Rural people urged to know their rights

SOME people in rural areas still know little about their rights, says North West Premier Thandi Modise.

Modise was speaking to more than 1000 people on Human Rights Day yesterday in Groot Marico near Zeerust.

She said while aspiring to be prosperous in the world, South Africa's position with regard to respecting human rights was to embark on massive campaigns on education.

This ranged from issues of service delivery to human rights violations, Modise said.

"Allowing ordinary people a platform to voice their views is widely seen as inculcating correct knowledge and information in them, thus encouraging them to share it with other citizens."

She spoke about specific cases of evictions and human rights violations on farms.

Modise called on domestic workers and farmworkers to speak out when their rights were infringed.

"Domestic workers and farmworkers must know and understand their rights. The rights that protects a domestic worker in my house protects those of a domestic worker on a farm," she explained.

Turning to rural development and land reform, Modise said the restoration of land had always been an integral part of the struggle.

"Land reform will now be based on the de-racialisation of the rural economy," she said.

Modise said farmworkers did not have the opportunity and means to organise themselves, which meant that their bargaining power was very weak.

She urged the agricultural sector to assist farmworkers to ensure that they enjoyed basic rights.

"We must work actively with farmworkers to ensure that they enjoy their rights to basic services, education, health, social security and so forth," she said.