Minister in The Presidency, Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang
3 February 2009
The National Gender Machinery (NGM) meeting, the first in 2009, held in
Tshwane on 2 to 3 February 2009, has resolved that a task team should be
assigned the responsibility of finalising a substantive Concept Paper on
establishment of a ministry to drive women's empowerment and the transformation
of gender relations, by the end of next week.
This Concept Paper will be presented through the appropriate channels to
Cabinet for consideration, as part of the handover report to the post-elections
new administration on the configuration of government, including institutional
arrangements at provincial and local levels.
The task team should consolidate all inputs, submissions and issues from the
NGM participants and other interested role players.
The urgency of finalising the task has been emphasised. The paper needs to
reach Cabinet for discussion, by the end of this month, February 2009, before
the forthcoming general elections. The paper needs to influence government's
deliberations on the structure of government in the next administration.
The meeting, which was convened by The Presidency, was attended by about 120
participants from government at all levels, traditional leadership and civil
society. Among the key stakeholders that attended were two ministers and four
deputy ministers, including Minister of Agriculture Lulu Xingwana, Deputy
Minister of Arts and Culture Ntombazana Botha, Deputy Minister of Public Works,
Ntopile Kganyago, Deputy Minister of Defence F Bhengu, Deputy Minister of
Social Development Jean Swanson-Jacobs, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Fatima Hajaig.
There were also Parliamentarians and representatives from the Commission for
Gender Equality (CGE), Traditional Leaders and various civil society bodies,
including the South African Women in Dialogue (SAWID) and the Progressive
Women's Movement of South Africa (PWSA), People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) and
Gender Advocacy Programme (GAP), and SA Law Reform Commission.
The NGM was convened prior the general elections primarily to deliberate on
the following matters, which were discussed in the previous three NGMs:
* Finalising the concept of a Women's Ministry, focusing on priorities of the
institutional mechanisms for women's empowerment and gender equality in South
Africa
* Taking forward the 50:50 campaign with emphasis on women's representation in
political processes and decision making positions, and to begin to agree when
to launch this campaign
* Dialoguing on the Commission of the Status of Women (CSW) 2009 theme "Shared
responsibilities between men and women, including care-giving in the context of
HIV and AIDS" to give meaning to this theme in the South African context,
leading up to the United Nation (UN) Commission on the Status of Women meeting,
so that we all carry a common message of women of South Africa.
The first day was dedicated to a discussion on a ministry to drive the
empowerment of women and promotion of gender equality. A Concept Paper
formulated by The Presidency, was delivered by the office on the status of
women. The paper served as the base document that guided discussions on the
ministry. The Concept Paper covered the following key themes:
* Milestones in the struggle for women's emancipation and gender equality in
South Africa and internationally, and to identified the gains made and threats
to these gains
* Weaknesses in the co-ordination of the current NGM, and reflected on the need
for improved co-ordination focus on the Women's Ministry.
* Name and location of the Women's Ministry
* What the mandate of that Women's Ministry should be
* Other components of the National Gender machinery.
After the opening address and the presentation of the Concept Paper a lively
discussion ensued. At the end of the discussion, there was sufficient consensus
on the following:
1. Establishment of a ministry to drive women's empowerment and the
transformation of gender relations
2. Locating the ministry in The Presidency
3. Ensuring that the ministry has its own accounting officer and that it be
well resourced
4. The ministry should have a development focus
5. The ministry's powers and functions to include: policy and legislation,
planning co-ordination, advocacy, programme implementation in areas such as
poverty, managing South Africa's international relations and reporting on women
and gender and focus on selective programmes (such as poverty alleviation and
women's paid labour), working with the other line function departments.
All these issues were fully deliberated upon and we emerged with a consensus
view on what institutional arrangements would best advance women in this
country, and the task team will prepare a document to provide necessary
guidance and make recommendations to government.
Submissions and contributions to the Concept Paper should be forwarded
to:
The Office of the Status of Women
The Presidency
Republic of South Africa
Private Bag X1000
Pretoria
0001
Deadline: 13 February 2009
Thank you.
Enquiries:
Charity Bhengu
Cell: 083 679 7424
E-mail: bhengu@po.gov.za
Issued by: The Presidency
3 February 2009
Source: The Presidency (http://www.thepresidency.gov.za)
