President Cyril Ramaphosa, while delivering his Human Rights Day speech in De Aar, Northern Cape on Tuesday, said that if the government does not provide basic services to the people, it is a “human rights issue”.
He said his government is trying to improve the functioning of local governments to address service delivery challenges in South Africa.
“We are used to improve the function of the local government, which carries the greatest responsibility for the provision of this service,” he said at De Aar Stadium.
Ramaphosa said the government is making progress by providing services such as water infrastructure projects, social grants, education and free healthcare.
“According to Statistics South Africa, access to water and sanitation, electricity, housing and other services like waste removal has increased steadily over the past three decades,” he said.
‘Need more’
However, the president acknowledged that more needs to be done.
“There is no doubt that we have achieved a lot in securing the rights of all South Africans. But we know from daily experience that we need to do more.
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He said South Africa could not claim to respect human rights if it did not ensure “all South Africans have access to land, housing, food, water, health care and education”.
“We cannot claim to respect human rights if we do not do everything we can to ensure that everyone has access to employment and economic opportunities, and lives in comfort, safety and security,” he said.
Social grants
Ramaphosa said one of the ways South Africa fights poverty is by providing social grants.
He used the R350 SRD grant, which was introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic, as an example.
“While this grant has been extended until the end of March 2024, work is still underway to provide basic income support to the most vulnerable within the country’s fiscal constraints.”
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Education
Ramaphosa also said his government is trying to improve education in the country by prioritizing early childhood development (ECD).
“The Department of Basic Education, which is now responsible for early childhood education, has eased the requirements for early childhood centers to access support and allowed thousands more to receive subsidies from the government.”
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However, he admitted that the dropout rate in the country is very high and said that the education authorities, teachers and parents must solve it together.
Health care
Ramaphosa said poor South Africans are being denied the right to access quality healthcare.
He said the National Health Insurance Bill would “correct this”.
“The introduction of National Health Insurance – or NHI – will allow every South African to receive quality health care regardless of their ability to pay.”