Hansard: NCOP: Unrevised hansard
House: National Assembly
Date of Meeting: 09 Mar 2022
Summary
No summary available.
Minutes
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NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
WEDNESDAY, 9 MARCH 2022
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVIINCES
Watch video here: PLENARY (VIRTUAL)
The Council met at 14:02.
The Chairperson took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
The Chairperson announced that the virtual sitting constituted a sitting of the National Council of Provinces.
LEAVE OF ABSENCE
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES:
Chairperson, I move:
That the Council notwithstanding the provisions of Rule 31(1) of the Rules of the National Council of Provinces, grants hon B T Mathevula leave of absence from proceedings of both the Council and committees of the Council in terms of Rule 31(2) from 22 February 2022 until 22 June 2022.
IN FAVOUR: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West and Western Cape.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY PARLIAMENTARY FORUM
MOTION AMENDMENT
(Draft Resolution)
Mr M I RAYI: Hon Chairperson, I move:
That the Council amends the motion regarding the election of members of the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum, SADC-PF, adopted by the Council on 9 July 2019, in accordance with article 6(3) of the Constitution of the forum by replacing Mr Tshitereke Baldwin Matibe, ANC-Limpopo, with Mr Seiso Joel Mohai, ANC-Free State.
IN FAVOUR: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West and Western Cape. Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
Mr E J NJANDU: Chairperson of the NCOP, Deputy Chairperson, Chief Whip of the Council, Minister of Finance and the Deputy Minister, MECs, and members, the Report of the Standing Committee on Finance on the 2022 Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals 8 March 2022.
The Minister of Finance ... [Inaudible.] ...
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Njadu, just take your time and speak a bit louder and slower into the mic.
Mr E J NJANDU: ... Thank you, Chairperson. In terms of Section 27 of the Public Finance Management Act, Act No. 1 of 1999, PFMA, and Section 7 (1) of the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act, Act No. 9 of 2009, Money Bills Act, the Minister together with the director-general, DG, senior officials from the Treasury briefed the Portfolio Committee on Finance on 24 February 2022. The committee received post budget tabling input from the Parliamentary Budgetary Office, PBO, and the Financial and Fiscal Commission, FFC, on 1 March 2022.
The committee held public hearings on 2 March 2022 and receive a total of eleven written and oral submissions from the Congress of South African Trade Unions, Cosatu, Fiscal Cliff Study Group, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, the South African Institute of Tax Practitioners, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Healthy Alliance, the South African Breweries, Institute for Economic Juctice, 1Road Consulting, Amandla.mobi and Women on Farms Project. The South African Revenue, Sars, responded to the issues raised during the public hearings and engaged with the committee and the stakeholders together with National Treasury on 4 March ... [Inaudible.] ...
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Njadu, there seems to be a bit of a problem with your connection, please keep on trying.
As I said before speak a bit louder and speak to the mic.
Please proceed.
Mr E J NJANDU: Thank you, Chairperson.
Mr M I RAYI: Switch off your video, hon member.
Mr E J NJANDU: Must I switch off the video?
Mr M I RAYI: Yes.
Mr E J NJANDU: ... Okay. The Minister acknowledged that the country has been operating under difficult times but the higher than expected revenue provided some space to address some of the spending challenges. But the R180 billion revenue over collection assisted the government in responding to the unrest that occurred in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces in July 2021. And adding R7 billion to support South African Special Risk Insurance Association, SASRIA.
The Minister acknowledges that the additional revenue was not a silver bullet for South Africa’s financial position as part of it had already been allocated to critical spending programmes before the 2022 budget was tabled. It was also
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reported that the 2022 budget strengthens the fight against
crime with an additional allocation of R8,7 billion to the
police, R1,1 billion to the Department of Justice and
Constitutional Development, R32 billion to National Financial
Aid Scheme, NSFAS, while the Office of the Chief Justice
received an additional R39,9 billion. The Presidential Youth
and Employment Programmes also received a boost.
The Minister indicated that despite all that the department
reduces the fiscal deficit as a crucial part of the debt
management strategy and that the government continues to
ensure the health of public finances. He said that the budget
provides some relief to taxpayers, households and companies.
Chairperson, it is important to mention some highlights from
the stakeholders as well as their recommendations. The PBO
recommended that economic recovery and reconstruction has to
be inclusive. Also, a new economic growth path should be built
on increasing the well-being and buying power of the poor
majority as that will enhance the ability of millions of
unemployed South Africans to effectively contribute to the
economic future of the country.
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The Institute for Economic Justice, IEJ, recommends that more
than revenue windfall should be allocated towards supporting
economic recovery. The Financial and Fiscal Commission, FFC,
recommends that the infrastructure fund should operate within
the confines of the intergovernmental fiscal relations
principled in respect of equitable distribution of projects
and being assigned to a vote.
The commission further recommends that the budget process for
2023-24 should focus on aligning the allocations to the South
African Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, ERRP,
informed by the comprehensive budget and expenditure review.
COSATU recommended that the Presidential Employment Programme
should be reversed in the 2022 MTBPS, that is, it should
rather be expanded to ensure that it can create at least 1
million jobs in light of an all-time high unemployment rate of
46 per cent and rising. About 2.2 million workers have lost
their jobs since the COVID-19 pandemic.
With regards to attempts to create jobs, FFC recommended more
significant structural reforms focused on artisanal skills to
address unemployment in the long run.
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For the government to realise its key role in job creation and
retention, the EIA recommends that the Presidential Employment
Programme must be scaled up and get field together with a
broader public sector job strategy.
Chairperson, on the recommendations of the committee, the
committee welcomes the 2022 Budget and acknowledges that it
strikes a balance a difficult balance between growth of the
economy ensuring fiscal sustainability maintaining expenditure
over the medium term and providing tax relief for individuals
and companies.
Acknowledges some progress made in addressing structural ...
[Inaudible.] ... to growth recorded in both the 2022 state of
the nation, sona, and the 2022 Budget Review. But urges for
speedily and practical implementation of economic reforms that
will advance economic ... [Inaudible.] ...
