The Speaker of the KZN Legislature, Honorable P Nkonyeni
The Deputy Speaker, Honourable M Mthimkhulu
The Premier of the Province of KwaZulu‐Natal, Dr Z.L Mkhize
Fellow Members of the Executive Council
Honourable Members
Your Worships, the Mayors present
Amakhosi ase Ndlunkulu
Fellow activists for women’s emancipation and empowerment
Ladies and gentlemen
It is our singular honour to stand before this August House to report back on one of the critical tasks of our administration, the task of leading the drive for the total empowerment of women.
Programme director, in this month of August, where we rekindle and take stock of the work that has been done to empower women, as part of the broader struggle for equality and social transformation, we are always inspired by the words of one of Southern Africa’s gallant freedom fighters, the late president of Mozambique, Comrade President Samora Machel, who was a dedicated activist for women empowerment and women emancipation.
Addressing a Women’s Conference in 1973, Comrade President Machel remarked that:
“The liberation of women is the fundamental necessity for the revolution, a guarantee of its continuity and a condition for its success”.
These words, put in a different manner, warn all of us that the goal of a democratic and prosperous society would remain an elusive goal if we do not conscientiously struggle for women empowerment and women emancipation. This is counsel which, as this democratic state, we have sought to heed and indeed apply in advancing our revolution.
From the enactment of various pieces of progressive legislation, including, but not limited to, the Employment Equity Act, to systematically altering the face of gender relations in our country, we have been driven by a desire to ensure that we right this historical wrong in order to build a better future for our children.
Honourable members, as with other initiatives of a similar nature, the observation of the Women’s Month and the Women’s Day have, in certain quarters, lost some of their its socio‐political and economic significance.
Some of us regarding this very important period in the life of our democratic state, as no more than a ritual where we enjoy the holiday on August 9, utter nice‐sounding words and get on with our lives as usual.
As members of this House we have a responsibility to ensure that the significance of this day and this month is not lost for, to lose sight of this, would set back our revolution by decades and threaten the very democracy we enjoy today.
Honourable members, when requested to prepare a report on what our department has done, continues to do and plans to do for women economic empowerment, we decided that we would share the road travelled in this regard, not only from the year 2012 but from the year 2009 when we were bestowed with the honour to serve in the Economic Development and Tourism portfolio.
This liberty we have taken because this is the last Women’s Parliament to be hosted in the current term of government. While our report will not be exhaustive and may not necessarily capture all the work we have done and the challenges we have encountered in carrying out this mandate, we will attempt to give an overall picture of what we have been doing.
Honourable members, any change in any sphere of life is detected by the leadership of that sphere. The ushering in of the democratic state in 1994 was mirrored by the inauguration of the first Black President of the Republic of South Africa as well as a cabinet that mirrored the demographics of our country.
Likewise, one of the ways to gauge whether our efforts at women emancipation are bearing fruit is to look at the leadership content of our department including public entities. As we do this, however, we must appreciate two fundamentals facts, that leadership composition is not the only gauge of the success or failure of our efforts and also that there is also a danger in blindly chasing numbers without due regard for the material conditions of that particular entity.
In this regard, we want to report that 22 % of our department’s senior management is made up of women. We would reach the 50% target if we were to fill all the 14 vacant senior management posts. Despite the improvements we still need to make, we are proud of the fact that our Chief Financial Officer is a woman.
When it comes to public entities, we have three women Chief Executive Officers, three women Chairpersons of Boards as well as four women Chief Financial Officers. In the KZN Convention Bureau, for example, 75% of staff are women, while two of the three current management positions are filled by women. Indeed, we are proud of the strides we have made in this regard, but we acknowledge that more still needs to be done.
Honourable members, the picture we have painted about the percentage of women in leadership may not look as rosy as we would want it to be. Yet, it mirrors the general state of women empowerment within the business sector in South Africa. While a lot of strides have been notched to advance the cause of women empowerment in business, the reality is that we still have a long way to go before we can talk of a business environment where women have equal opportunity.
