B Sonjica: Minerals and Energy Sectoral

25 August 2006

Programme Director
Deputy President, Mrs Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee, Comrade Mtetwa
Chairperson of the Select Committee of the National Council of Provinces,
Comrade Ntwanambi
Esteemed guests
Director-General
Ladies and gentlemen

Kindly allow me to express my sincere appreciation to you, individually and
collectively, for participating in what we regard as a momentous occasion for
our department.

Our recently departed and revered mother, Ma Ellen Khuzwayo in her book,
‘Call me a Woman’, points a finger at Ma Charlotte Maxeke, the first National
President of the National Council of Women (NCW) as one of her sources of
inspiration. It will suffice for me to echo Ma Maxeke’s Presidential Address on
8 December 1938 at the NCW, to indicate her qualities of leadership and wisdom.
She said, “If you can rise, bring someone with you. Do away with that fearful
animal of jealousy kill that spirit.” Those words of wisdom that were delivered
in 1938 are still very much relevant to us all today.

In our march towards the total emancipation of women, we need to close ranks
as women and support each other. According to Ma Ellen Khuzwayo, the motto of
the National Council of Women was, “Do unto others as they would do unto you.”
We need to adopt the same motto in our struggle against the triple oppression
of sex, class and race confronting women.

Programme Director, I am sure that you will agree with me that the timing of
our march and gathering here today could not have been better arranged. Our
march this year together with our sectoral partners has, befittingly, taken
place in the Month of Women. Coincidentally, we are gathered here in the year
of the 50th anniversary of the historic march on the Union Building by 20 000
women in 1956. The gallant class of women of 1956, under the leadership of
Comrades Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and Sophie Williams-de Bruyn
made huge sacrifices as they took to the streets and organised others against
the racist and restrictive laws imposed upon black women.

It is my singular honour to address this gathering of Department of Minerals
and Energy and its stakeholders in the mining and energy sectors. Our current
generation of women have inherited a rich legacy of struggle for freedom in
general and women empowerment in particular. History has entrusted us with the
responsibility of taking the baton of struggle from the veterans of our
struggle to advance the interests of women to greater heights. The mining and
energy sectors are not exempt as terrains of struggle, for us as womenfolk to
take our struggle for women empowerment forward. The indomitable resilience of
the 1956 women marchers has been well recorded. Their heroic march is indelibly
inscribed in our hearts as a giant step in registering gender equality.

There is no better way to pay tribute to the class of 1956 other than to
raise the flag of gender parity and women empowerment in all spheres of our
lives. The mining and energy sectors cannot afford to remain as the preserve of
male domination and no-go-areas for women empowerment. Our beloved country is
the envy of the world as a shining example of the peaceful transition to a
democratic dispensation thanks to a large measure to the full participation of
all our people in the struggle for freedom. Women played no second fiddle to
anyone during the dark days of apartheid.

Much as our country has registered much progress since the advent of our
democracy, much needs to be done to reinforce our democracy and bolster our
freedom. It would suffice to echo and take to heart President Mbeki’s address
during the 2006 Woman’s Day Celebrations that, “Together as a nation, we must
uphold the perspective that none of us is free unless the women are free from
poverty and loss of human dignity , and free from fear and violence.”

Our department as a vital arm of government has, as one of its key strategic
objectives, to redress the past imbalances in order to achieve equity
throughout the value chain in the minerals and energy sector. The department
can not succeed on its own. The role and collaboration of its partners in this
regard can not be over-emphasised. The leadership provided by government in
fostering women empowerment is instructive as it provides a healthy environment
conducive to the promotion of gender equality.

The seriousness of government and the leadership of President Mbeki, in
particular, about empowering women, is clearly evident when we look at the
statistics of women in government. Thirty percent of all our parliamentarians
are women, which places South Africa at number eight in the world in terms of
gender equality in Government. Forty three percent of ministerial positions are
held by women. Twelve of our 30 cabinet ministers are women, 10 of 21 deputy
ministers are women and four out of nine premiers are women. South Africa is
one of only three African countries to have a woman presiding officer in
parliament or a house of parliament.

At provincial level and local level, we are talking about a third or more
women in all those structures. In the diplomatic corps as well, there are many
women who are heading missions. In the Group of eight (G-8) countries, four out
of the eight ambassadors are women. On that score, we have every reason to
celebrate that the epic women’s march of 1956 and struggles waged by women were
not in vain.

However, women's gains have not translated into the business arena. When it
comes to the chief executives in large corporations in South Africa, you can
count the women on the fingers of one hand. There are few female members on
boards of directors in the private sector who hardly compare well to the number
of women who are on the boards of parastatals. While women have taken up key
leadership positions in the cabinet and elsewhere, women in general, still hold
marginal positions in our society.

Education and training, leading to technical and managerial skills, provides
the first pillar of opportunities to change the status quo. The second pillar
relates to on job exposure. The third pillar relates to continuous
self-assessment against the challenges ahead. The fourth pillar relates to
mentoring it is important that we identify mentors and establish mentorship
programmes. The fifth pillar relates to supporting network structures that work
towards empowering women. The final pillar relates to developing good role
models who can provide the much-needed impetus to encourage students and
graduates to acquire priority skills in line with the Joint Initiative for
Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA).

The architecture of the mining industry is characterised by patriarchy. This
has been a defining feature of the industry for many decades which must change.
The launch of the South African Women in Mining Association (SAWIMA) in 1999
attests to the efforts of the department in affirming women in the mining
sector. SAWIMA has grown over years and I am proud to say that despite teething
problems, its direction and goals are on track.

On the energy side, the department launched the Women in Oil and Energy of
South Africa (WOESA). I can say without fear or favour that our oil sector was
the first one to develop a Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Charter, premised
on voluntarism, with an intention to pilot substantial participation of black
people within the oil sector. This was done, when at the time, doing BEE deals
was not fashionable. For us, it was about sustainable development and
meaningful participation by previously disadvantaged individuals. This was an
initiative aimed at empowering women in the oil and energy sector. Through this
intervention, we managed to unearth women who owned retail stations. The Women
in Nuclear of South Africa (WINSA) was also launched to encourage women to
participate meaningfully in the nuclear sector.

Our main challenge remains the improvement of the quality of life for the
masses of our people. As people who give birth to life, nurse and nurture
growth and development, we must remain true to the 1956 women marchers by
taking the baton of struggle from them and forge ahead inspired by their
vision, leadership and courage.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Minerals and Energy
25 August 2006