South Africa’s president has sparked outrage by calling for teenage mothers to be separated from their children and sent “far away” to Robben Island, on which Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 of his 27 years in jail.
President Zuma said that teenagers should be made to finish school before being reunited with their babies.
“They must be taken and be forced to go to school, far away,” he told the National House of Traditional Leaders in Parliament.
“They must be educated by government until they are empowered and they can take care of their kids. Take them to Robben Island or any other island, sit there, study until they are qualified to come back and work to look after their kids.”
Teenage pregnancy is a significant problem in South Africa, where one in three girls has had a baby by the time she is 20. In some schools, 60 or 70 per cent of pupils are pregnant, according to charities, and for a third of girls in the country, their first sexual experience is under force or threat of force.
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President Zuma himself has so many children that South Africans are unsure whether the total is 19 or 20. Three of them are currently in hospital recovering from a bad car accident last week.
He acknowledged that his view on teenage pregnancy had proved controversial the last time he voiced it in 2009, but said he thought it was “crucial” that it be addressed.
“The women protested [that] I want to take their kids away from them and blah, blah, blah,” he said. “So I kept quiet.”
He said that his idea would prevent grandparents “using what is supposed to be their pension” on the children in question, and save the government from having to hand out benefits to these families.
“We make you take care of your kid so that we don’t have to give a grant.”
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President Zuma also addressed the Nkandla scandal - the millions of rands of taxpayers’ money that were spent on improvements to his country house.
The upgrades were spelled out in a damning report released last year by the Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela.
Answering questions in parliament, he claimed that Ms Madonsela had merely “recommended” that he should pay back the money for the amphitheatre, swimming pool, chicken run and cattle kraal that were built on his private property at public expense.
“There is no case against me on Nkandla, no pending arrest,” he said, repeatedly clearing his throat. “They didn’t find that I took even a penny.
The Public Protector made recommendations. And recommendations are recommendations. Not edicts.”
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Asked when he would be repaying the public purse, he replied: “Never have I thought of the date when I will pay back the money. There is no money I am going to be paying back without a determination by those authorised to do so as recommended by the Public Protector.”
Yesterday was the first time he has answered Parliamentary questions since August, when opposition MPs interrupted him by chanting “pay back the money”. Since then, he has been accused of avoiding answering questions.
“I never dodged questions in this Parliament,” the President said yesterday, repeating over and over: “I never dodged”.