20100328
SABC

The South African Government has intensified its fight against human trafficking as several cabinet ministers joined by about a thousand people visited the Mantsopa cave in Ladybrand in Free State.

The gathering was to ask for blessings from the ancestors as the country battles with social ills like human trafficking. Those present included several government ministers, deputy ministers, the Free State premier and his executive council. The government emphasised its stance against human trafficking and pleaded for a united front against it.

Minister for Women, Youth, Children and People with Disabilities, Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya: "Young people should take great care of themselves and ensure that they are safe so that they can progress in life. She says "the whole of South Africa is responsible to fight the scourge of human trafficking and ensure that humanity is safe”

The Lesotho government also attended and offered its support.

Lesotho’s Minister for Gender and Youth, Mathabiso Lepono said: "Women ,especially children, should be discouraged from believing that there is plenty of work in South Africa" and she called on parents to monitor the movement of their children as Lesotho is one of the countries where trafficking occurs.

The delegation visited several job-creation projects. A special visit was also paid to a sand-stone house donated by the Lesotho government to one of the women who participated in the 1956 anti-pass march.