Speech of the Minister in The Presidency responsible for Women, Minister Susan Shabangu , MP on the occasion of the Budget Vote of the Department of Women, National Assembly, Parliament
Honourable Chairperson,
Honourable Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee,
Honourable Members,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen.
I stand here with a heavy heart moved by the passing on of Mme Ruth Mompati last night. This stalwart of our revolution was a mother, a trained soldier, a teacher and a mentor to many of us. We dedicate this Budget vote to this veteran bestowed with the highest honour of Isithwalandwe, Seaparankwe by the ANC for her uninterrupted role in the struggle for liberation.
Mme Ruth is one of our leading lights in the ilk of OR Tambo, Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Lilian Ngoyi, Albertinah Sisulu and others. Mme Mompati was also one of the leaders of the 1956 women’s march and a renowned leader of the ANC Women’s League.
While in exile she never lost her passion as a teacher. She continued with the empowerment of girls who went to exile and played a critical role in the education of young girls and women. She continued to hold the fort in building the women’s movement and women empowerment including in this very Parliament when she became part of the core of leaders who served in the first democratic Parliament. She also contributed by identifying young women in Parliament who could serve as diplomats.
May I ask Parliament to rise and observe a moment of silence in honour of this fallen heroine of our liberation struggle.
May her soul rest in eternal peace! I thank you!
As we mourn the passing of Mme Ruth Mompati, we also celebrate her life. Her passing on must unleash new impetus in all of us to attend to the unfinished business of ensuring radical economic transformation in our life time. As this Parliament, as a country, as women we owe to her to pick up the spear.
Mme Ruth, tell Helen Joseph, Lillian Ngoyi, MmaSisulu and all our departed comrades that 21 years into our democracy we are living in a country that truly belongs to all who live in it. Also tell them that we are still faced with the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality.
May I take this opportunity to report to Parliament that our former Director-General, Ms. Veliswa Baduza resigned at the end of January 2015 to pursue other career opportunities. I am pleased to introduce our new Director General, Ms. Jenny Schreiner, who was appointed from 1 April 2015.
I stand here as Minister in the Presidency Responsible for Women, to present the Budget Vote of the Department of Women, Vote 13.
In 1955 the National Action Council in preparation for the Congress of the People issued a leaflet mobilising the people across the length and the breath of our country, which amongst others, made this call: “Let us speak together of Freedom, and of happiness that can come to men and women if they live in a land that is free. Let us speak of Freedom and how to get it to ourselves”.
I am saying this because this year South Africa celebrates 60 years of the Freedom Charter and we are living that dream. Today men and women of our beautiful country live in a land that is free. As we celebrate this 60th Anniversary, we are encouraged that today we can boldly affirm that South Africa indeed belongs to all who live in it, black and white. In 2016 we will be celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the 1956 Women’s march.
Chairperson, I am proud to be an ANC Minister because the ANC has been consistent in putting the struggle of women at the centre of the National Democratic Revolution. The strategic objective of the National Democratic Revolution has been and remains the creation of a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and united South Africa. Let me acknowledge the presence of some of our ANC Women League Veterans, who have been part of this history.
President OR Tambo, without fail, addressed the plight of women, their role in the struggle for liberation and their place in society in his various speeches. Women’s emancipation and gender equality has always been at the helm of ANC work. The establishment of this Department and its overall mandate attests to this.
This track record of struggle for women’s rights and empowerment was reinforced by our commitment to the Beijing Platform for Action. South Africa played a pivotal role in crafting this Platform for Action to mainstream gender relations, transformation and focus on the empowerment of women across government and society.
The Beijing Platform recognises that while the achievement of gender mainstreaming in all departments across the tiers of government and throughout society is the desired outcome, there is a need for a Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women to champion and monitor this cause.
The transfer of functions and programmes related to the rights of people with disabilities and of children to the Department of Social Development has been concluded. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Department of Social Development, the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and National Treasury for their cooperation, guidance and assistance. In August 2014, we undertook our first departmental strategic planning session as the Department of Women located in the Presidency to develop a 2015-2020 five year strategic plan.
In reconfiguring and restructuring the department, we have engaged on how to programmatise its mandate in a manner that contributes meaningfully to the achievement of the National Development Plan: Vision 2030 and the various implementation strategies that support the NDP.
The first phase of the re-alignment and the restructuring process has been finalized with the Department tabling the Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan in Parliament in March 2015. Particularly important for any department with a new mandate, we will continue, on an annual basis as is required by the planning framework, to review our plans and improve our service delivery.
I have, in April 2015, signed off on a structure aligned to our mandate, which is currently receiving the attention of the Minister of Public Service, whose concurrence is required. The next three months will see completion of the job descriptions and skills requirements of the core business posts, a skills audit and matching and placing process of existing staff, and an intense recruitment drive to build the capacity of the department for improved delivery.
