The Eastern Cape MEC for Transport Thandiswa Marawu held a South African Network for Women in Transportation (SANWIT) consultative session at the Walter Sisulu University Main Campus in Mthatha on 29 October 2011.
SANWIT is an association of women that seeks to provide a forum for the exploration of technical, policy, financial, and political aspects of emerging transportation issues in virtually every sector, while affording women outstanding networking opportunities and inside exposure in the country’s latest transportation mega projects.
It is a structure that supports the idea of strengthening the role of women in transport and is aimed at recruiting women or women groups as members and coordinate them into an umbrella body.
MEC Marawu said SANWIT needed to actively participate in the process of the development of a Provincial Integrated Public Transport Master Plan in order to improve the mobility and accessibility of our people, especially the rural poor, who rely on buses, taxis and trains.
The purpose of the plan is to address the unique needs of the province, while simultaneously improving linkages with other public transport networks, including rail and road-based transportation.
“This plan will serve as our compass moving forward, especially with regard to future of public transport systems planning, funding, infrastructure development and operations. We believe that through this plan, we can improve connectivity among our people” said MEC Marawu
The organisation’s mission is to support, facilitate and monitor socio-economic advancement and their positive impact on the country’s economy, as well as supporting the growth of women owned enterprises by ensuring their access to relevant resources and support and it aims to champion and articulate aspirations and socio-economic development of women in transport and the reasons for its establishment include:
- to facilitate regional networking among women on critical issues in transport for development
- to assist women in transport sector deal with obstacles and challenges in their business operations
- to promote collaboration and coalition building among women in transport and women entrepreneurs for policy advocacy and action which recognises and support women’s contribution in transport development
SANWIT will also serve as a career development forum and round-table discussions that provides comprehensive educational and career-focused guidance and preparation, as well as valuable exposure to critical transportation issues.