According to a study that was done by Empowerdex, one of the country’s top BBBEE rating companies out of the total number of black executive directors on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), only 19.8% accounted for women last year. Compounding the situation is the fact that less than five big companies listed in the JSE are led by women CEOs. This clearly illustrates that the struggle to empower women is a societal one. Despite this,
South African companies compare favourably to the rest of the world with 28% of senior management positions held by women ‐ compared to a global average of 21% ‐according to research which was done by Grant Thornton last year. According to the survey, Botswana is the African country with the highest proportion of women in senior management, at 39%. South Africa's figure of 28% is slightly ahead of the 26% average for the BRICS countries ‐ Brazil, Russia, India, China and SA.
According to the 2013 Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) which specifically focuses on women in business reveals that only 28% of top decision‐making roles in South African businesses are filled by women, despite the fact that women make almost 40% of the total workforce.
When South Africa’s statistics are segmented by province, the survey highlighted that KZN (Durban and Pietermaritzburg) appears to be leading the way in the employment and promotion of women. The province boasts the highest proportion of women employees (44.6%), compared with just 36.1% in Gauteng (Pretoria and Johannesburg) 38.21% in Eastern Cape (Port Elizabeth and East London) and 40.88% in W Cape (Cape Town and surrounds).
KZN also has the highest proportion of women in senior management positions (30%) ahead of Gauteng and the Eastern Cape with both provinces recording 27% in terms of female employees in senior executive positions.
The Western Cape holds the least amount of women in senior positions, with just 25% of executive‐level positions filled by women. In order to address this and other symptoms of the challenges around women empowerment, our department decided to put together a comprehensive Gender and Women Economic Empowerment Strategy.
The idea of the strategy is to provide a framework within which, in particular, women economic empowerment programmes can be advanced in a coherent manner allowing all social partners, including government, organized labour, organized business as well as civic society, to participate and be on the same wavelength. Last year, about 581 women gave input in the crafting of the Draft KZN Gender and Women Economic Empowerment Strategy.
From the interactions, it appears that the strategy we will be based mainly on four pillars. These include the setting up of a dedicated Centre for Women Economic Empowerment which would be the nerve centre and the source of knowledge and advice on to all social partners on women economic empowerment initiatives.The Centre would act as a think tank and advise all social partners on women economic empowerment issue.
The other pillar is the consolidation and management of a database of all women economic empowerment initiatives. This is where, for example, all statistics regarding the reality of women economic empowerment initiatives would be reflected. The database would be able to indicate various levels of operation, grading’s, levels and participation of women in the economy.
The third pillar is the monitoring and evaluation of women economic empowerment programmes. With this pillar, we would able to gauge the effectiveness and efficacy of our women empowerment programmes.
The last pillar is on technical support. This would include coordinated technical support all levels of women economic empowerment initiatives. This would focus, for example, on access to finance; access to markets; marketing; productivity; administration; mentorship and incubation as well as business linkages locally, nationally and internationally.
The process of gathering information toward the draft strategy involved workshops on key issues like access to finance, business management and advice as well as mentorship and incubation. The workshops included, among others, consultations with the provincial gender machinery of the Office of the Premier, the Department of Trade and Industry and all sectors of women entrepreneurs. The workshops were conducted in areas like eDumbe Municipality, Empangeni, UMgungundlovu, eThekwini Municipality and Dundee including Ladysmith and Newcastle.
Currently, we are finalizing the collection of inputs from government Departments which would be the baseline information for this year. Once we have finalized this collection of data, we will then workshop the draft Strategy following the normal processes that we adhere to, including discussing it with the social partners; presenting before the Legislature as well as presenting it to cabinet for endorsement.
It is not an exaggeration, Honourable members, to posit that this strategy would become a white elephant without the active support of all social partners including members of this House.
Honourable Members, allow us to reflect on how far we have gone in fulfilling the mandate that this Legislature had given us with regards to women empowerment initiatives. In August 2012, Women Parliamentarians had a two day event for Women at eNtumeni, e Showe. When they concluded the event they captured key resolutions which were handed over to various departments and stakeholders for implementation.
One of their resolutions was to request the Department of Economic Development and Tourism to organize and facilitate a three day Women Empowerment Summit in August 2013. In June 2013, the office of the Premier approached our BEE Compliance Unit requesting a partnership in organizing a Women Empowerment Summit in August 2013. We acceded to this request and joined other stakeholder departments and entities in hosting the Summit last week at the Royal Showgrounds.