The department will grow incrementally over the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) period, both in relation to staffing and in relation to budget. At face value this may appear to be a simple task but the task is complex, and will require careful attention to annual planning responsibilities.
The Department’s budget allocation for 2015/16 is one hundred and eighty seven million and two thousand rand (R187 002 000), of which sixty seven million six hundred and eight nine thousand rand (R67 689 000) is transferred to the Commission of Gender Equality.
This leaves the Department with an operational budget for 2015/16 of one hundred and nineteen million, three hundred and thirteen thousand rand (R119 313 000) for this financial year. The money for this financial year is allocated across four budget programmes, as follows:
- Administration, with an allocation of eighty million four hundred and fifty one thousand rand (R80 451 000);
- Social, Political and Economic Participation, with an allocation of eighty seven million, two hundred and thirty thousand rand (R87 230 000), which includes the transfer to CGE;
- Research, Policy and Knowledge Management, with an allocation of six million one hundred and seventy thousand rand (R 6 170 000); and
- Monitoring, Evaluation and Outreach, with an allocation of thirteen million, one hundred and fifty one thousand rand (R13 151 000).
Therefore I want to bring to your attention that we intend to engage National Treasury to ensure that we are adequately resourced. We note that the budget allocation for the Department is inadequate to enable effective planning, and delivery on the key performance areas of the department.
The seamless recruitment process that we followed in appointing the new Director General should be applauded. Building on this achievement, the DG will embark on the recruiting of requisite skills relevant to the mandate of the department. Our mandate, the socio-economic empowerment of women, requires that we ensure gender mainstreaming on all the MTSF Outcomes. This task is daunting, but not insurmountable.
The work of our department is directly linked to Outcome 14 of the MTSF: Nation Building and Social Cohesion. To realise this vision of nation building and social cohesion, our budget programme structure will be strategically positioned to enable us to continue to fight against structural gender imbalances and patriarchy in all its forms and manifestations.
In particular, we will continue to partner with other government departments and civil society in our fight against gender based violence with a focus on prevention, strengthening response, support, and awareness raising interventions, as well as improving communication and information sharing. Through budget programme 3, my department will review the achievements and implementation in the fight against gender based violence in the country to understand the challenges that fail to protect women from violence and abuse.
Since the dawn of democracy, the ANC led government has enacted a number of reforms and legislative frameworks to address gender based violence and established a number of institutions to protect the survivors of gender based violence. It is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions, given the on-going scourge of violence against women. The department will embark on national dialogues reaching out to communities in all provinces. Our main target is rural communities because we want to consciously give voice to women.
Our approach as the Department of Women is to move away from event-driven 16 Days of Activism on no violence against women and children to a programme that which must happen 365 days. Hence the launch of #365 days on no violence against women and children campaign, where I have mobilised members of society including men to join hands with government against this scourge with the theme “Count me in”.
Let me at this point recognise a group of parolees who partnered with us in this campaign and in building social cohesion. The participation by government departments, national provincial and local, contributed to the massiveness of the campaign, leaving behind in communities parks for children and food gardens and sports people mobilised as ambassadors for on violence against women.
In this campaign, we reached out to 46 African countries, reaching about half a billion people through One Gospel, SABC, ANN7, Etv and other media platforms. The interfaith organizations and civil society organization have been critical in social mobilisation and have expressed appreciation of the closer partnership in the campaigns against gender based violence. We are inspired to be joined today by a number of these religious leaders and we will continue to work with them.
Our August month programme this year will be a build-up towards the 60th Anniversary of the Women’s march. Wa thintha abafazi, wa thintha imbokodo! We will be intensifying the integration of planning of Women’s Month activities to ensure that the outreach is maximised and all line functional departments’ focus on gender issues related to their specific mandate. This August month we will also release a report on the Status of Women as promised in 2014.
The National Development Plan aspires to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030 through uniting South Africans, unleashing the energies of its citizens, growing an inclusive economy, building capabilities, enhancing the capability of the state and leaders working together to solve complex problems.
The focus of the department here is to fight poverty, in particular as it impacts on women, and ensure gender mainstreaming in the economy across all sectors. In 2030, the NDP will be judged on whether women are at the center of its achievements.
The reality is that poverty tends to be more severe for women and poses greater challenges for women who bear the burden of caring for children, for the sick and elderly under very difficult circumstances. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) states that women account for a growing percentage of the world’s poor, with about 70% of the world’s poor being women.
Addressing this august house in 1994 President Nelson Mandela cautioned us that: “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity; it is an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.”