Progress report made every quarter on structural reforms
including ... while recognising that more work still needs to
be done at the South African Revenue Service, the committee
acknowledges and commends the progress made in rebuilding Sars
in the past few years. The committee further recognises that
we need more resources and suggests that the Select Committee
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on Appropriations consider recommending that Sars budget
should be increased to enable it to efficiently collect
revenue and deliver on its mandate.
Further, Chairperson, while the wage bill has an impact on the
Fiscal framework, this matter is better placed with the
Appropriations Committee for further considerations. The
committee recommends that the government should continue to
negotiate with the trade unions to seek ... [Inaudible.] ...
comprises on the Wage Bill and develop a specific shot to
medium term plan to address this. The committee reiterates its
position that the Presidency needs to encourage members of the
executive to buy cars that are assembled in South Africa. The
committee will pursue this further with the Minister of
Finance and the Presidency.
The committee recognises that not all models of particular
brand of the cars assembled in South Africa ... [Inaudible.]
... that there are other related challenges. However, without
being prescriptive. the committee should be encouraged to as
far as possible buy cars assembled in the country. Public
representatives generally and others who serve in the public
service to also be encouraged to do this.
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The committee will raise this with the Portfolio Committee on
Trade Industry and Competition to also take this matter
forward as part of the Buy Local campaign.
Chairperson, on other budget related matters, the committee
reiterate its recommendation on zero-base budgeting carried
out in the July 2020 Special Adjustment Budget Fiscal
Framework Report. The committee requires to be briefed on the
implications of zero-based budgeting. The committee requires
the Minister and Treasury to do this briefing at the next
quarterly meeting.
Lastly, further recommends that Public Procurement Bill should
be brought to Parliament. The committee recognises the need
for National Treasury to address legal and other challenges
affecting the Public Procurement Bill. Therefore, the Report
has been tabled before the House for adoption. Thank you,
Chair.
Declaration of votes:
Ms C LABUSCHAGNE: Hon Chair, the Revised Fiscal Framework has
been well interrogated by the committee and this report is a
good reflection of the discussions with the inputs received
during the public participation process. Some key issues are
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worth highlighting. The current uncertainty brought about by
the imperialist Russian invasion into Ukraine is a matter of
grave concern, and while the developments are so recent that
they did not form part of the tabled fiscal policy, they were
certainly part of our discussions.
The entire world is bracing for economic hardship and we are
poorly prepared and still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic
and the economy-ravaging lockdowns. At times like this,
taxpayers need to know two things. Firstly, that they are
being fairly treated, and secondly that the money they
contribute is being well spent.
The deliberations of the committee confirmed that there is a
way to go before SARS wins back the trust of taxpayers, and
systems currently in place are not working optimally when
complexities emerge. As for the money being well spent, there
is great concern about how the government is directing our
resources. The issue of a lack of accountability has been
repeatedly raised, and it is high time that there be proper
consequences for financial irregularities.
Redeployment, promotion or simple avoidance can no longer be
tolerated as the tax pool shrinks, more demands are placed on
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the fiscus, and every cent needs to be spent wisely. Which
brings me to the spending of departments. Annual incremental
increases can no longer be the norm where we merely give a
department an inflation linked increase to carry on its
business. We must be more careful.
Every project in every department needs to be reviewed for the
value that it adds to South Africa. Where the cost exceeds the
value the project must be shelved. This is zero-based
budgeting. This is simple economics. This must be done
urgently. The fiscal framework is ideologically stagnant and
cannot be supported. I thank you.
Mr Y I CARRIM: Thank you, Chairperson. Firstly, I am not sure
what ideologically stagnant means, and the DA has never been
stronger on ideology as far as I know – on policy, yes – on
ideology – no, I don’t know. So, basically without being clear
what the critic is, it’s simply like an empty slogan, anybody
can say anything, anywhere, anytime.
On the matter of tax payers not getting a fair deal which in
fact what she said, yes, Ms Labuschagne, I don’t know how
valid that is. What we do know is there were complaints by
some of the tax experts, some valid, some not and we said
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okay, instead of us having this public hearings all the time
why isn’t SARS meet with relevant stakeholders and settle
their differences to the extent they can and report back at
the first quarterly briefing that follows from now.
Now, all along, SARS is doing an excellent job by any measure,
even the members of the DA admitted in our committee. I am not
sure where Ms Labuschagne got some of her statements from but
they never ... [Inaudible.] ... as far as I can remember in
that form in the hearings that she was not part of or in the
deliberations yesterday. Basically, about winning back trust,
I mean it’s a very sweeping statement. The winning back of
trust has actually begun to occur under the new regime, under
the new leadership.
It is going to take a long haul and it’s not as if it can
happen overnight, if anything, SARS needs to be complemented
for the work they have done in the last few years, not ...
[Inaudible.] ... tackling the ills of economy, but as they
themselves have said, there is a long way to go and they do
need more resources. In fact, our committee ... [Inaudible.]
... put it to the appropriations committee they consider, we
can’t decide for them, an increase in the SARS budget because
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of the huge task they have and staffing and other resources
challenges that they do.
So they are doing a good job overall. It is a cluster of
people probably shares the values of the DA, I don’t know, but
so it seems to me in some of their positions and they should
be met. They are all much of the democracy as anybody else is,
like we suggested. On the issue of the money being well spent,
we agree. That is the responsibility not of the executives
alone ... [Interjections.] ... responsibility of Parliament,
which includes Ms Labuschagne. I mean she interrupts me though
I don’t do her. Next time I will be interrupting her because
it’s too short of space for me to respond to the ...
[Inaudible.] ... that came out of her speech and three minutes
is not enough. So next time since she is doing this I shall be
intervening while she is speaking and retorted every other
sentence. She had an opportunity. She gave us an empty CD of
glimpse statements, now she must answer for that. What exactly
does she mean by some of these things that they are not
getting fairness and so on. Who says that? It’s a cluster of
people, technical experts who themselves are very specific
constituencies.
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But as we say, SARS like any institution, ... [Inaudible.] ...
committees, can do far more and should do far more. The
biggest issues are, though this is a good budget, as Treasury
itself acknowledges, there are too many uncertainties, ...
