Women should benefit most from land reform and rural development programme as they constitute the majority of people living in rural areas, says Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Ms Lulu Xingwana.
Minister Xingwana was speaking during the debate at Parliament’s National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on “Rural Women as Drivers of Rural Development” today.
She said while progress has been made in the first three terms of the democratic government, a large number of people in rural areas still face harsh conditions of poverty, lack of access to land and various basic services.
In addressing these challenges, Minister Xingwana said government committed to speed up the process of putting more land in the hands of rural poor and provide technical skills and financial resources for productive use the land. Most importantly, government committed to focus on the systematic promotion of agricultural co-operatives throughout the value chain, including agro-processing, access to markets, financing and basic necessities like fencing and irrigation systems.
“All of these commitments were made with a clear understanding that women constitute the majority of people living in rural areas and they should therefore be the largest number of beneficiaries in the country’s rural development programme,” said Minister Xingwana.
She said her department is focusing on issues of development of rural women and has already held a National Rural Women’s Summit in Limpopo in May this year to consolidate the views of rural women. “We are working with the Departments of Rural Development and Land Reform as well as Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to ensure that the aspirations of rural women are integrated into the Rural Development Strategy. Women in rural areas need opportunities to develop themselves,” said Minister Xingwana.
Last weekend (October 15), the Department for Women, Children and People with Disabilities observed World Rural Women’s Day bringing together with hundreds of women in a rural town of Port St Johns in Eastern Cape. “We used this event to deliver agricultural implements to local women projects and supplied sanitary towels to indigent girls and women in the area.
We also raised awareness about tourism opportunities that can be explored by women in rural areas,” said Minister Xingwana.
She said climate change was one of the major challenges facing women in rural areas and its risk will have devastating effects on women who depend on natural resources for survival.
“As South Africa hosts COP17 in Durban next month, our department is ensuring that the perspective of women in rural areas and the African continent in general is heard. In this regard, we will be convening a meeting of SADC Ministers of Gender and Women Affairs to consolidate our position in the build up to COP17.
We will also be using the occasion of the National Children’s Day on 5 November to highlight the impact of climate change on children, our future generation,” said Minister Xingwana.
Contact:
Sibani Mngadi
Cell: 082 772 0161
Cornelius Monama
Cell: 082 578 4063
