The finding by the acting Public Protector, that there was no conflict of interest, no abuse of power, and that the President received no remuneration from the farm, can be viewed as sweeping the evidence under the carpet.

Overall, the fundamental flaw in the BELA Bill is that the State wants to take power away from parents and communities, and this is the main reason why a broad cross-section of society is opposed to the Bill. The other big reason is that the BELA Bill is focussed primarily on administration.

We have been notified of an approved allocation of R5 145 435 by the Municipal Disaster Response Grant, situated in the Department of Cooperative Governance, for flood intervention measures in Warrenton.

The announcement by the COGHSTA Department in the Northern Cape that water will only be restored in the Magareng District by July this year has been met with outrage by the Warrenton community.

The robbery of truck loads, as well as the malicious damage to property, and attempted murder of truck drivers, is unacceptable and does not bode well for foreign investments and food security in our country.

ACDP MP, Hon. Marie Sukers was assaulted yesterday whilst doing constituency work in Warrenton, Northern Cape, after meeting with residents and community leaders regarding the water crisis in the area.

The ACDP calls on the current administration to prioritise and take immediate action to remedy this situation and to provide basic services to the people of Hammanskraal, particularly giving them access to clean water as the Constitution provides.

Our immediate priority as the ACDP is to step in and ensure that water is supplied to all residents in Warrenton, and not just to some who are affiliated favourably with a certain political party.

Violence is having a toxic effect on our communities and a culture of lawlessness is becoming entrenched with the low levels of prosecution on violent crimes.

The recent collapse of the National School Nutrition Programme in Kwazulu-Natal, and our abysmal reading scores, are a testament to the DBE’s inability to deliver on its goals.

The hour is long past for a Christian Teacher’s Union to be formed that will uphold Godly governance and work with and not against parents, that will fight ideological coercion in the class, and show true solidarity with the teachers in the small rural schools that SADTU has no problem allowing the Minister to close without giving any reasons.

This Bill is part and parcel of an ongoing marginalisation of parents and the family structure. To this government, parents are seen as ‘not important’.  Parents need to be front and centre in all matters that affect their children.