[Inaudible.] ... the Russian and Ukraine at the moment,
whatever your take is on it. That is not the issue as so much.
We know the consequences of that war, globally, but for our
country in particular, there are talks of petrol price going
up to R40 per litre. Mr Fanie Du Toit from the FF Plus raised
the effect of the fertilizer increases on farmers and so on.
And of course as always, this ... [Inaudible.] ... will be the
poor and disadvantaged, as we all know, so indeed the most
progressives in this Parliament. It is the poor and the
disadvantages who will suffer disproportionately, even if all
of us will. Those are the bigger issues. Obviously Treasury
couldn’t factor in the consequences of war because when the
fiscal framework was shaped there was no war definitely on the
cards. But here it is, we have to live with it, with the ...
[Inaudible.] ... where we come from and making glimpse
statements isn’t going to help. We need concrete answers to
these questions and more importantly, our committed in
particular, Parliament as a whole, we have to be more
effective in our oversight. Thank you, Chairperson.
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Voting [TAKEN FROM MINUTES]
Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of
the Constitution
DEBATE ON 2021 WOMEN’S CHARTER FOR ACCELERATED DEVELOPMENT:
SETTING A 25 YEAR VISION AND AGENDA TO ADVANCE WOMEN’S
EQUALITY, GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms S E Lucas): Chairperson
of the National Council of Provinces, House Chairpersons, the
Chief Whip of the National Council of Provinces, Ministers and
Deputy Ministers present, ladies and gentlemen, permanent
delegates as well as special delegates, allow me first of all
to take this opportunity to welcome you all to this very
important debate on the 2021 Women’s Charter for Accelerated
Development. This debate takes place just a day after we
commemorated International Women’s Day, which symbolises the
collective struggle of women’s resolve to attain equality
across all sectors of society. Let me begin the debate with a
few thought-provoking words once spoken by Mahatma Gandhi,
when he said:
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The things that will destroy us are: politics
without principle; pleasure without conscience;
wealth without work; knowledge without character;
business without morality; science without humanity;
and worship without sacrifice.
These are important considerations in the current context of
our society at large, where social and political systems
articulate equality but the hegemony of these democratic and
equal rights-based systems are both negated and continually
retracted. This is particularly the case in the lived reality
of women, whose development is impeded by sociopolitical and
cultural contexts that are devoid of the commitment to bring
about effective change in the lives of the women of our
country. This is not only the responsibility of governing
systems alone but also the collective responsibility of
society at large, which must move to cultivate a new
sociopolitical, cultural and economic order, which places
women as equal participants across the development spectrum of
our country.
Hence, today’s debate marks an important day in the sustained
continuum of gender transformation in South Africa. It
symbolises the culmination of a 20 month review process of the
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1994 Women’s Charter for Effective Equality, which resulted in
the adoption of the 2021 Women’s Charter for Effective
Equality, for the realisation of tangible women’s rights. As
we bring together very critical leaders in the continuum of
gender equality in today’s debate, we seek to activate all
three spheres of government to work in concert for gender
equality.
Through our collective and sustained efforts, we must
purposefully create a society where the women of South Africa
can attain tangible freedom and tangible equality, as
actualised through tangible economic freedom in our lifetime.
The voices of women throughout the review process also
affirmed that:
The eradication of patriarchy needs all forces of
society, more so because it coexists and survives
under the most progressive political systems;
because it is articulated in many diverse subtle and
hidden or open and crude forms; because it is
explained away in many logical sounding ways ranging
from the natural, biological to religious and
cultural arguments; because one of its strongest
bases is the family, the home and among loved ones,
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it is the most complex and entrenched systems,
embedded in and permeating through all spheres of
life, it needs all forms of struggle, persuasion,
contestation, compromise, pressure and
confrontation.
We are here today to reassert the Women’s Charter as a demand
document and instrument to drive our transformation agenda, to
confront the barriers of patriarchy and to build an equal
society where women can attain a better quality of life based
on the values of our Constitution.
I’m going to give a brief background on what transpired during
our process. In 2019, at the inaugural Women’s Parliament of
the sixth dispensation, a historic resolution was taken by the
women of our country at that session that Parliament must
undertake an extensive review of the 1994 Women’s Charter for
Effective Equality. This resolution was impelled by the fact
that women continue to grapple with the triple challenges of
poverty, unemployment and inequality, which are intensified by
poverty, gender-based violence, GBV, femicide and economic
exclusion. Statistics also confirm that mostly black African
females in South Africa are negatively affected. The review
process was underpinned by the following key pillars:
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Firstly, a gender analysis of local government which included
a review of the integrated development planning processes,
gender responsive planning and budgeting at local government
level, as well as the gendered provision of services at local
government level;
Secondly, a gender analysis of provincial government which
included a review of provincial planning processes, the
provincial growth and development strategies, as well as
gender responsive planning and budgeting across all provincial
departments;
Thirdly, an in-depth review of the systemic weaknesses in the
national gender machinery — national, provincial and district;
Fourthly, an in-depth review of the systemic and institutional
arrangements, particularly at provincial and local government
level, which weaken or create exclusionary systemic processes,
thereby undermining the gender transformation agenda;
Fifthly, a review of systemic weaknesses that impede gender
responsive planning and budgeting across the three spheres of
government in order to ensure that women benefit fairly from
the state’s financial and other resources; and
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Lastly, the review process also included a review of existing
legislation and policies through a gender lens in order to
identify gaps in our laws and policies so as to address
structural constraints which perpetuate poverty and inequality
amongst our women.
The review process was underpinned by a strong public
participation component, enabling women across every district,
in all nine provinces in the country, to participate in the
review process. Through the review process, we also undertook
to assess progress that has been made in implementing the
provisions of the 1994 Women’s Charter for Effective Equality.
The review process confirmed that both the 1954 and the 1994
Women’s Charters, respectively and jointly, represent the
culmination of women’s active participation in South Africa’s
liberation movement towards the realisation of freedom,
democracy and gender equality. Both charters articulate a
vision for a democratic society and give content to the idea
of gender equality as it was envisaged to be achieved in the
context of a postcolonial, postapartheid South Africa. Both
charters further represent critical building blocks in our
struggle history, further signifying women’s commitment to
challenge the status quo in an unequal society and
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subsequently constructing to a body of socioeconomic, civic
and political rights based on these strategic manuscripts to
advance gender equality.