The Honourable Premier of the province of KwaZulu‐Natal, Dr Z. L Mkhize, was keynote speaker at the Summit. The programme featured Honourable Minister for Women and Children, Mrs. L Xingwane and Honourable Hlengiwe Mkhize and MEC for Social Development, MEC Weziwe Thusi.
1. Women Economic Empowerment Initiatives by dedt
Honourable Members, over the past five years, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism has supported Women entrepreneurs in various sectors of the economy. In 2012 alone, the department was able to provide support to women in a number of projects.
Operation Vuselela
The department has continued to champion the process of empowering the poverty stricken communities in the rural areas. In collaboration with one of the country’s leading sugar producers, Tongaat Hullet, we initiated the programme that is directed at reviving the growing of sugar cane at communal areas in various parts of the province, especially those with close proximity to Tongaat sugar mills.
This joint four year initiative has seen the increase in the number of small scale cane growers that haven’t only entered the agribusiness but were creating job opportunities for their respective communities. Meanwhile, a considerable number of participants in this project are women who are actively involved in the cultivation of their fields and harvesting of their products to the nearest mills to earn a living and about 1392 women have benefited from the programme.
Apart from individual growers, operation has led to the formation of 32 co‐operatives where 64 women are involved as they believe that unity is strength as is crucial in maximizing their production through bulk buying of materials for their plantations. In addition to those owning cane fields, about 1657 women are employed through this programme. The overall total investment into this programme is R52 million of which R12 million has been invested since 2009.
DEDT / UKZN Local Economic Development Skills Training Programme:
In acknowledging the shortage of skilled managers and specialist personnel that would contribute towards sustainable development in the municipalities, especially people with requisite capacity to develop credible strategies that would attract investment to municipality, the department joined forces with the University of KwaZulu‐Natal’s Graduate School of Business and Leadership to develop an intensive and rigorous graduate programme to accelerate the provision of skilled LED practitioners in the province.
Though this initiative began recently we are pleased that it has started paying positive dividends, with women students showing interest in this skills development programme. Meanwhile, during the 2012 intake ten women enrolled for the masters study programme while six were pursuing a post graduate diploma in the LED related subjects.
These numbers for both degree and diploma levels have since increased this year, with the university having registered twelve females for the diploma and eleven for masters studies There are seven female students that have been recruited to undergo training as researchers in the LED field and we believe would make a positive contribution to the development of strategies and policies directed at accelerating development in our municipalities.
In total since the inception of this programme 49 women were benefiting from this undertaking and we have invested about R17 million for this four year agreement with UKZN.
SMMES & Co‐operatives:
The SMME and Co‐operatives programmes remained one of our flagship efforts to promote entrepreneurial spirit amongst our people. We have invested millions of rand towards assisting aspirant small scale entrepreneurs either in the SMME sector or co‐operatives as we want to introduce as many people as possible to the world of business.
These two initiatives have proved in many countries in both developed and developing economies that they could be effective instruments to address issues of poverty and joblessness whilst serving as entry points for those aspiring to get into big business as long term career options.
Women have been one of the target groups for our interventions as we all acknowledge that when women are actively involved in whatever socio‐economic endeavour you are guaranteed of sustainability and growth since their role as social mentors in our families, they have capacity to inculcate the culture of entrepreneurship amongst our young ones.
For any business to survive in a highly competitive environment it requires not only a good business plan and source of funding to start with, but requires its drivers to have exceptional business acumen and of course relevant skills essential for its long term sustainability.The department has been very much active in providing critical skills for small scale entrepreneurs to ensure that when accessing financial support they are able to run profitable operations.
In the period from 2009 to date, through skills development initiative about 3695 women were exposed to training that included business management and marketing as well as in technical skills such as computing.We have also ensured that monitoring and mentorship is provided to ensure that the budding entrepreneurs are taken through all stages of growth which is crucial for their ability to stand the test of time in the competitive environment as most small enterprises often struggle to survive mainly because they lacked required skills to compete.
Through the SMME Technology Demonstration Cum‐Training Centre we have allocated around R19, 76 million for the purchase of machinery essential to provide continuous training and 130 women have benefited from this initiative. With respect to SMME development and support, since 2009 more than 359 women owned enterprises have been funded to the tune of R278 993 385.
