Committee Annual Report; Office for Status of Women Report; Monitoring Tools for Gender Mainstreaming Workshop

Meeting report

JOINT MONITORING COMMITTEE ON IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY OF LIFE AND STATUS OF WOMEN
11 November 2005
COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT; OFFICE FOR STATUS OF WOMEN REPORT; MONITORING TOOLS FOR GENDER MAINSTREAMING WORKSHOP

Chairperson: Ms M Morutoa (ANC)

Documents handed out
Committee 2005 Annual Report (ATC containing report)
Committee Report on the Status of Women Financial Statements contained in Vote 1 – the Presidency 2004/05
Monitoring Tools for Gender Mainstreaming

These minutes were provided by the Committee Secretary, Sunè Pauw

MINUTES
Welcome and announcements, introduction and apologies
Consideration of JMC annual report
Consideration of committee report on referred document: Office on the Status of Women contained in the Report and Financial Statements of Vote 1 – The Presidency for 2004-2005, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote 1 for 2004-2005 [RP 191-2005]"
Pethu Serote – briefing on gender monitoring tools
Further business

1. Welcome and announcements, introduction and apologies

The Chairperson expressed dissatisfaction that members do not attend and send weak apologies.

This committee expressed concern about the attendance of Mrs P Hollander and Mrs Hajaig and attendance in general.

The Chairperson requested that a letter be written to the Chief Whip of the NCOP to highlight our concern about the sustained absence of most NCOP committee members.

2. Consideration of JMC annual report

The Committee deliberated about the committee’s annual report.

Mrs E S Mabe, Deputy Chairperson, moved: That the committee adopt the annual report of the Joint Monitoring Committee on Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of women.

Agreed to

3. Consideration of committee report on referred document (Report and Financial Statements of Vote 1 – The Presidency for 2004-2005, Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote 1 for 2004-2005 [RP 191-2005]")

The Committee proceeded to the consideration of the Committee report on the following documents referred to them: "Office on the Status of Women contained in the Report and Financial Statements of Vote 1 – The Presidency for 2004-2005, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote 1 for 2004-2005 [RP 191-2005]"

The Committee deliberated.

Mrs M R Morutoa, Chairperson read the Committee report and moved: That the following Committee report be adopted by the committee and submitted to the Houses for debate:

"The Joint Monitoring Committee on Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Women, having considered Office on the Status of Women contained in the Report and Financial Statements of Vote 1 – The Presidency for 2004-2005, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote 1 for 2004-2005 [RP 191-2005]: referred to it, reports that it has concluded its deliberations thereon.

The following points were considered:

The Beijing + 10 Report referred to, was not sent out for discussion to the relevant stakeholders prior to its presentation to the meeting in New York. The Committee was not given the opportunity to discuss, comment on and/or adopt the Report. To its knowledge, the Committee is not aware that there has been a report back by the Office of the Status of Women to stakeholders.

In the spirit of consultation and participation, that the government is committed to, the Committee would like to recommend that the 10-year National Action Plan for Gender Mainstreaming, be opened up for broad discussion, in all the provinces, before Cabinet/the government adopts it.

The National Policy Framework on Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality, adopted in 2000, sets out both short-term and long-term indicators for the achievement of gender equality. The Committee, as part of its monitoring role, would like the Office of the Status of Women to undertake research that responds directly to the indicators, to determine what progress has been made, five years after the policy has become operational.

The National Gender Machinery, of which the Committee is one of the co-chairs, holds most of its meetings in Pretoria. The Committee would like to recommend the rotational holding of the meetings in different provinces, as a way of broadening the participation of provincial stakeholders, and giving a broader base of civil society organisations access to the National Gender Machinery deliberations."

Report to be considered.

The Committee deliberated.

Agreed to.

Briefing by Ms Pethu Serote – Gender Monitoring Tools.

Ms Serote presented a practical work exercise called: "Mr Moyo goes to the doctor." (Source of "A Story: Mr Moyo goes to the doctor", Presented by the Women and Development Sub-committee Ministry of Community Development and Community Affairs, Zimbabwe to Women’s Regional Ecumenical Workshop, 26 June – 6 July 1989, Harare, Zimbabwe. The Oxfam Gender Training Manual, Oxfam UK and Ireland 1994. Copyrighted)

She highlighted the pattern of what is known as "double shifting", e.g. if a woman is employed as a domestic worker, she would still be doing domestic, unpaid work, at home, on top of her paid work.