Over the years, concerns have mounted at the enormous gap
between the charters’ commitments and the indicators of
women’s continued embattled social standing on the other hand.
The gap between policy and practice is glaring. The review
process has uncovered a number of salient issues which affect
all aspects of women’s lives, including the following:
Firstly, despite the plethora of policy and legislative
instruments enacted since the advent of democracy in 1994,
women in South Africa still continue to bear the brunt of the
high level of inequality, economic exclusion, unemployment,
GBV and femicide;
Secondly, various indicators are linked to the persistence of
the multiple vulnerabilities of South African women.
Importantly, female-headed households continue to be the
poorest of the poor, with unemployment and not in education or
training rates being particularly high amongst female youth;
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Thirdly, government’s existing gender planning and budgeting
mechanisms are often fragmented and lack coherence, broad-
based political support and are nonbinding;
Fourthly, out of nine provincial machinery structures in South
Africa, only seven are still located as per the provision of
the National Gender Policy Framework of 2000;
Fifthly, no province was found to have an articulated theory
of change embedded on women empowerment principles and gender
equality prescripts; and
Lastly, there is a lack of mechanisms to institutionalise
gender through the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy,
PGDS, of provinces. Currently, there is no province with its
PGDS underpinned by gender responsive planning, budgeting,
monitoring and evaluation, as well as gender auditing.
If we speak about the participation of women in the economy,
the review process found that women are at the receiving end
of a continued onslaught of sociopolitical and economic
oppression because they continue to be deprived of their
indivisible human rights. Gender inequality and patriarchy
pose major constraints to the development of our democratic
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societies, particularly when women are not able to fully
participate in the economic structures of society.
Warren Samuels shares key perspectives from his book, The
Legal-Economic Nexus: Fundamental Processes, where he
postulates the interrelated issues of law, economy and policy.
These issues are of particular importance as we seek to
reposition our economy in the unfolding and fluid context of
the COVID-19 pandemic, which many argue has had a regressive
impact on women’s quality of life. We must therefore
interrogate how law, economy and policy function co-
operatively in order to leverage these interrelations, to
accelerate the implementation of key priorities that pertain
to gender equality.
He states the following in his book. In social reconstruction,
the fundamental policy question always is, whose interests are
to count, and it contains inevitable distributional or
structural problems. Even if one were to affirm that
individual preferences count, the fundamental policy question
remains, whose interests or preferences are to count? The
legal economic nexus is the complex social process through
which answers to these questions are reworked and in which
thereby the social reconstruction of reality is effectuated.
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Samuels positions the concept of reconstruction within the
legal economic nexus for purposes of addressing distributional
and structural changes. The South African historical context
frames the necessity for wealth redistribution, which is
located in the macroeconomic strategy and development
objectives of this country. In this context, the needs and
preferences of the poorest, particularly black African women,
remain central, as guided by the imperative to bring about
transformation through the appropriate reconstruction
projects.
A study conducted by the World Bank — and I’m repeating this
thing because I’ve been repeating it many times — postulates
the view that gender progress benefits everyone, not just
women and girls. When economies thrive, women, men, girls and
boys have equal access to opportunities, and more so,
communities prosper when women and men are equally empowered.
Most importantly, disparities in gender equality come with
economic costs, they short-change the next generation and lead
to suboptimal institutions and policies. That World Bank study
also found that globally, women account for only 38% of human
capital wealth versus the 62% for men. In low and lower-middle
income countries, women account for a third or less of human
capital wealth.
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On a per capita basis, gender inequality in earnings could
lead to losses in wealth of 23,620 dollars per person
globally. These losses differ between regions and countries
because levels of human capital wealth, and thereby losses in
wealth due to gender inequality, tend to increase in absolute
values with economic development. For these reasons, in
absolute terms the losses are said to be the largest in the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD,
countries. Globally, for the 141 countries included in the
analysis, the loss in human capital wealth due to gender
inequality is estimated at 160,2 trillion dollars, if we
simply assume that women would earn as much as men. This is
about twice the value of the gross domestic product, GDP,
globally. Said differently, human capital wealth could
increase by 21,7% globally and total wealth by 14% with gender
equality, in earnings.
In their paper, Facing the challenge of transformation,
Albertyn and Goldblatt:
require a complete reconstruction of the state and
society, including a redistribution of power and
resources along egalitarian lines. The challenge of
achieving equality within this transformation
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project involves the eradication of systemic forms
of domination and material disadvantage based on
race, gender, class and other grounds of inequality.
It also entails the development of opportunities
which allow people to realise their full human
potential within positive social relationships.
For as long as women are prevented from participating fully
and effectively in the sociopolitical and economic sectors of
our society, we will continue to function with less than half
the capacity required to accelerate human development. Women
will continue to remain trapped in abusive and violent
relationships, with many resulting in femicide, more so if
economic exclusion persists in our country.
The eradication of gender inequality and patriarchy requires
the participation of all sectors of society. It requires the
participation of both men and women to uproot it. The
realisation of gender equality is not the responsibility that
resides with female Members of Parliament only. Male Members
of Parliament have a crucial role to play in the process to
deconstruct patriarchy and gender inequality. This also
requires the participation of men from all sectors of society
who must play a decisive role in the implementation of the
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provisions of the 2021 Women’s Charter for Accelerated
Development.
The Women’s Charter for Accelerated Development demands that
the theory of change be embedded in all facets of the state
machinery, so as to ensure that gender equality is effectively
materialised. The charter provides a clearly articulated road
map to guide our collective mainstreaming approach, for the
realisation of high-level implementation in the pursuit of
gender equality.
The 2021 Women’s Charter also articulates far-reaching policy
and legislative matters for urgent prioritisation and serves
as an instrument for continued efficacy assessment. What is to
be done to make the charter effective?
