Durban — Land claims, corruption investigations, assistance for women with large breasts, a sex symposium and safe homes for abused women, will come up for discussion at the next KwaZulu-Natal legislature meeting.
Several motions were raised by various councillors during the Fourth Session of the Sixth Legislature on Thursday.
Minority Front MPL Shameen Thakur- Rajbansi said land claims continued to be a burning issue in KZN due to the closure of the claims register in 1998 and between 2014 and 2016.
“Today, with greater awareness more people feel cheated due to forced removals as a result of the Group Areas Act; others have registered claims but await restitution remedies and others have claims but the register has closed. I call on the KZN ad hoc committee on land claims to broaden its mandate and term to consider all claims, with recommendations before finalising its report,” she said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed five new proclamations authorising the Special Investigating Unit to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration in the affairs of 11 government departments, Newcastle Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) and the SA Council of Educators, and to recover financial losses suffered by the state as a result of negligence or corruption.
The 11 government departments to be probed in terms of the proclamations include the national Department of Health, all provincial departments of health and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport. The investigation will cover allegations made between January 1, 2013, and July 22, 2022.
IFP councillor Ncamisile Nkwanyana said all those involved in corrupt activities must be held accountable and repay money they irregularly received, including the lawyers who assisted them in submitting fraudulent claims.
The ANC’s chairperson of the premier’s portfolio committee and women’s caucus in KZN, Celiwe Madlopha, spoke about women with large breasts suffering back and neck pain and spinal cord problems as well as experiencing difficulty in completing certain tasks. Madlopha called for a debate on how the government can fast-track assistance for poor women facing these challenges and considerations for breast reduction surgery.
The ACDP’s Sipho Manqele said his party did not support the holding of the sex work symposium in July 2022. It is one of several public participation programmes of the legislature.
Manqele said the money could have been used for the flood victims and the poor in the province.
“This is not discrimination but just obeying the word of God. We regard that as sin. This is not good for the house to promote wrongdoing to the nation,” Manqele said.
DA MPL Mmabatho Tembe said the Department of Public Works (DPW) owned under-utilised properties in the province while there was a lack of space for abused women. Tembe urged the DPW and the Department of Social Development to identify buildings in rural KZN that can be used by NGOs to provide safe spaces for women victims of abuse.
DA MPL Imran Keeka said there was need to create peace, through lasting negotiated settlements, for the people of Kashmir in India.
The IFP’s provincial spokesperson for Social Development, Les Govender, said the IFP fully supported peace, reconciliation and an end to hostilities in Kashmir, but the provincial legislature was not the platform for such discussions, which appear to be an attempt to meddle in international issues.
DA MPL Elma Rabe called for a specialised rural safety unit to protect farmers and workers.
Daily News