In line with Outcome 4: Decent employment through inclusive growth, it is our view that no economy can grow by excluding any part of its people, and an economy that is not growing cannot integrate all of its citizens in a meaningful way. This means that women, who constitute 52% of the population of South Africa, must be incorporated in the economic development plans in order for South Africa to fully develop.
Let me welcome the work done by Stats SA both in the Quarterly Labour Force Survey and the “Gender Series: Volume Economic Empowerment 2001-2014 focusing on gender disparities in economic empowerment” in providing accurate figures on women’s participation in the economy, which lays a basis for development of strategies to effect improvements.
The study shows the need to intensify our fight against poverty and dismantle the feminization of poverty which is a direct manifestation of patriarchy. Amongst others, our department will be working with departments of the economic cluster to review the impact of the existing funding model on women’s empowerment in our country.
We are concerned that the levels of funding to women is far from adequate and will be working with DFIs and their departments to turn this around and to ensure disaggregation of data.
Access to funding is critical for empowerment of women in the economy – we ask the question as to whether the current criteria and processes of DFIs are friendly to women or do they unintentionally contribute to marginalisation of women? Do they change the ownership patterns in society? Do they change participation at all levels including the in boardroom?
Empowering women to participate fully in economic life across all sectors is essential to building stronger economies that create jobs and accessible opportunities to women. We all agree that an improved economy can improve the lives of women and children and thereby build stronger families, communities and society.
Our department will also add value to Outcome 2: A long and healthy life for all South Africans supported through budget programme 2. We welcome the good work of the Department of Health in the improvement in reduction of maternal mortality, but we will share with the Minister of Health our concerns about the issues of unequal access to health for women.
We are conscious of the causal link between maternal mortality, poverty and access to health services and must make sure that our government takes health services and health infrastructure to where women are.
The departments’ work in support of Outcome 13: An inclusive and responsive social protection system will be taken forward through programme 2, with particular emphasis on the burden of housework and care responsibilities on women, particularly in female headed households.
The extension of social protection, to women and children is a very significant contribution to household income and hence impacts on poverty reduction, but the department will be supporting the Expanded Public Works Programme to provide women with skills as a transition to establishing themselves in formal employment and in the social economy. The aspects of social protection that include shelters for women, provision of child care are important for releasing women for more effective participation in the economy and society.
South Africa has ratified Regional and International Instruments that seek to protect the rights of women as an integral part of human rights and pursue socio-economic empowerment of women. These instruments include the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, AU Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
Our role as a lead department is to make sure that our country complies with its international obligations. We will therefore continue to facilitate gender mainstreaming in legislation, polices, plans and programmes of government as a whole.
We need to strengthen our international reporting obligations as a country. Therefore all outstanding reports will be submitted on time. The process of restructuring and realigning the work of the department will assist in ensuring a more responsive, efficient, effective and timeous reporting on our obligations.
Our reporting obligation as a lead department requires stringent and clear systems of monitoring and evaluation. I am pleased to report that we are currently finalising the CEDAW report for consultation with all stakeholders. This report will be tabled before Cabinet and thereafter here in Parliament. Following this process, we are confident that the report will be gazette for public consultations in June 2015.
Chairperson, our Budget Vote debates takes place at a time when the global community has just emerged from the successful 59th session of the United Nation’s Commission on the Status of Women.
It provided member states with an opportunity to reflect on how far they have come in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action (Beijing +20) adopted at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995. Let me take this opportunity to thank civil society organizations for their invaluable contributions towards the drafting and the finalisation of our country report.
As promised there will be further consultations with all stakeholders. Our approach is that CSW is not an event but an ongoing process in improving and refining delivery for women.
Arising out of our Beijing +20 Country Report it is clear that there are several major gains made and milestones reached in the progress toward women’s empowerment and gender equality in the country.
Major achievements for South Africa in this regard are demonstrated by:
- The sound human rights based legislative framework in the country;
- The institutional mechanisms put in place to promote women’s human rights, dignity, empowerment and gender equality; and
- The remarkable achievements in the representation of women in decision-making structures and processes both in the public and the private sector.
That is why as the ANC we pride ourselves in our history and in building the future. However, greater effort is still required of the private sector, and my department will continue to work with Corporate South Africa in order to ensure that it also complies with the commitments made in Beijing in 1995. As government we welcome initiatives such as the 30% Club which is a global team of listed companies that has committed to ensuring at least 30% women representation in their boards.
Increasingly, the private sector is realising that gender diversity at the top echelons of companies is not only about numbers but also about improved performance. The study of PWC on women on boards shows that a more diverse Board of Directors has a better understanding of markets that are themselves diverse in terms of gender.
The assessment of women representation in Parliament indicates that it is only the ANC with 50% women representation. We challenge other parties to also embrace the principle of gender parity and stop lip service.