The charter will require a social compact and a resolute
commitment to re-engineer systematic and institutional
arrangements across the three spheres of government, to enable
gender sensitive good governance, policy redesign, planning,
budgeting and implementation processes.
Poverty mapping perspectives in gender responsive planning and
budgeting should be institutionalised as an imperative for
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responsive planning across provinces, districts, metros and
localities.
The Auditor-General should also include gender performance
indicators in the assessment of financial management
processes.
We need to facilitate for the reviewing of the appointment
level of gender focal persons in accordance with the
provisions of the National Gender Policy Framework of 2000.
There should be intensive capacity-building programmes on
gender mainstreaming for the provincial gender machinery and
provincial administration, including local government, so that
all key role-players may have a common understanding of the
importance of gender mainstreaming approaches and their
implementation.
We have already begun to activate a structured oversight and
accountability programme, which will be underpinned by
quarterly report-back, monitoring and evaluation processes.
I want to conclude with this quote from Thomas Paine when he
said, “The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren,
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and to do good is my religion.” An argument can be made that
if we make good deeds our religion, then the scourge that
afflicts women, such as GBV, rape and economic
marginalisation, can be eliminated. The progress we make as a
society can only have full and deeper meaning if it is
accompanied by significant progress in the struggle for the
emancipation of women.
I believe that we should accept the proposition that we must
measure the success of progress towards social transformation
by the advances we make in the struggle for a nonsexist
society. Indeed, we must measure the progress towards a
democratic transformation by the progress we record in the
struggle for gender equality.
The ideology of patriarchy has surpassed the ideological
construct of racism. We need to address the issues as two
different constructs. We need to decolonise our thinking,
deconstruct the idea of patriarchy and begin to reconstruct a
new way of thinking about gender equality as a norm. In other
words, we need to move for a total paradigm shift in our
thinking, our practices and our perspectives. The struggle
against patriarchy is therefore a struggle within the struggle
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and it cannot be forged by women alone. All of us have to
bring our forces together, both men and women.
The 2021 Women’s Charter for Accelerated Development is a
clarion call for accelerated action. It is a demand for
effective equality in our lifetime. Forward to the 2021
Women’s Charter for Accelerated Development, forward! Thank
you, very much, Chairperson.
Ms B FANTA: Hon. Chairperson of the NCOP, hon. Members of
Parliament in the NCOP, Ministers and Deputy Ministers present
in this august House, delegates from provinces, distinguished
guests, I greet you all in the name of Jesus. Hon Chair, it is
a pleasure to take part in a debate which is at the core of
our struggle for a prosperous, nonsexist and nonracial
democratic South Africa.
I feel humbled and honoured to debate in celebrating
International Women’s Day, being a member of the Eastern Cape
Provincial Legislature, the ANC Provincial Women’s League
Chairperson and Chairperson of Multiparty Women’s Caucus in
the legislature. Hon Chair, the International Women’s Day
first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the
turn of twentieth century across North America and Europe. The
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commemoration of International Women’s Day is the global
history in honouring the achievements of women and promoting
women’s rights, irrespective of race and dignity.
Across the world in rich and poor countries, alike women are
being beaten, trafficked, raped, killed and slaughtered like
sheep. The women are oppressed by capital patriarchy enduring
race patens of economic activity, COVID-19 and growing levels
of inequality and global dynamics enhanced by war. The SA
government of the apartheid system threatened to reintroduce
pass laws for women, as these had been relaxed after the
success of earlier resistance and fought against passes for
our women of 1956.
The national struggles of women in different countries have
culminated into global united effort, to oppose and eradicate
the subjugation of women in all tiers of our society. The
global effort has mainly been responsible for the progress
made by humanity in the fight against oppression of women. Hon
Chair, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa
promotes the equality which states that:
Everyone is equal before the law and has the right to
equal protection and benefit of the law. Equality
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includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and
freedoms. To promote the achievement of equality,
legislative and other measures designed to protect or
advance persons, or categories of persons, disadvantaged
by unfair discrimination may be taken.
Hon Chair, women participate in large numbers and in sectors
of the economy which are characterised by low wages and poor
working conditions. Low remuneration is worsened by
discrimination against women in the receipt of social
benefits. Numerous international and regional instruments have
drawn attention to gender-related dimensions of human rights
issues. The most important being the United Nations Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women adopted in 1979.
It has been stated in the International Bill of Rights for
Women that:
Despite some progress in women’s wages in the 1990, women
still earn less that men even for similar kinds of work.
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As global women we need to eliminate such discrimination of
women by accelerating development of women in all tiers
internationally and locally.
Hon Chair, the President of South Africa Comrade Cyril
Ramaphosa in his address of the 110th birthday celebrations
mentioned that: Over the years, women’s organisations have
been at the forefront of the struggles to assert the rights
and improve the status of women within our democratic
formations and broader society.
Our President also mentioned that, the ANC must support the
women’s league to act as the voice not only of women members
of the ANC, but of the mass of South African women including
young women, in a broad front of gender transformation and
societal change.
Accessible and appropriate institutions to be established to
enable accessible, quality education, thereby enabling the
active participation of women in all forms of platforms and
sectors of society, rural women, single mothers and disabled
women.
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Hon Chair, we are proud as the Eastern Cape Province as our
Premier who is responsible to appoint heads of departments,
HODs, seven out of 10 HODs in our province are women. That for
us is a plus and we highly appreciate what our premier has
done to make sure that, women are taking strategic positions
in the government led by the ANC.
IsiXhosa:
Siyabulela kakhulu kwaye ...
English:
... we are looking forward that, even in all levels of
government, women are in the strategic positions. For the
first time in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature, we have
a secretary who is a woman. We have chief financial officers
in the legislature, we have provincial commissioner who is a
woman. That is highly appreciated because ...
IsiXhosa:
... ukuba isakhono samakhosikazi siyabonwa. Sibulela kakhulu
ke ...
English:
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... even to our President who assented Gender-Based Violence
and Criminal Procedure Act Amendment Bill.
IsiXhosa:
Yanga ihlabathi lingakopa kwezi zinto urhulumente wethu
azenzayo, ukuze amakhosikazi akhuseleke eMzantsi Afrika
nakwilizwe lonke.
