, we have just attained this freedom. We have the best Constitution in the world, a Constitution that protects human rights. Just take time, a few minutes and read the Constitution, this is the supreme law, it is your law that should guide your actions, should guide your utterances, should guide your behavior and will guide your freedom.

Your freedom is as best as the freedom of the next person.

This is a new nation, the nation of Tat UMandela. The rainbow nation, we did very well when he was here and still alive Tat Umandela, but over the past months, past years, things started going wrong. Men are not doing very well. Men are not doing very well. I understand why you are behaving in the manner that you are behaving because as a man when you are proposing love to a woman. 

Sometimes you bring nice presents and chocolate and everything because you are still proposing love, isn’t it. But at times, today’s men, today’s young boys, they try and give women money as a way of saying “I love you”. Ok the woman will agree and say let’s try this relationship and see but when the woman is unhappy, she does not have a right to say no, I want out of this relationship. Then if she says, I want out of this relationship, you say, remember I gave your money, I gave you that and that.

Men don’t do that, men don’t do that. When you buy your girlfriend something nice in good times, this is a gift, and a gift is never taken back. Niyewzwa Madoda? You will go and work to get another gift. A man’s sweat does not end. Go and work some more and go and give again. When they decide that no, this love is finished, please accept it. 

Women have got a right to say No! Why don’t you think they don’t have the right? You’ve made yourselves little gods. It can’t be, it just can’t. If we can deal with that. The manner in which you socialise young boys at home, you must remember that these children are the same. A young boy and a young girl are the same. They must be treated equally. The stereotypes that comes with our culture e.g Umuzi wendoda. Siyavuma nje ukuthi umuzi wendoda but it goes along patriarchy, that means everyone here at home can’t say anything. The father can do everything, in fact the home belongs to all of us, belongs to all of us, our children, our wives, everyone. 

And we have built this home collectively, you might have bought the material to build the house but as you building the house, someone was cooking for you, someone was doing that for you. It was a collective effort to build the house. It’s not your house alone. I am very happy that we are standing up, all of us. We must change, we must change, all of us. Men in leadership positions, they are duty-bound to demonstrate and live according to what they say.

This country needs leadership. Everyone in society must take it upon himself or herself to deal with the ills that are confronting us. It can’t be left to the President alone, the President of the country to address all these problems. All of us must stand up and address. So we have heard the cries of our women, we have heard the cries of our young children, we are going to stand up, we are going to change. This is a commitment that we are making, Mpumalanga, this is a commitment that we are making in the whole country. Our being here it’s a testimony that we are prepared to turn this tide around and change the country. 

Swati (it can’t be that children are raped and children are falling pregnant. The Holy Spirit does not impregnate anyone. There is someone who is doing it and must be arrested, it can’t happen.) We can’t live this way. Young children must feel safe when they are amongst us. When they are left with the father, with the uncle, they must feel safe. Today the uncles have turned, No! What kind of uncle are you? Brothers have turned, they have turned against their sisters. No!

This is not the South Africa I know. We fought hard for our freedom but we are not all free. Women are still fighting for their freedom and this time are oppressed by men, they are being killed by men. No! We must say no. No is no!

But I see volunteers here, you have given yourself to this task, you are ready to stand up. Let’s move, house to house, let’s speak about this and let’s report incidences. When a child says someone did something to her, you must be one of those who will stand up and find out and get that person arrested. There is no cover-up here. We will not protect people who do the wrong things. 

Let us stand up and build a society that we can look back and be proud of. A society where our children can grow in peace, safe. A society where our women can live and be happy. I feel embarrassed when the DM [for Social Development] says we want our malls, that means they can’t go to the malls freely, they don’t feel safe. When they see a man they must run. SWATI (when it gets dark and you meet a man, you must run the opposite way as a woman. What kind of a country is this? But ke abantu ba se Mpumalanga ngiabathemba. I trust you. I trust that you will stand up against this. 

A hear that there is somewhere Ekangala where people with albinism have been killed. These things cannot happen. 

I am happy that the law enforcement agencies have taken their rightful place. Let’s protect our society, let’s protect our communities and I am sure with our efforts combined, collectively we can turn this tide and I believe we can do it. 

Thank you very much.