The Department of Women, Children, and People with Disabilities, would like to correct some of the distortions and misinformation that have been reported in the media about its performance and mandate. In particular, we would like to contextualise some of the matters relating to our Annual Report.
The department has reached a vacancy rate of 77%
This figure is outdated because it is based on the 2010/ 11 financial year information. However, since then, significant progress has been registered. At the moment, our vacancy rate is 21%. 113 posts have been filled and 24 are in the process of being filled. The remainder of the vacancies will be filled in the 2012/ 13 financial year. In addition, the organisational structure was only approved by Cabinet in December 2010. As a result, the process of recruitment and filling of posts started much later. We have been consistent in terms of the turn-around times for the filling of vacant funded posts. Between June and September this year, we appointed no less than 23 senior managers in the department.
The department failed to submit the 2009/ 10 Annual Report
This is simply inaccurate. During the 2009/ 10 financial year, the department was operating under the Presidency. We did not have a separate Vote. We could therefore not produce an Annual Report as a separate entity as we were still under the Presidency. Our performance was therefore reported under the Presidency.
The department missed the deadline by which it was supposed to submit its annual report
Being the first annual report of a newly proclaimed department, we needed to ensure adequate quality assurance and compliance with all the reporting and formatting requirements in the finalization of the Annual Report. This process took a few days longer than what was anticipated. We subsequently submitted on 6 October.
The department has overspent its budget by R9 million
This is not true. The department overspent its budget by R3.7 million.
In March 2011, the department spent R6.8 million on sending a delegation of 49 officials to New York, which produced no results
Out of the 49 delegates, only eight were from our department. The rest were from Parliament, NGOs and other government departments. The department only paid for the eight officials of whom six were managers and two support staff.
The department is confident that this trip has benefitted the country a great deal. Arising from the discussions in New York, we came back and implemented a programme that introduces girl children to science and technology. In partnership with the private sector, we now have the Techo-Girl project, which we are busy rolling out across the nine provinces.
Another important programme that we are establishing as a direct result of our participation in the United Nations is the National Council Against Gender-based Violence. In this regard, we have also developed the 365 Days of No Violence Against Women and Children Plan of Action. The proposed Council will serve at Cabinet soon. We hope to launch it during the period of 25 November and 10 December.
As one of the spin-offs of the UN trip, we have already held the National Rural Women Summit, which was held in Limpopo in May. We have started processes of having provincial women summits which will influence the Women Empowerment strategy which is spearheaded by the Department of Rural Development and Land Affairs.
We have also developed a gender perspective on the New Growth Plan in collaboration with the Department of Economic Development. This is one of the spin-offs of the New York trip.
What our department is doing to manage expenditure
Our department is strengthening its internal control measures to ensure that expenditure on travel (and other items) is effectively managed.
One of the key challenges in the last financial year was lack of staff in key areas. We have made key appointments in the Finance Unit, such as the Chief Financial Officer. In order to enhance compliance, we have established the Supply Chain Management Unit and Internal Audit. The department has also developed an expenditure management system to help monitor our expenditure on a continuous basis. In this way, we are able to identify potential problems at a very early stage and to intervene timeously. In addition, the monthly expenditure reports to Treasury are an additional measure to help track our expenditure patterns.
We are confident that these interventions will continue to make a positive impact during the current financial year. The unqualified Audit Opinion we have received from the Auditor General is evidence of the impact of systems we have put in place. We are confident that based on the Minister’s leadership and interventions, we will be able to register yet another unqualified audit opinion in the current financial year.
The department's international obligations
Our department, on behalf of South Africa, has to report to the United Nations from time to time because we are signatories to UN Conventions relating to women, children and people living with disabilities. This means that the department, in discharging its mandate, will have to travel to the United Nations to report on the progress we are making in advancing the goals reflected in the various Conventions to which we are signatories. However, Minister Lulu Xingwana has already taken a decision to cut the number of delegates when we undertake such trips.
The Presidency had to bail the department out to the tune of R3 million
This refers to the expenditure incurred by the Office on the Status of Disabled People during the 2007/ 8 financial year before the establishment of this department.
What is the role and mandate of the department
Our people, stakeholders and public representatives should appreciate and understand the role and mandate of the department. The Department was created to advocate and mainstream the rights of women, children, and people with disabilities. We monitor and evaluate the performance of government departments on the extent to which they respond to the needs of these vulnerable groups. The department is also responsible for ensuring that there is institutional capacity in departments if mainstreaming and advocacy is to be achieved. Ours is not an implementing department.
Enquiries:
Cornelius Tanana Monama
Tel: (012) 359 0208
Cell: 082 578 4063
Department on its performance