English:
I cannot go down without mentioning the issue of gender-based
violence that our President has declared a pandemic. We are
worried as women are still dying like flies in 2022.
IsiXhosa:
Siyatsho ukuthi ...
English:
... as we support the International Women’s Rights ...
IsiXhosa:
... amakhosikazi mawakhuselwe ...
English:
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... in all spheres of our government. There should be clear
programmes to fight the scourge of gender-based violence. The
gender machinery that are there must work hard, to make sure
that, there are programmes. The issue of a boy child in South
Africa is a problem. We need Members of Parliament, we need
faith-based organisations, we need all the people to make sure
that, we are dealing with the boy child because by the look of
thing, they are the most perpetrators in killing women. Chair
I support and wish everyone a happy International Women’s
Month and International Women’s Day. I thank you
Ms D C CHRISTAINS: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members,
and fellow South Africans, good day, the Women’s Charter was
first developed in 1954 in order to provide a more equal
society for the women of South Africa. The review of the
charter in 2021 emphasised the extent of poverty and
inequality against women, and the importance of advancing
gender equality in our country. The Women’s Charter remains
one of the country’s most important instruments to achieve
this as it provides a roadmap of the role of government; and
its partnership with civil society that outlines the next
steps to ensure the equality between genders.
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It provides
a
blueprint to government to accelerate the
development of women in order to construct gender sensitive
policies and legislative instruments. The implementation of
these policies and instruments across national, provincial and
local governments is therefore of paramount importance.
Statistics SA reported in 2020 that South Africa had a population
of 59,62 million of which 51,1% are women and 48,9% male.
The latest overall expanded unemployment rate in the country is
currently 46,6% with 51% of women being unemployed. Black
African women being the most vulnerable, with an unemployment
rate far exceeding other women. The proportion of women employed
in the unprotected informal sector of the economy is 75% higher
than men. Women spend 2,5 times more in unpaid care and domestic
work than men. In both Quarter 1 of 2019 and Quarter 2 of 2020,
more than four in every 10 young females were not in employment,
education or training.
Female-headed households are experiencing much greater levels
of poverty than male-headed households and so much more,
especially in our rural provinces. At the moment it is estimated
that 30 million South Africans are living below the poverty line
with women much more affected by poverty than men.
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Women and girls in South Africa still face many challenges,
including gender-based violence, child marriages and teenage
pregnancies, this despite the abundance of policy and
legislative instruments passed since the advent of democracy in
1994. Women in South Africa still continue to bear the brunt of
high levels of inequality, economic exclusion, unemployment,
gender-based violence as well as femicide.
We have to acknowledge the disturbing realities and countless
obstacles hindering the advancement of women in our country and
it is no secret that the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated it.
There should be accelerated urgency in scrutinising the targets
of departments and administrators in this regards and hold those
assigned to advance women’s rights accountable. Performance
targets have to be met and adequate budgets need to be pledged
to reflect this commitment in order to bring about real
transformation and ensure equality.
The review of the Women’s Charter has exposed the obvious gap
between policy and implementation; and the disconnect between
public endorsement of gender equality and actual institutional
practice. This disparate share of poverty, inequality and
unemployment held by South African women, is further intensified
by the persistent levels of gender-based violence and femicide.
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The Women’s Charter sets 15 strategic objectives to advance
women’s rights in order to break down barriers that hold women
back from participating in our democratic society. However,
these objectives are merely a declaration of advocacy but not
backed by action, leadership or funding. The charter emphases
this disparity in its opening remarks where it states that the
triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment,
including the pervasive levels of gender-based violence and
femicide, represent the amalgamated and most persistent
challenges faced by women. It further emphases in the charter
that the feminisation of poverty is significant because poverty
is experienced differently by women, as compared to men, more
so due to the economic political, and social dynamics prevalent
in the country. Overcoming this deeply entrenched poverty,
unemployment and underdevelopment, will therefore require
concerted and persistent efforts from all sectors of society.
Women shoulder the responsibility of raising children, with more
than 42% of women heading households and see to the well-being
of extended family members. The Women’s Charter must be
interrogated and articulated into tangible, practical and
measurable objectives which in turn must reflect in all our
departments across the country. We must ensure adequate
investment in women in terms of quality childcare, education,
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skills development, access to quality health care, justice,
housing and infrastructure, entrepreneurship, and access to good
quality jobs, security and of course ending patriarchy to
mention but a few dilemmas facing the women in this country.
In South Africa we cannot speak about gender equality and
women’s rights without condemning the scourge of gender-based
violence and femicide in the country. Between 2015 and 2020,
13 815 women over the age of 18 were murdered – that’s close
to seven women a day and sadly we remember that these women
who have lost their lives. We need to intensify our efforts to
protect women and act harshly on the men who commit these
murders and to ensure that women and girl children are not
left vulnerable to the whims of men. The charter speaks
extensively on the eradication of all forms of violence
against women and children, however, without adequate support
from government departments as well as implementation of
policies we will not win this war.
Equality for women should be categorised as a basic human right
and government should make it a priority to implement the
policies as set out by the Women’s Charter in order to remove
all social and economic barriers.
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Empowering and investing in women is critical in the development
of South Africa as it will ensure economic prosperity for all
in the country.
We applaud the women who have worked diligently on the
development and further reviews of the Women’s Charter in order
to build a dignified nation where girls and women are advanced,
respected and protected. Over the years these women have worked
tirelessly to remove the barriers and build a dignified nation
which includes women and continues endeavors to overcome the
obstacles facing women. We support and commit ourselves to the
realisation of the Women’s Charter in order to advance women’s
equality, growth and development. I thank you, Chairperson.
IsiZulu:
Nk S A LUTHULI: Angibonge Sihlalo, ngibingelele ...
English:
When the first Women’s Charter was developed in 1954...
IsiZulu:
... iNinghizimu Afrika yayikwesinye isigaba ngokwezepolitiki.
