Budget Vote address Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, MP Minister in The Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities
Honourable Speaker,
Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with
Disabilities, Honourable Sisisi Tolashe,
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons
with Disabilities and all Portfolio Committee Members,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers present,
Chairperson of the Commission for Gender Equality,
The Chairperson, and the CEO of the NYDA,
Honourable Members,
All South Africans joining us through various media
I am honoured to present Budget Vote 20 on the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities. Central to the mandate bestowed on this government by our Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, is the determination to build a sovereign and democratic South African state that is anchored on the values of human dignity, the achievement of equality and collective prosperity and wellbeing. Our constitution foregrounds the Bill of Rights as the cornerstone of what should eventually resemble a just, equitable, and more humane society.
Honourable Speaker, despite the substantial and visible progress we have made in all spheres of development, we remain one of the most dangerously unequal societies in the world, with more than half of our population living below the poverty line. We are the first to acknowledge that, despite our best intentions, the systemic legacy of over 300 years of colonial conquest and exploitation, the unabated plundering of the wealth producing resources of our land and the resultant underdevelopment cannot be corrected and redressed in just under three decades of the democratic dispensation.
It is also a reality that since the dawn of democracy every effort of transformation has been resisted and challenged by those who have deep pockets and an affinity for the past. They have taken every measure we have tried to transform the economy to the courts.
In the words of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, “Those who judge us merely by the heights we have achieved would do well to remember the depths from which we started”.
What persists and it is of particular concern to all of us is the extent to which our society remains characterised by an unhealthy concentration of income, wealth, power and opportunities in the hands of a few. The picture worsens when we turn our attention to wealth inequality, assets inequality and the disproportionate debt burden along racial lines.
A study by Southern Centre for Inequality Studies and the World Inequality Lab revealed that:
- The top 10% wealthiest South Africans own 85.6% of all wealth. With an average net worth of R486 million, the richest 3 500 South Africans own more wealth than the bottom 32 million altogether.
- On average, the poorest half of the South African adult population owe more than they own. This means that if they were to sell everything they own, they would still be in debt.
Women, children, youth and persons with disabilities live in fear as they bear the worst of poverty, economic exclusion and an unprecedented nightmare of gender-based violence and femicide.
Honourable Speaker, we are advocating for a significant change in our department’s positioning and character. In addition to advocacy, we are going to be implementing some projects primarily concerned with advancing the interests of women, youth and persons with disabilities. We have adopted an All-of-Government and All-of-Society Approach to Livelihood Restoration, Wealth Creation, Poverty and Hunger Alleviation through special projects that will be rolled across the country's poorest districts, where the greatest need exists.
As the President so emphasised, we need a step-change for the purpose of completely disrupting the structural afterlives of an economy that, for decades, has thrived on unjust patterns of hyper-accumulation and concentration of resources in ways that punish those who keep the very wheels of this economy turning. There is no merit in merely glossing over what is essentially a tip of a dangerous iceberg.
According to Section 198 (a) of our constitution, which deals with principles that anchor the character of our security services, a state of National Security must:
“reflect the resolve of South Africans, as individuals and as a nation, to live as equals, to live in peace and harmony, to be free from fear and want and to seek a better life”.
As things stand, we do not live as equals, communities live in fear due to violent crimes and GBVF, we do not live in peace and harmony, and neither are we free from fear and want.
Honourable Speaker, the youth of this country represent a blessing with limitless potential and possibilities. However, the current state of poverty, idleness and general economic inactivity amongst our population in general and the youth in particular cannot be left unattended.
In this financial year, under the guidance of the Commander-in-Chief,our department will rally all-of-government and all-of-society behind the finalisation and implementation of an SANDF-led National Service, primarily targeted at the Youth, Women and Persons with Disabilities, and will accelerate our nation’s post-pandemic recovery, reconstruction and the attainment of our national development goals.
The SANDF-led National Service we have in mind will train and capacitate our youth to be resilient and self-sustaining, massify sector-specific skills development, power up our nation’s industrialisation aspirations, grow local economies and kick-start a deliberate skills revolution open to every South African son and daughter. We envisage that this programme will prepare young people to meet the country’s current and future professional needs, and for a future free of want and insecurity.
Honourable Speaker, as households and communities come to terms with the extent of the social, economic and livelihood devastation that the Covid-19 pandemic left behind, poverty-stricken families and communities face numerous challenges, including weakened livelihoods, hunger, limited or no economic opportunities, little to no income and inadequate access to resources. These challenges contribute to a cycle of poverty which disproportionately affects women, children, youth and persons with disabilities, particularly those in rural and township communities.
Against this backdrop, the Department, in partnership with our Universities, TVET Colleges and existing civil society organisations with the capacity to train and empower participating communities, will be rolling out Integrated Farming Cooperatives in South Africa’s poorest districts during and beyond the 2023/24 financial year, with a particular focus on youth, women and persons with disabilities for poverty alleviation, livelihood restoration, food security and wealth creation.
