Programme director: Chaplain SG Nkosi
Executive Mayor of Mbombela: Cde Lassy Chiwayo
Executive Mayor of Ehlanzeni Municipality: Cde Khosi Mkhonto
Reverends and Pastors denominations
Government officials
Invited guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I have been asked to come and address women in an effort to motivate them. There is really no need for motivating women because women by their very nature are motivated. The only thing that we have to do is to keep on reminding them of the importance of their role in their communities and the value these contributions have in changing the lives of our people in their totality.
Women in the main are responsible for the upbringing and caring for the communities, we are actually the nucleus and backbone of our communities. Women are also very religious; hence prayer is central in our daily activities. Most of us are members of different denominations and as a result we expect the church to involve women in their majority in their programmes on teachings, practices and structures.
Programme director let me start by giving my address a context. In the 19th century the paramount moral challenge was slavery. In the 20th century, it was totalitarianism (single and dominant governing group). In this 21st century it is the brutality inflicted on so many women and girls around the globe: sex trafficking, women and children abuse, women and children molestation and others. These are some of the challenges women today are faced with. We would have failed in our endeavour to emancipate women if we fail to acknowledge these challenges and confront the perpetrators who happens to be men.
Government working together with community organisations need to begin to refocus its programmes by investing adequate resources to women and children. Focusing on women and children is the most effective way to fight any abuse against them. The world is awakening to a powerful truth. Women and children are not the problem; they are the solution.
Even when government has put in place system and structures to improve the lives of women and emancipate them from discrimination, women too, have got a responsibility to ensure that their rights are protected. We must fight for gender equality, women’s advancement and the respect of all our rights in our communities and even in the workplace. It is time to identify those rights, claim them and take control of them.
The year 2010 is a prominent year for a number of reasons more especially gender issues. South Africa was the host of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The year 2010 marks 25 years since the UN World Conference on Women, 15 years since the fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the 10th anniversary of the UN Millennium Development Goals and six years since the adoption of the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa. Despite the achievements scored by our government since the democratic elections in 1994, there is still a lot to be done.
Initiated by the AU’s Women and Gender Development Directorate, African Women’s Decade was adopted in October 2009 by the African Union, giving member states up to 2020 to achieve 50/50 representation of women and men in politics and decision-making.
South Africa has made some interesting and encouraging strides in achieving these milestones. About a third of Members of Parliament are women, 43 percent of cabinet members are women and five of the nine provinces are led by women as premiers. 40 percent of councilors in local government are women and three of the six metro councils are led by women. As a result of these milestones, our country is ranked number 3 out of 130 parliaments in the world in terms of women’s advancement in governance. We all also agree that much still needs to be done.
In Mpumalanga 47 percent of Members of the Provincial Legislature are women, 40 percent of women are Members of the Executive Council. There is notable progress and we all agree that we still have to achieve parity. Although there are some forces in the country whose aim is to underscore these milestone, more especially when the Premier of the Western Cape decide to appoint an “a male dominated executive council”, we remain resolute that the mandate and timeframes set by the African Women’s Decade are realised.
The focus should now be in the administration of our departments more especially at the management level. The Department of Safety, Security and Liaison has also made some interesting strides with 47 percent of the Senior Managers in the department being women. SAPS is also beginning to make some interesting movements, the number of police stations managed by women is growing.
Last year we appointed Major General Hadebe as Deputy Provincial Commissioner responsible for Support Services and she is a woman. Four female cluster commanders were appointed and we have 25 female Station Commissioners in the province. I would like to challenge the leadership of the Correctional Services to start putting a programme and plan to achieve gender parity. Your leadership is male dominated and that cannot be accepted.
The private sector is still dominated by men. Women representation is worse. Released reports and confirmed statistics show that women are inadequately represented across all sectors of the economy. There are still many barriers preventing women from getting ahead in business. Besides lacking the necessary education and skills, they are often denied financial assistance without a male guarantor.
While the political battle for gender equality has partly been won, the social and economic battles are clearly far from over. Levels of violence against women are alarmingly high. Women are extremely vulnerable to rape, sexual abuse, domestic and other violence, teenage parenthood, a lack of education opportunities, unemployment and sexual harassment.
Programme director, the challenge we have now as women is to make women’s issues to be central in all programmes and activities of both the public and private sector. We cannot wait for a “messiah” to come and ensure that this happens; we need as women to own up, empower one another and make all those in leadership to account for their role in gender equality and inequality.
It is only when there is a critical mass of women in all their diversity in every country of the world, in both appointed and elected decision-making positions and in all international bodies, that gender issues will be addressed in the policy agenda and the goals of equality, development, peace and human rights for all can be realised in this 21st century.
There is no single solution to women challenges and if you were expecting me to pick on one that would not be possible. Programme director, to be able to deal with women issues, we need a multi-pronged onslaught or strategy. This strategy must first be aimed at bringing down the patriarchy dominating our societies. This strategy must also seek to change women position in the division of labour, this should be about the socio-economic role of women in both the public and private sector. The struggle for women emancipation cannot be won over night. This is so because women were suppressed for centuries and this alone means that the challenge is much bigger.
Today the legislation is available, the playing ground gets leveled everyday and structures and systems are being put in place. All we need to do is to stand up and be counted. The only way to do that is to seize all opportunities at our disposal and maximise them. We cannot wait for a small group of people to do it for ourselves; we all need to be involved. You just need to identify your strength and go for it. If you want to be involved in the economic stream, the support structures are there to see you through.
Government has put in place a Broad Based Economic Empowerment Policy, we have the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) in the province and SMMEs are the way to go. Let us seize these opportunities and let make use of them.
SEDA has got a mission to develop, support and promote small enterprises throughout by ensuring their growth and sustainability in coordination and partnership with various role players. This is an intervention by government and is critical in alleviating poverty as the small enterprises sector has a significant and valuable contribution to make in sustainable and equitable socio-economic development, as well as employment and wealth creation.
SEDA is also committed to building the economic sector through the development of small, medium and macro enterprises (SMMEs), including cooperatives, so that this incredible potential may be realised. We are therefore correct when we say the opportunities are out there and you need to take advantage of them.
We all agree that even when the 21st century is characterised by a number of challenges which have a direct bearing on women’s lives, we also equally agree that strides have been made to confront and address these challenges. We also agree that the road ahead of us is still long and working together with all stakeholders, we will be able to realise everlasting progress in the emancipation women in particular.
Programme director, I am convinced that the words of wisdom received from the different speaker as well as the prayers presented by the servants of the Lord will go a long way in ensuring that we remain blessed and committed to serve the nation.
Malibongwe igama lamakhosikazi!!!!
Source: Department of Safety, Security and Liaison, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