Monitoring tools:

Gender division of labour
Reproductive work (men will do some and women will do others, here the gender division of labour is still contained in this, women doing different jobs than men)
Gender disaggregated data
Practical gender needs (These do not challenge the power relations between men and women).
Strategic gender interests (these are political and relate to women’s position in society in relation to distribution of power and access to resources.

Ms Serote facilitated a discussion and study of the document demonstrating the differing roles of women and men and the resulting difference in work burden and status.

The Chairperson remarked that the Committee had a big challenge to, instead of intervening directly, address the problem in bigger forums so that people will try to adjust gradually and to use the monitoring tools in our constituency work. The tools are important, but South Africa, must come up with a strategy of how to disseminate it. The tools seem simple, but it is not simple.

Mrs M R Morutoa moved: That Pethu Serote be commissioned to run a three-day workshop for MPs, first in the National Parliament, for men and women, so that MPs take the responsibility to take this back to their constituencies.

The committee deliberated.

Mr F T Maserumule moved: That the workshop must be compulsory for all MPs to attend and that the matter must be raised in the Committee of Chairpersons.

Agreed to.

The Chairperson remarked that the Committee wants to articulate the proposal in a way that will send a message to Parliament. Each member of the Committee must be able to talk about disaggregated data when they receive reports from Departments. Things are just bundled together in reports. It is an issue for everyone to be looking at it.

Mrs M R Morutoa moved: That the Committee write a letter to the Chief Whip of the NA and the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, raising all the Committee’s concerns and requesting the compulsory workshop on gender monitoring tools.

The Committee deliberated.

Agreed to.

5 Further Business

The Chairperson informed members about the agenda of the upcoming National Gender Machinery meeting and that the Committee had been requested to report on its findings during the provincial monitoring visits in October, 2005, and on the Women’s Parliament. She expresses concern about being asked to report to NGM before official reports on these events had been adopted and said that the delegation of the Committee would stick to the agenda that was given originally, and not report as requested, on the Women’s Parliament or the Committee’s provincial monitoring visits in October 2005.

Mrs M R Morutoa moved: That the Committee Secretary write to the ANC whippery that Ms Mantu Nxumalo be deployed to the Committee as an alternate member.

Agreed to.

The Committee adjourned at 11:50 sine die.

Summary of resolutions:

That Pethu Serote be commissioned to run a three-day workshop for MPs, first in the National Parliament, for men and women, so that MPs take the responsibility to take this back to their constituencies. That the workshop on gender monitoring tools must be compulsory for all MPs to attend and that the matter must be raised in the Committee of Chairpersons.

That the Committee write to ANC whippery that Mantu Nxumalo be deployed to the committee as an alternate member.

The Chairperson requested that a letter be written to the Chief Whip of the NCOP to highlight our concern about the sustained absence of most NCOP committee members.

That the Committee write a letter to the Chief Whip of the NA and the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, raising all the Committee’s concerns and requesting the compulsory workshop on gender monitoring tools.

The Committee adopted a report on the Report and Financial Statements of Vote 1 – The Presidency for 2004-2005, Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote 1 for 2004-2005 [RP 191-2005]", referred to it.

Adoption of the Committee’s annual report, 2005





PRESENT:

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

Mr D C Mabena (Alternate)
Mrs X C Makasi
Mr F T Maserumule
Mrs M R Morutoa (Chairperson)
Ms B T Ngcobo (Alternate
Ms N J Ngele (Alternate)
Ms M D Nxumalo
Ms R Rwexana

Inkatha Freedom Party

Mrs C N Zikalala

National Democratic Convention

Ms M M Mdlalose

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS
Mrs S E Mabe (Deputy Chairperson)

Democratic Alliance
Ms D Robinson

Inkatha Freedom Party
Mrs J Vilakazi

Apologies:

National Assembly
Mrs J Semple
Ms P Tshwete
Mrs Sheila Camerer
Mrs Hajaig
Mrs Meruti
Mrs Morobi

National Council of Provinces
Mrs P Hollander
Ms J M Masilo
Ms F Mazibuko
Mrs A N D Qikani
Mrs P Themba

Members of provincial legislatures attending:

Mr K Batyi (Gauteng Legislature)
Ms M Vantura (Western Cape Legislature)


Also attending:
Nzwana Dlula, Monitor, Parliamentary Monitoring Group
Faith Letlala, National Women Structure Secretary, National Union of Mineworkers, Tel 011 377 2027, [email protected]
Desmond Phaladi, Parliamentary Officer, National Union of Mineworkers, Tel 021 461 7049, email [email protected]