This is a joint effort by the department and other financial institutions such as Ithala, Standard Bank and ABSA, but we are pleased that women were making their presence felt in the province’s economy. We know that access to finance is one of the major challenges for many emerging entrepreneurs as it is often coupled with risks as each enterprise unless it presents a bankable business case, it would be difficult to attract the attention of financial institutions.
But we are grateful to these funding agencies for their positive approach to the needs of our aspirant entrepreneurs, especially women who in most case don’t have collateral that could be used as security for business loans. The agreement we have entered with the above‐mentioned financial institutions have been useful with respect to drawing the people from historically marginalised sections of our society to the mainstream of our economy.
1.1 Women Economic Empowerment Conference
In year 2012 the Department of Economic Development and Tourism organized a two day conference for Women concentrating on women economic empowerment. The theme of the conference was “We have all we need to succeed”.
The conference was used mainly to showcase opportunities that exist in the economy for women as well interventions that could enable women to participate meaningfully in the economy of the province. The conference was addressed, among others, by the Minister of Labour, the Honourable Mildred Oliphant. The conference was also used as a platform to workshop the Draft Gender and Women Economic Empowerment Strategy.
1.2 Partnership with Zimele Development Community Non‐Profit Organisation
The Department of Economic Development concluded an agreement with Zimele Development Community NPO. This organization is based in Pietermaritzburg and has other offices in Swayimane, Winterton and Mtubatuba rural areas. They are actively involved in initiating Self‐Help programmes to groups of rural based women who are aspirant entrepreneurs.
Through Zimele, the department has trained rural Women in Tourism, sewing and financial management. About 120 Women of Zimele have been trained through the assistance of the department. In both Swayimane and Winterton, the department through Zimele supported Women in Tourism by building latrine and bathroom facilities which are informal structures to improve the business ideas of establishing B&B s.
In both areas, women receive tourists from Germany who are keen on Home Stay experience. The area of Winterton offers hiking routes, mountainous sites, bird watching and other areas of interest to tourists.
The department intervened in order to increase the number of days that tourists spend in these homesteads by providing facilities that were lacking.The construction of both buildings has been completed and we will invite the Members of this House to their official opening.
1.3 Women of KwaXimba
Early in year 2000, the MEC for Economic Development and Tourism sponsored a Women Sewing Project of KwaXimba and donated sewing machines in order to alleviate poverty and reduce unemployment amongst rural population specifically women.
The beneficiaries (aforementioned women) intended, and still do, to supply local schools with school uniforms, cleaning overalls (uniforms) as well as respond to any other sewing allied opportunities that become available in the market.
The department is currently negotiating with Zimele with a view of including Women of KwaXimba to be trained in sewing as well as business management. We are still looking for funds to sponsor this initiative.
1.4 Women In Construction
In 2012, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism concluded an agreement in support of Women in Construction. There are two organisations that have been supported, namely, South African Women in Construction (SAWIC) and NAFCON.Both organisations were supported to pay for two Administrators and offices which are based in Pinetown. A draft strategy for Women in Construction was prepared which outlines suggested initiatives / projects to advance Women in Construction.
- Number of SAWIC members ‐ 370
- NAFCON members ‐ 210
Both organizations share offices in Pinetown which are paid for by the department. This year they have attended three workshops, namely, Strategy Development, BEE Compliance and Construction Charter as well as SARS compliance. It is anticipated that before the year ends more training workshops will be held so that next year, the projects pays particular focus to business expansion or growth.
1.4.1 Graduates from Mangosuthu University of Technology
All the projects listed above have young women starting up and those who have been in business for a long time. This year SAWIC women gave employment to young graduates from Mangosuthu University of Technology. These were graduates fresh from university who nor could they start their own businesses without the necessary experience as civil engineers.
When SAWIC members employed these young people it was an expression of appreciation for the support they have received from government in particular the department of economic development. In Pinetown 3 graduates were employed in order to gain experience and exposure in the field whilst in Mtuba / Empangeni 2 were employed.
The objective from SAWIC’s perspective was to give the young graduates experience so that they could enter the working world. At first it was an issue how much remuneration they could be paid but it was unanimously agreed that the focus was mainly on getting exposure. Currently they are paid the going rate for starting up civil engineers.
1.5 Job Shadowing
The Department of Trade and Industry initiated a project of Job Shadowing for young girls still in schools. The project is about exposing young girls to the working world but bringing them to the work place during their school holidays. They spend a maximum of one week in an organization looking at different fields of work.
