Invitation to the signing of a historic agreement between CGE and Office of the Military Ombud
On 22 April 2015, the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) and the Office of the Military Ombud (OMO) will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which aims to strengthen the working relationship between the two institutions.
It should be noted that the Office of the Military Ombud as per its institutional mandate seeks to investigate complaints lodged by either current or former members of the South African National Defence Force regarding conditions of service and complaints lodged by the public regarding the official conduct of members of the Defence Force, whereas the CGE’s mandate aims to promote and protect gender equality, advise and make recommendations to Parliament or any other legislature with regard to any laws or proposed legislation which affects gender equality and the status of women.
From the mandates of both institutions it emerges that the common link is that of serving the public respectively (as per each mandate) and to this end it is envisaged that issues that pertain to gender within the context of equality or inequalities may come to the fore in the regular operations of these institutions, in various ways.
This is also in particular reference to the fact that Military institutions worldwide have been male dominated (historically) and to some extent, gender transformation remains a key factor in reaching the objective of gender equality. The MoU therefore covers matters that pertain to gender mainstreaming, co-operating on issues of mutual interest through collaborations, and as such both institutions will work jointly on advocacy issues within the scope of gender equality and transformation.
Mr Mfanozelwe Shozi, the Chairperson of the Commission for Gender Equality and Lieutenant General (Ret) T.T. Matanzima, the Military Ombud, will be signing the MoU on behalf of their respective institutions.
Date: 22 April 2015
Time: 09h30 to 12h00
Venue: 2 Kotze Street, Women’s Jail, East Wing, Constitution Hill, Braamfontein, 2001
RSVP:
Javu Baloyi
Cell: 083 579 3306
E-mail: Javu@cge.org.za