Kwathi uma isigaba sesibili se-Women’s Charter sesithulwa
ngowe-1954 izinkulungwane zabantu besifazane babuyelwa
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yithemba elikhulu. Iningi labantu besifazane baseNingizimu
Afrika baba nelikhulu ithemba becabanga ukuthi yonke le
mithetho yayibekiwe ukucindezela nokulwa nelungelo lomuntu
wesifazane ngaphambili ngowe-1994 yayisishabalala. Kepha kube
yinamhlanje singabantu besifazane asikakhululeki sisazibona
futhi sicindezelekile, singalingani.
English:
The ushering in of a new Constitutional era meant that women,
Black women in particular, were finally acknowledged as ‘full
citizens’ of South Africa.
IsiZulu:
Kepha Sihlalo, ngaphansi kweqembu elibusayo abantu besifazane
abakabisezingeni lokulingana nokukhuliswa. Sizibona siqhubeka
nokucindezeleka nokungabonwa ngeso lenkululeko
njengasekuqaleni. Sihlalo, abantu besifazane lapha eNingizimu
Afrika basenezingqinamba eziningi.
English:
As women we continue fighting for what should be basic human
rights, because women’s rights are human rights. And while the
challenges facing our development have evolved over time, the
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key elements of the problems hampering women’s development
remain essentially the same.
IsiZulu:
Kunegebe elikhulu elisaqhubeka uma kuziwa ebantwini besifazane
lapha iNingizimu Afrika nakwezemiholo ukusishiya kunesithombe
esingacacile kahle kule lizwe. Udlame olubhekiswe kubantu
besifazane lusadlala indima enkulu yize sesaba namalungelo
abantu ashicilelwe.
English:
Violence filters into the lives of all women, as women are
impacted not only by violence itself but also by the constant
threat of violence and the extraordinary lengths which we have
to go through to avoid it, including how we present ourselves
in public, with how we dress, speak and with whom we
associate. South Africa also remains the rape capital of the
world. We need no convincing of this as our latest quarterly
crime statistics reported that 11 315 people were raped in the
country between the period of October and December 2021.
Chairperson, the labour market remains more favourable to men
than women. Women in South Africa and around the world still
face a number of challenges that hinders them from accessing
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employment. And men are still more likely to be in paid
employment than women, regardless of race, while women are
more likely than men to be doing unpaid work.
IsiZulu:
Imizi engaphezulu kumaphesenti angama-42 lapha eNingizimu
Afrika iphethwe ngabantu besifazane. Lokho nje kusho ukuthi
abantu besifazane bathwele ukukhulisa abantwana baphinde
babhekelele inhlalakahle yemindeni yabo. Izinga lokungabikhona
kwemisebenzi kubantu besifazane lingaphezulu kunalokho
okubhekene nabantu besilisa. Abantu besifazane abangasebenzi
balinganiselwa phakathi kumaphesenti angama-90 kanye
namaphesenti angama-30 kunabantu besilisa.
English:
Women are at the coalface of poverty, they suffer the most
from crime, scorned the most in public institutions and almost
always get the short end of the stick when it comes to access
to justice, and are also the ones who do not get paid equally
for equal work.
All across the world, women continue to face a number of
obstacles in leadership positions as we still live in a world
where regardless of race, class or ethnicity, women are still
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considered as outsiders whose life experiences are minimally
recognised, as women are still confined to domestic roles.
These are the structural challenges which are today the
realisation of the objectives set out for in the Women’s
Charter. If we are to ever unleash the full potential of
women’s development, we must be able to address these
challenges. We need to be in a position to convert these
ideals and encapsulate them in The Charter, into concrete,
workable and measurable objectives for each of the government
departments. In doing so, growth and the development of gender
equality relies on ending discrimination towards women and
providing equal access to education and opportunities for
employment.
IsiZulu:
Amaphoyisa kumele abe nendlela esezingeni eliphezulu
lokuphatha amacala okunyukubeza abantu besifazane.
Akwamukeleki futhi akugculisi ukwazi ukuthi amacala amaningi
awalitholi ithuba lokungena enkantolo ngenxa yokungabi
nesineke sokuphenywa nokuthi akunabufakazi okwanele bokuthulwa
ezinkantolo.
English:
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The justice system in its entirety must be the one that is
sensitised to the system and the nature of women’s oppression.
IsiZulu:
Sihlalo, abantu besifazane kumele babelwe umhlaba futhi kumele
basekwe uma befuna ukuqala ezamabhizinisi. Badinga imisebenzi
ngaphandle kokuthi baphoqwe ukuthi balale ukuze bathole le
misebenzi.
English:
True equality and development lies in the basic and
fundamental ideals and these are not possible when we still
have a state which primarily serves the interest of capital
such as the state we have today.
IsiZulu:
Okubalulekile, ukudlula konke ukuthi lo Mqulu [Charter] angeke
usiyise ndawo uma singazimiseli ukuphindaphinda,
sikuphindanise kaningi ...
English:
... our efforts of ensuring that women obtain economic
freedom in our lifetime. As the EFF, we are for the full
development of women, we are and have always been ready for
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women’s leadership. We are for the elimination of all forms of
discrimination that are mainly pointed at our women. Those
ideals we will fight for until the end of time. I thank you.
Ms A D MALEKA: The Chief Whip, Minister, Deputy Minister,
permanent and special delegates, good afternoon. Hon
Chairperson and members, the inaugural Women’s Charter of 1954
where the women of our country organised under the banner of
the Federation of South African Women made a clarion call for
a non-sexist society based on the principles of democracy,
freedom and liberty, and impartial significantly changed the
trajectory of the struggle against apartheid colonialism.
The coherent proposals made by the women activists in the
charter would go on to find expression in the Freedom Charter
the following year in 1955, as we all know the Freedom Charter
became the load star for the forces of liberation and
continues to guide the democratic state. The Charter was
significant in the sense that it placed at the centre stage
the gender question. This was at the height of apartheid
racial and class system of exploitation, and highlighted the
point that even at that time women bear the brunt of the
exploitation and marginalisation.