In KwaZulu‐Natal about 10 schools participate in the project. The girls were taken from top ten performing schools from previously disadvantaged communities. The main objective is to assist them to identify careers of their choice. Although the project is owned by the department of Trade and Industry, it is supported by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism in KwaZulu‐Natal.
Public Entities
Honourable members most of our entities have done well on the empowerment of women, however, today we want to zoom in on the work that has been done by Ithala in this regard and we want to deal with practical examples.
Business Finance
Ithala financed 418 women owned businesses throughout the 11 districts of KZN to the value of R244m.These businesses, which include cooperatives, are involved in the following activities i.e. Farming (sugarcane, beef, timber, poultry), construction, franchising (food and petrol stations), printing, bakeries and retail operations.
Property Division
Since we signed the Service delivery Agreement (SDA) in 2006 with both KwaZulu Natal Department of Education and department of Health Ithala Development Corporation stands up proud and boast about a number of success with regards to women empowerment. During the current financial year (2013/2014) Ithala is working on five schools project for the KZN Department of Education of which three of these listed here-under, are being built by woman.
The contractor name working at Umlazi secondary is Zamadunga Construction, holding a CIDB grading of 7GBPE. The project construction cost is R22 000 000.00 and the completion date is end of September 2013. This contractor was previously used by Ithala to build Dumisani Makhaye High School (New School) which was successfully completed. At Incophelelo Primary, the contractor name is Khayakazi Construction, holding a CIDB grading of 5GBPE.
The project construction cost is R18 000 000.00 and the completion date is end of October 2013. This contractor was previously used by Ithala to deal with Wet Works Contract at KwaMashu Community Health Centre. The facility was completed and is now fully functional.
The contractor working at KwaMphikwa is a Joint Venture, comprised of Cece Trading and Buyi Civils, these contractors hold a CIDB grading of 5GBPE respectively. The project construction cost is R19 000 000.00 and the completion date is end of September 2013. Cece Trading was previously used by Ithala to build a New Double Storey Ten Classroom Block at Thembalethu Primary School, Inanda. This was successfully completed and now occupied.
Our women in the department (Project Management Unit) managing this programme have achieved their own Professional Status as required by the ACT. We have not only completed structures and changed people’s lives but have made our name out there by standing up and compete with the best organizations in the field dominated by males.
Most importantly we have contributed to the vision of delivery set out by our own government and thrive to do more on that regard, women empowerment is big in our endeavors. We have most importantly created space for previously disadvantaged individuals including woman to show case their talent in the field. Contributed to SMME/ BEE initiatives such as Woman in construction, Vukuzenzele, and the likes.
These contractors have grown from stage 1 on the CIDB grading scale to stage 7 where in rands and cents contracts are as small as hanging doors for our maintenance division to 40 million rands contracts and completed successfully. This unit make sure that is empowering women because its work below R500.000 and it’s good enough for emerging companies. We are proud to show case some of our current and just completed contracts by these contractors. Just to name the few.
- Lindelani Primary School done by Luseza Trading completed in time Mrs. S. Khuzwayo first contract with us and executed brilliantly. CECE Trading owned by Miss Buthelezi completed our face brick double storey building; this contractor had two other contracts with Ithala DFC at the time andcompleted all of them successfully.
- Velile Business Enterprise delivered McCarthy PS at a value of R 21 million completed the project in time.
- Wandile Trading Enterprise delivered KwaMbiza Clinic at the value of R 5.3 million completed in time; this lady has displayed resilience and interest in construction.
- Ithala Development Corporation has since completed ten clinics around KwaZulu Natal province and is fully operational touching lives of that many South Africans. As if that was not enough we have also completed well over 2000 classrooms which translate to 112 500 square meters of space for kids to learn and that translate to 80 000 learners.
Honourable members while we are proud of what we have achieved to elevate the role of women in business, however we are aware that there is still a lot that needs to be done. In this regard, we want to repeat the words of comrade President Samora Machel who said: The liberation of women is the fundamental necessity for the revolution, a guarantee of its continuity and a condition for its success”.
This is a clarion call to all of us that we cannot be free until women are free. The struggle for women empowerment is not a struggle for women but a societal one.