The primary objective of these projects is to reduce the impact of extreme poverty, hunger, unemployment, and basic socio-economic insecurity, restore livelihoods and build community wealth through Integrated Crop-Livestock Farming Cooperatives.
Agricultural cooperatives to be rolled out in these districts will seek to maximise mutual support and economies of scale by enabling farming individuals, families or communities to pool resources together, share equipment , and jointly purchase inputs to create economies of scale, lower costs, increase bargaining power with suppliers and buyers, and improve their productivity and competitiveness.
We are also collaborating with the Co-operative Banks Development Agency (CBDA) and other key stakeholders to develop a concept document to support more women, youth and persons with disabilities to establish Cooperative Banking Institutions (CBI). Empowering cooperatives through this niche approach will improve the sustainability and viability of cooperative-based businesses.
Cooperative banks have always been an important part of many successful financial systems.
We are confident that through our partnership with the Co-operative Banks Development Agency (CBDA) and other stakeholders will go a long way towards improving financial and economic inclusion of the marginalised communities.
If you consider developed economies, the majority of banks are cooperatives, whether in France, Germany and other developed nations.
We learn from Miriam Makeba’s iconic career not to underestimate the power of the creative industry. This industry is not only central to the soul of a nation, it has the potential to create millions of jobs, Nollywood in Nigeria and Bollywood in India have demonstrated this to the rest of the world.
This industry has a ripple effect on other sectors of the economy by generating a demand for goods and services from suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors. A single production, for example, creates indirect job opportunities in related industries such as logistics, hospitality, fashion, project management, transport and many other economic sectors. Artists also become ambassadors of the country.
In our bid to harness the potential of this industry, we are in discussions with various social partners to establish a community-based recording studio, and others in coming years to enable communities, particularly young people, to record music and explore their creative abilities.
Further, working with the NYDA, work has commenced toward the establishment of a radio station. This radio station will ensure a seamless communication and dissemination of information and receive feedback from communities about opportunities and the government's collective work in support of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities.
There must be preferential procurement for youth, women, persons with disabilities, and military veterans.
The persistent lack of significant economic participation and representation across many socio-economic categories has led to an increase in gender inequality in the nation.
There are several aspects of gender-based violence and femicide that are directly linked to the lack of women empowerment. As a Department, our key areas of women empowerment are social and economic, wherein our focus on women empowerment envisages a South Africa where women participate fully in every area of human endeavour, whether academia, the judiciary, the economy, politics among others. This is particularly because women's empowerment is key for the empowerment of society at large.
That is why we will be working on initiatives to revive the issue of the oceans economy. This sector is a big frontier that we have not yet fully explored.
This year’s National Women’s Month will spotlight one of the departments’ priority programs on the Ocean’s Economy under the theme: HARNESSING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE OCEANS ECONOMY FOR WOMEN’S SOCIO-ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT.
The programme will focus on the diverse sectors in the oceans economy such as the maritime and maritime transport sector; aquaculture; underwater biodiversity; gas and oil exploration; related tourism; related leisure and entertainment activities; climate change adaptation and environmental management including pollution in the oceans economy, among others. This will also cover youth and persons with disabilities.
Honourable Speaker,
The current financial year of 2023/2024, the NYDA will target the following:
- The training of more than 25 000 young people to be youth
entrepreneurs. - 2 000 youth-owned enterprises who will receive financial assistance from the NYDA through the NYDA grant programme. These enterprises will go on to create 6 000 jobs in the economy.
- The NYDA will also support our all of government approach to the SANDF led National Service.
- 10 000 young people will be placed in jobs through the National Pathway Management Network.
- 50 000 young people will be recruited in the structured National Youth Service where young people will earn an income, learn skills and increase their employability and offer meaningful quality service to their communities.
To date, through its partnerships with the private sector, Youth Employment Service (YES) has reached the milestone of 100 000 quality work opportunities for young South Africans, injecting over R4.6 billion into the economy through YES Youth salaries alone.
The NYDA has identified an opportunity to support young people in the transport sector. With research showing a rapid rise of last mile delivery services, this market is expected to grow to reach $200bn globally by 2027.
Through the YOUTH DRIVERS’ LICENCE PROGRAM, the NYDA will:
- Roll-out a customised training programme for last mile drivers that meets the specific needs of industries who have a last mile function. Some will be trained in car driving licences.
- Train 200 unemployed individuals from townships and rural areas as SMMEs to take up last mile delivery opportunities which will include a stipend, drivers licence training, venture creation training and customer service training.
- Provide individuals with a combination of hard and soft skills required for the last mile transport industry.
- Ensure that trained individuals meet specified sets of employer’s requirements.
- Provide trained new start up business to secure opportunities by providing each young person with a motorcycle, helmet, gloves, cellphone and working capital and insurance support for four months.
- Develop a vetted database of trained last mile drivers for industries to source both fully employed and independent drivers.
We are delighted, Honourable Speaker, that this august house has approved that South African Sign Language becomes the 12th official language in South Africa. The Department working with the Pan South
African Language Board (PanSALB), the Deaf Community and other stakeholders will develop a plan of action to mainstream sign language in our society.
