“Speaker,
I am sure many of us have heard rumours that there is soon going to be an uprising in our country because many people are angered by government’s failure to deliver services, particularly at local level. People are tired of load-shedding that cost them jobs, appliances are breaking all the time and food continues to perish in fridges because of constant and unending power failures. Worst of all, people who depend on life-support and electricity continue to lose their lives. Almost every day, we hear of people whose deaths can be linked to load shedding.
These people have heard promises that have never been fulfilled year in and year out. They are tired, and they now want action, they want solutions, and they want government to prove that they care and are willing to work for them.
A question we all want answered by the President is when is load shedding going to be brought to an end? Conflicting messages are coming from the executive. Some say it will end within the next two years, while those who don’t want to commit themselves are saying load shedding is going to be with us for the next few years. Mr President, when is load shedding going to end? Why should South Africa continue supplying electricity to countries that never have load shedding, while we continue to be plagued by daily power cuts?
South Africans are suffering because of many other issues that include lack of access to clean water, high unemployment, poverty, the rising cost of living, crime, and corruption. Yesterday we received the latest crime statistics that indicate that the police are losing the fight against crime in the country. The 2022/2023 fourth quarter crime statistics show an overall increase of 3.7% in crime, compared to the fourth quarter of the previous financial year.
Most categories of contact crimes have increased over this period. Murder of women and children are increasing daily.
According to the SAPS, most murders, attempted murders, and assaults of GBH are caused by arguments and misunderstandings. They have concluded that these statistics clearly show that South Africans struggle with peaceful conflict resolution. Does this mean that South Africans are becoming more and more intolerant of different opinions and that their only way of dealing with their differences and misunderstandings is through violence? This is very sad indeed.
We have to start engaging each other and debating issues while acknowledging that because we are different, we will have different opinions.
One of the discussions and debates that I wish South Africans should start engaging in is the challenge of food security that we are told is facing the world. We need to start talking to each other before people start fighting for food.
During the Green Agenda Conference held in May 2023 in Washington DC, John Kerry, President Joe Biden’s Special Presidential Envoy for Climate is reported to have issued a warning that we need to reflect on. He reportedly told the attendees that Farmers Must Stop Growing Food to Meet ‘Net Zero’ Goals for ‘Emissions.’ The ACDP disagrees.
Mr President, government should support and encourage all our farmers and farm workers to produce more food for the country and increase their livestock. We don’t want poisonous meat produced in a laboratory somewhere that is now promoted by the global elites. We want real meat from cattle, sheep and goats raised on farms, and not from laboratories.
Government should also encourage our people to start using the little spaces in their backyards to grow their own food to mitigate food challenges ahead of us.”
(Check against delivery)
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