MASHIKA ELECTED SPEAKER OF CHILDREN’S PARLIAMENT

BY STAFF REPORTER
KwaMhlanga: Given Mashika, from KwaMhlanga in Thembisile Hani Local Municipality, was elected speaker of the 10th edition of the Children’s Parliament.
The 17-year-old Mashika is a grade 10 learner at Musa Secondary school in KwaMhlanga. He was elected recently ahead of the first sitting of the Children’s Parliament session, an official platform for students to look at local and global problems and come up with their own solutions.
The election of the speaker took place in an open session to all members of the 10th Nelson Mandela Children’s Parliament in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province.
Mashika was equally elated when the honourable members of Children’s Parliament chose him to chair their session for this year.
“I am very happy not only for myself, but for the other children who could not make it to the Parliament. I may not be able to make an atomic bomb with my hands, but with my heart and words, I will strive for change for a better life and future,” he said.
The Children’s Parliament is held in honour of South Africa’s first democratic President, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, by bringing children across South Africa to debate and deliberate on issues such as Covid-19, teenage pregnancy, climate change, poverty and other challenges facing young people.
The ultimate goal of the Children’s Parliament is to create a channel for children’s participation and afford them an opportunity to influence policy as well as programmes targeted at ensuring that their rights are realised.
Last year, the Children’s Parliament could not sit due to Covid-19. This year’s parliamentary proceedings were in line with the Social Development Month Campaign, which seeks to reach out to poor and vulnerable South Africans under the theme: “Delivering DSD Services during Covid-19, in The Year of Charlotte Maxeke.”
The 2021 sitting was held under the theme: “Accountability to enhance the voices and rights of children during Covid-19 and beyond”, where the ambassadors for all nine provinces in the country were announced.
The Mpumalanga Department of Education congratulated Mashika for representing the province, following his election as the speaker of the 10th edition of the Children’s Parliament.