As part of our advocacy work aimed at increasing the level of awareness, information and knowledge about the different disabilities, the department will be working with our partners to publish manuals on different areas of disability. The Deputy Minister will expand on these areas.
For the 2023/24 financial year we will develop 6 best practice manuals and guidelines, in partnership with the Department of Health and related stakeholders, on disabilities in the following areas: Mental Health, Autism, Epilepsy, Acceptable Terminology on Disability, Wheelchair Provision, Deaf and Blind Disabilities. We will ensure that there is a campaign against the attack of persons with albinism.
We will be partnering with academic and research institutions to shine a spotlight on Climate Change Adaptation and Vulnerabilities of Persons with Disabilities.
The Department will support the development of a Framework on Self- Representation by and for Persons with Disabilities. To quote the slogan of Disabled People South Africa (DPSA) “nothing about us without us”. We will endeavour to make this slogan a lived reality for persons with disability.
Women continue to suffer the second pandemic of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. As a department, we intend to continue with an all of society approach to responding to GBVF. This will include partnering with research institutions to conduct comprehensive research into the known and unknown drivers of GBVF in our communities.
Information available to us shows a distressing reality of perpetrators being some of those closest to us. In the midst of the COVID pandemic, the President of the Republic declared GBVF as a second pandemic. Speaking with a heavy heart he said:
“...I stand before the women and girls of South Africa this evening to talk about another pandemic that is raging in our country – the killing of women and children by the men of our country. As a man, as a husband and as a father, I am appalled at what is no less than a war being waged against the women and children of our country.”
One of the stalwarts of our liberation struggle, Mme Gertrude Shope once said and I quote:
“Every generation has got a responsibility to know what its mission is. Mine was to liberate the country, what is yours?”
I believe that this is a question that each South African should seek to answer. Ridding this country of the scourge of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide should be a common vision for all South Africans. To overcome Gender-Based Violence and Femicide we must make this fight everybody's business. This is inclusive of members of this Honourable House from both benches of the house, from the benches of the governing party and the opposition benches.
The Department submitted the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Bill to Parliament. The purpose of this Council will be to coordinate all efforts of government, private sector, labour and civil society in the eradication of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide in our country. The Department has developed a Comprehensive National Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Prevention Strategy (CNPS) whilst the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJCD) developed the innovative National Integrated Femicide Prevention Strategy (NIFPS).
On their own, these bills, strategies and plans are not a panacea for the eradication of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. Gender Based-Violence and Femicide will only end when every member of society takes responsibility to end violence and promote social cohesion and nation building.
It was Emperor Haile Selassie who reminded us that “throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.”
The persistent lack of significant economic participation and representation across many socio-economic categories has led to an increase in gender inequality in the nation.
There are several aspects of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide that are directly linked to the lack of women empowerment. As a Department, our key areas of women empowerment are social and economic, wherein our focus on women empowerment speaks to issues that transcend GBVF and envisages a South Africa where women are not constrained by any social or economic limitations. This is particularly because women's empowerment is key for the empowerment of society at large.
This year’s National Women’s Month programme is on the Ocean’s Economy under the theme: HARNESSING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE OCEANS ECONOMY FOR WOMEN’S SOCIO-ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT.
As former President Nelson Mandela once said, “It is vitally important that all structures of Government, including the President himself, should understand this fully that freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression.”
In the spirit of South Africa’s foreign policy on building unity, inclusive economic development and shared prosperity for the African continent and its people, and in order to foster social cohesion amongst young persons of Africa, the Department working with key partners of Forty Under 40 Africa Awards, will host the Forty Under 40 South Africa Awards in September 2023. The Awards will be exclusive to South African citizens under 40 years.
The purpose of the Awards is to provide recognition, celebrate the achievements of young individuals in their respective fields, and encourage their contribution to nation building. The nominees represent a wide range of industries, such as in: banking and finance; energy; family business; farming; entrepreneurship; agriculture; theatre and arts; journalism; fashion; law; sport; event management; health; technology and innovation; as well as community and youth work.
Recognition is given to those who are committed to professional excellence; community service; business growth; and have risen up the ranks of their companies or industries, at a relatively young age - under 40 years.
Honourable Speaker and members of the House, our budget allocations for 2023/24 is R1 036 444 000. The Department will transfer 79.8% of that allocation to the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) and the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) in that:
- R733 114 000.00 will be transferred to the NYDA.
- R94 140 000.00 will be transferred to the CGE.
This means that R76 498 000.00 is available to run all the programmes and sub-programmes of the department.
In conclusion, I wish to thank all the people we work with in support of the department’s mandate. I thank the Portfolio Committee for the oversight role in this portfolio. I thank the Gender Commission, and the NYDA for supporting the implementation of this daunting mandate. I thank all the NGOs and our international partners who continue to support our programmes. I thank the Director-General for her leadership of the department in delivering on its mandate.
I hereby request you to support Budget Vote 20 of the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities.
Malibongwe!
