Question NW1156 to the Minister in The Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities

Reply:

1. The ERAP was a short-term intervention implemented over six months to deal with the heightened levels of GBVF whilst the Interim GBVF Steering Committee (IGBVF-SC) was developing the National Strategic Plan on GBVF (NSP on GBVF). The Department was mainly responsible for playing an oversight, catalytic and supportive role to assist the process of successful implementation of ERAP projects; working in collaboration with the Interim GBVF Steering Committee (IGBVF-SC), including relevant departments. Over and above this, the department had to coordinate the urgent finalisation of the NSP on GBVF to allow for a smooth transition from the ERAP to the NSP on GBVF 2020-2030.
   
   The targets allocated to the department under Thematic Area 4 had long term interventions that could not be implemented within the 6-months ERAP timeframe. Moreover, budget constraints further hindered the execution of the targets. Some of the targets were started as pilots. For example, in partnership with UN Women, the Interim GBVF Steering Committee (IGBVF-SC) piloted the Rapid Response Initiative (RRI) in the Eastern Cape as a potential vehicle through which to build and expand rapid response to GBVF cases in communities. As we institutionalize the NSP on GBVF, the model is being used by some provinces to establish or strengthen existing RRTs in line with the principles of the NSP on GBVF.
   
   Conceptualisation and design of a Multisectoral Coordination Structure formed part of the NSP on GBVF development process approved by Cabinet in March, 2020; and now included in chapter 5 of the NSP on GBVF. The multisectoral coordination could not be established before approval of the proposed model by Cabinet.

1. The ERAP targets that were not met were phased and integrated into the NSP on GBVF; and necessary revisions were made as some of the targets were outside the ambits of my department’s mandate. My department is currently coordinating the establishment and alignment of GBVF structures at province, district and local municipality levels. A lot of progress has been made with most provinces showing urgency in establishing or revitalizing GBVF multisectoral provincial structures; Rapid Response Teams (RRTs); developing implementation plans; and coordinating reporting on progress. The status of the institutionalisation of the NSP on GBVF as it relates to multisectoral structures is illustrated in the below table:

	Standard Provincial NSP on GBVF Implementation Plan finalised	Established & Functional GBVF Coordination Teams	Established GBVF Provincial Task Teams but not yet functional	Finalised Provincial NSP on GBVF Implementation Plans	Developing Provincial NSP on GBVF Implementation Plans	Have civil society in Provincial Structures & are submitting reports
DWYPD	YES	YES	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Western Cape	N/A	YES	N/A	YES	YES	YES
Eastern Cape	N/A	YES	N/A	NO	YES	NO
Northern Cape	N/A	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO
Free State	N/A	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO
KwaZuIu-Natal	N/A	YES	N/A	YES	N/A	YES
North West	N/A	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO
Gauteng	N/A	YES	N/A	YES	N/A	YES
Mpumalanga	N/A	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO
Limpopo	N/A	NO	NO	YES	N/A	YES

(2). A situational analysis of the reporting on the ERAP and NSP on GBVF was conducted as an initial step towards developing an appropriate Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system. A draft M&E implementation plan for the medium term (2020-2024) is developed for the NSP on GBVF. The M&E plan forms the basis for a functional, seamless, robust, comprehensive, and well-coordinated M&E system. The M&E Plan describes all M&E activities in an M&E system, including: indicators and targets; data collection tools; data flow mechanisms; reporting timelines; roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders; procedures to be implemented to determine whether or not the objectives are met; and expected results of the program and how they relate to goals and objectives.

Since 2020, the department has focused on the institutionalisation of the NSP on GBVF. GBVF is now a standing agenda item in all DG and Cabinet Clusters; and the Parliamentary Oversight Framework for the NSP on GBVF will contribute immensely towards reporting progress on implementation of the NSP on GBVF.

It is noted that for the year 2020, NSP on GBVF priorities were not optimally integrated into strategic plans and Annual Performance Plans (APPs) of national

departments. This made it difficult to monitor the implementation of the NSP on

GBVF. As we are in the new performance cycle, the NSP on GBVF priorities are likely to be prioritised in the Strategic Plans and APPs. In terms of progress, approximately 15 national departments have finalised refinement and integration of allocated NSP on GBVF targets for 2020-2024; and a total of 21 out of 30 national departments submitted progress reports in April 2021. We remain hopeful that as the culture of reporting is inculcated, M&E mechanisms will become much more seamless and systematic.

In addition, the DWYPD in partnership with UN Women and civil society partners has established a multisectoral implementation Collaborative Platform (CP) to foster monitoring and reporting systems. The Collaborative Platform is an organic structure that creates a voluntary platform to mainly facilitate multisectoral engagement and give impetus to the ownership and implementation of the NSP on GBVF. Six Pillar- based teams comprising government and its agencies; private sector, labour federations, research institutions, academia and civil society were established to enhance and assist in fast tracking implementation of the NSP on GBVF. The work of the Collaborative Platform feeds into the progress reports on the NSP on GBVF. The Collaborative Platform has developed a website as a one stop centre for documents and submission of progress reports by the respective pillar teams.

Approved by:
Ms M Nkoana-Mashabane, MP
Minister
Date: 28 May 2021