Chairperson, the African Union has put women at the heart of the developmental agenda of our continent and we are half way through the 2010-2020 ‘African Women’s Decade’ under the theme: “Grassroots approach to gender equality and women’s empowerment”. South Africa is proud to get an opportunity to host the AU Summit of Head of States in June 2015. This provides an opportunity for SA as a leading country on the gender equality programme to set another milestone. The AU Heads of States have declared 2015 “the Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s agenda 2063”. Consonant with this theme, as South Africa we will be hosting two important meetings on women in June in our country during this summit:
- 2nd High Level Panel on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment
- The meeting of AU Ministers in charge of gender and women as part of this Summit.
Africa Union has taken a decision that by 2020 all African countries must have achieved parity in women representation in decision making and participation in the economy. We welcome this decision that challenges patriarchy in Africa. In challenging patriarchy, the key strategic outcome of Africa Agenda 2063 is the destruction of the economic and political glass ceiling that restricts women’s progress.
As we move towards the Africa Day we must be mindful of the conditions faced by many women in our continent who are at the coalface of poverty and under-development. We are however encouraged by the Africa 2063 Agenda which for us is a source of renewed hope. As South Africa we must always remember that we are not an island, WE ARE AFRICA!
In the African Agenda 2063, amongst others, the AU commits itself to “Catalyse education and a skills revolution and actively promote science, technology, research and innovation, to build knowledge, human resources, capabilities and skills for the African century”.
When assessing the quality of education in relation to field of study, employed persons with a tertiary education are more likely to be qualified in the economic and management sciences. Gender differences were observed in relation to qualifications. Men were three times more likely (with a percentage share of 75,4%) to be qualified in physics/mathematics/engineering than women. On the other hand, women were more likely to be in possession of qualifications in the field of social studies/health sciences and arts/education/hospitality (approximately 66% and 68%, respectively).
It is clear that despite efforts to give women greater access to education, women are still concentrated in certain disciplines, other than the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, and most professions continue to be sex-segregated.
During this financial year the Department of Women will continue to work with other departments, civil society and corporate SA to ensure empowerment and education of women in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). In this regard we will partner with the Department of Science and Technology and the HSRC to take forward the recommendations from the recently held African Gender Summit aimed at enhancing gender and the STEM fields.
However, I have a concern about the levels of attrition of women working in the hard technical fields for women qualified in the STEM field. To address this challenge my department will work all stakeholders to address the shortcomings and reinforce the best practices. Like the Uweso-Technogirl, a civil society initiative which facilitates job shadowing programmes for the girl child in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Let me recognise the Technogirls and their Alumni who are here in the gallery today.
In addition the Presidency in partnership with Cell C will host the Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work on the 28th of May 2015. This is an annual programme that encourages both public and private sector to take a girl child to work as a mechanism of introducing the girl child to the vast continuum of careers. The full details of this programme will be communicated at a later stage.
Once again I call on Corporate South Africa to come on board and play their role in empowering the girl child. We also invite Parliament and all government departments to join us and be part of this noble course. Therefore stand-up and be counted! In our quest to build a South Africa that is truly non-sexist, non-racial, united, democratic and prosperous let us all join hands and work together.
May I take this opportunity to thank the Director-General, Ms Jenny Schreiner and her team for their continued support and their sterling work in repositioning the department to meet its new mandate.
At this moment I table this Budget Vote for 2015/16 before this august house.
In conclusion, we use the occasion of this Budget Vote to pay homage to Ingrid Jonker, a 32 years old Afrikaner poet who committed suicide in protest against the apartheid regime in 1965 by drowning in the sea waters here in Cape Town. Her passing was a powerful indictment of the apartheid regime created by the likes of Verwoerd as the architecture of apartheid.
Fifty (50) years on as we pay homage to this extra-ordinary South African woman we are reminded of her poem titled: ‘the child is not dead’ that she eloquently wrote following the massacres of our people in Sharpeville, Langa and Nyanga:
“The child is not dead
The child lifts his fists against his mother
Who shouts Africa! …
The child is not dead
Not in Langa nor at Nyanga
Nor at Orlando nor at Sharpville
Nor at the police post at Phillipi
Where he lies with a bullet through his brain…
This child who only wanted to play in the sun at Nyanga is everywhere
The child grown to a man treks through all Africa
The child grown into a giant, journeys through the whole world without a pass!”
For us the child that Ingrid Jonker referred to represents the ideas captured in the Freedom Charter of a country that truly belongs to all who live in it. Like those children in Langa, Nyanga, Phillipi, Soweto, Port Elizabeth and elsewhere in our country, our people paid the supreme price for this freedom but the child is not dead. ANC continues to live and lead, ANC continue to be relevant, ANC continue to be the hope and wish of our people!
I thank you!
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