Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi: Debate on State of the Nation Address

His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa
Deputy President Paul Mashatile
Presiding Officers
Cabinet Colleagues
Honourable members

Honorable members,

This year marks 70 years since black people were forcefully removed from their homes in Sophiatown to be resettled in Meadowlands, Soweto. It also marks 30 years since the inception of the constitutional court whose current building, at Constitution Hill, was partly constructed using bricks from the demolished awaiting-trial wing of the former number 4 prison.

This is a stark reminder especially to those who now have selective amnesia that the South Africa we live in today and its challenges were born out of apartheid regime’s forced displacements, deliberate impoverishment and oppression of black people.

Since the dawn of democracy, South Africans have been striving to live together in harmony, despite our deeply painful past and wide economic disparities.

What brings us together is a genuine belief that South Africa belongs to all who live in it united in our diversity and that the only sustainable centripetal force for our unity is the creation of the conditions for the wealth of this country to be shared amongst all its people.

We should not allow forces of destruction, internal or external,  to instigate racial divisions and distract us from building a united, democratic and prosperous country.

Honourable members,

Left unattended, corruption deprives South Africans of resources which are meant for their development and well-being. It is therefore our patriotic duty to increase our efforts to rid ourselves of all corrupt practices so that we can create a truly ethical and capable developmental state.

In practical terms rooting out corruption requires us to strengthen institutions which are tasked with fighting corruption. Eliminating corruption in practice necessitates strengthening institutions responsible for combating it.

The era of State capture starkly illustrated how institutions can be compromised, weakened, and rendered ineffective, ultimately transforming those meant to fight corruption into enablers of corruption.

To strengthen these institutions and avoid the recurrence of state capture, the Department will lead efforts on the review of the anti-corruption architecture, this review is meant to eradicate duplication of mandates and  enable resource allocation optimisation.

In the meantime, through a multi-stakeholder initiative we are establishing a world-class digital forensics lab and concentrating our focus on resourcing and capacitating the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption so that state capture cases can be expedited amongst others.

To close the capacity gap within the NPA, in January this year, we developed and approved guidelines for section 38 appointments of prosecutors. Through these guidelines the appointments will be effective, efficient and more importantly, avoid subjectivity.

As part of the rebuilding effort of our institutions, all employees within the department and organisations within the Justice & Constitutional development family shall undergo lifestyle audits as per the directive of the President.

The first phase will include all those categorised as SMS in the department, State Attorneys offices, Prosecutors, Investigators in SIU, the officials in the sheriff offices and in the Masters office.

We will then go further to subject all employees who deal with appointments of liquidators and admitted Guardian fund to full vetting irrespective of their position as well as those in supply chain management (SCM) units.

This is to ensure that those who lead the fight against corruption and other malfeasance in our society are not themselves implicated in wrongdoing that compromises and weakens institutions in which they discharge their responsibilities.

Our fight against corruption is already yielding results.

Through its effective investigations, speedy litigation, and recovery processes, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) saved the South African government approximately R8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year.

The amount includes a record recovery of funds in actual cash amounting to R2.28 billion, prevention of a further R2.32 billion in potential state losses and secured cash to be recovered from the acknowledgement of debt and admission of liability agreements to the value of R1.6 billion.

In addition, the SIU successfully set aside contracts worth over R2.13 billion through the Special Tribunal and the High Court of South Africa which bodes well for the effort to rectify irregular administrative decisions. This, honourable members, is demonstration of our commitment to safeguard public resources and ensure they benefit all South Africans.

Honourable Members

There has been an outcry about the framework for the protection for Whistle-blowers in the country.

A benchmarking excise was conducted on best practice on whistle-blower protection systems in the world and it found that there are gaps in our framework we currently use to protect whistle-blowers. In response, the Department is finalising the whistle-blower protection framework that addresses the current weaknesses.

This is in recognition of the key role whistle-blowers have played and continue to play in the fight against corruption. We believe the framework will help guide the whistle-blower protection programme and ensure their safety.

Furthermore, it will pave the way for the introduction of the Whistle-blower Protection Bill in Parliament within this financial year.

Honourable members,

Government will continue to increase the efforts to protect communities that have to cope with terrifying degrees of pain which arise from gender based violence and femicide.

South Africa remains plagued by the scourge of gender-based violence & femicide (GBV&F), despite the implementation of legislative and other initiatives aimed at addressing what has been recognized as a pandemic.

With effect from 5 August 2022, courts are empowered to impose tougher sentences in cases of murder of children, as well as in femicide or domestic homicide cases. This includes cases of attempted murder.

Convictions of Rape or compelled rape cases perpetrated in domestic relationships now attracts life imprisonment as well as the rape or compelled rape of a child under the age of 18 years.

Convictions of gang and serial rapes also attract life imprisonment sentence. In the previous financial year, the National Prosecuting Agency (NPA) reported an increased conviction rate from 77.1% to 78% in all sexual offences matters channelled through the Thuthuzela Care Centres and a 72.5% conviction rate by all regional courts nationally.

During the same period, 221 life imprisonment sentences were imposed in all sex crimes finalised with a verdict and processed through the Thuthuzela Care Centres nationwide.

Despite this numbers, there is still a number of victims who get discouraged and drop cases after reporting the crime. We need to work together as a society to create a society that is safe for women, children, people with disability and Queer community.

The protection of children and people living with disabilities from sexual offenders remains our priority. The National Registrar for Sex Offenders has already issued 45 thousands clearance certificates to persons working or running businesses that give them direct exposure to vulnerable persons.

We believe that keeping the register from the public has allowed offenders to commit the same offence repeatedly causing untold harm to children and other vulnerable groups.

In this regard, we are advocating for amendments to the confidentiality and disclosure clauses of the Sexual Offences and Related Matters Act, with the goal of making the National Register for Sex Offenders publicly accessible.

We have initiated a multi-stakeholder consultative process engaging key experts and institutions to facilitate compliance with the aim of releasing the register as soon as possible. Will issue a directive to give access to the register for institutions working directly with children, including schools, crèches, and regulatory bodies like the South African Council for Educators (SACE).

We shall not compromise on protecting the rights of all south Africans. We shall not compromise or backdown in the fight against corruption at all levels. We are all equal before the law. However government alone will not be able to build a just society, we need a whole of society approach to fighting crime, GBV&F and any other injustice.

Honorable members,

Let me conclude with the words of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, who said: “Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph."

I thank you

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