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Drawing from their experience with the colonial system of
oppression the women’s movement put across concrete demands to
the regime, amongst them, are the following. The right to vote
and to be elected to all state bodies, without restriction or
discrimination. The right to full opportunities for employment
with equal pay and possibilities of promotion in all spheres
of work. Equal rights with men in relation to property,
marriage and children, and for the removal of all laws and
customs that deny women such equal rights. For the removal of
all laws that restrict free movement, that prevent or hinder
the right of free association and activity in democratic
organisations, and the right to participate in the work of
these organisations.
There is no doubt that as a liberation movement and as a
country we have come a long way in advancing these objectives
since the charter was adopted in 1954 and the democratisation
of our country since 1994.
Women have always been the motive forces of change in the
struggle against colonialism. This is simply because the
system of colonial-apartheid oppression was more brutal to
women than any strata in society. While women suffered from
patriarchy in precolonial society in Africa under the communal
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and feudal systems, however the process of colonialism and
class exploitation relegated them to non-entities with no
political, social, and economic rights. This is traceable from
the promulgation of the Glen Grey Act of 1894 by the Cape
Colonial Government. This Act established a system of
individual land ownership and introduced a labour tax forcing
men to employment in commercial farms. The Glen Grey Act was
promulgated at the time when land was the only means of
production and survival dependent on access. The impact was
that because tax was imposed on men it meant women were denied
the right to work as they were not regarded as tax paying
citizens.
Prior to the Glen Gray Act land was regarded as a collective
property of the African community and women enjoyed access and
participated in the agricultural economy. The process of
colonialism, not only ushered a system of exploitation which
excluded women from economic activity and created income
inequalities skewed in favour of men, but it also transformed
patriarchal relations in Africa by ushering in new cultural
practices which are characterised by the commodification women
as the property.
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It is common course that the apartheid colonialism existed to
protect and preserve the system of capitalist accumulation. It
promulgated pass laws to regulate the movement of Africans in
the cities who were meant to provide cheap labour in the mines
and surrounding industries.
Women could not exist in certain spaces without having a
husband who can vouch for them or unless they were carrying a
permit. The women’s movement was the first amongst the
oppressed groups to protest the pass laws. In as early as 1919
the Bantu Women’s League, under its first president Dr
Charlotte Maxeke, undertook a passive resistance against the
application of pass laws to women by mobilising 5 000 African
and coloured women to sign a petition.
In 1930 addressing a conference of European and Bantu
Christian Students Organisation, Dr Charlotte Maxeke captured
the perilous conditions which defined the existence of women
in the cities under the pass laws when she said:
If these circumstances obtain when husband and wife live
together in the towns, imagine the case of the woman,
whose husband has gone to town and left her, forgetting
apparently all his responsibilities. Here we get young
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women, the flower of the youth of the Bantu, going up in
towns in search of their husbands, and as I have already
stated, living as the reputed wives of other men, because
of the location requirements, or becoming housekeepers to
men in the locations and towns, and eventually their
nominal wives.
We can deduce that the process of apartheid colonialism
thrusted upon African women a situation where with very little
choice they had to work as sex workers. This is as much of a
reality today as it was back in those days. We need to pay
attention to the plight of sex workers and the conditions they
face in their line work, and to respond to calls made by civil
society for the decriminalisation of sex work because sex work
is also work.
Criminalisation of sex work enabled widespread abuses,
especially by the police. It also exacerbates the stigma
associated with sex work, but also prevent access to
fundamental rights. For example, it is critically important
that sex workers have access to health care facilities in
order to stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases such
as HIV and AIDS.
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There is also a need for government to consider well-crafted
programmes for when sex workers exited their profession.
Therefore, we welcome the decision by the Department of
Justice and Constitutional Development to hold consultative
meetings on the issue of decriminalisation of sex-work.
Hon Chairperson and members, there can be no doubt that the
women’s movement has come a long way since the Women’s
Charters of 1954 and 1994. Significant milestones have been
achieved since 1994 such as ensuring the participation of
women in the political and legislative authorities. We have
been able to open up opportunities in education and skilling
sectors for women and we have ensured that we create a social
security net with interventions that prioritise women.
However, despite our impressive record, the legacy of
apartheid colonialism continues to haunt us and the conditions
of women, as those who constitute the majority of the
population, continue to be nervous.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global gender gap
report, South Africa ranks 14th in political empowerment, 10th
in the percentage of women in parliament, and 12th in the
percentage of women in ministerial positions. However, it
ranks 92nd in economic participation and opportunity, and
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131st for wage equality for similar work where the gender gap
is still 49.6%. This should highlight the urgency of the
program for radical socioeconomic transformation.
Hon Chairperson, as we conclude, we would like to point out
that the Women’s Charter 2021 calls upon us to make a paradigm
shift in our approach in order to effect the changes that we
have sought since the promise of 1994. We must ensure that,
amongst other things, gender sensitive amendments in policy
design, gender budgeting, and the mainstreaming of gender
perspectives find expression in the implementation of
programmes. This will ensure that the developmental state,
which must mobilise market and non-market stakeholders towards
a developmental agenda, prioritises women and the gender
question as it resolves the triple challenges of poverty,
unemployment, and inequalities. I thank you, Chairperson.
Ms C N RAKGOALE (Limpopo: MEC for Social Development): Deputy
Chairperson of the NCOP, Ma’am Sylvia Lucas, hon members, good
afternoon. It is my pleasure to be part of today’s National
Council of Provinces’ debate on the 2021 Women’s Charter for
Accelerated Development. This debate comes a day after the
celebration of International Women’s Day which was held in
Limpopo, led by Minister for Women, Youth and Persons with
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Disabilities, Mme Maite Nkoana Mashabane. It is important that
during times like these, we celebrate all the positive strides
that have been made in the development and empowerment of
women.
The celebration presented an opportunity for all of us to
pause and reflect on the significant strides that have been
made by the ANC led government in ensuring that the rights of
women, economic empowerment and gender parity are realised in
the democratic dispensation. I must say without fear of
contradiction that the democratic government has done a lot in
ensuring that there is not only constant, but consistent
growth in fending for the rights of our women, children and
people living with disabilities across the board.
Statistics suggests that at the provincial level, women’s
representation has increased from 30% to 43% after the 2019
national elections. Limpopo province has the largest
proportion of women, with 53% of seats in the legislature
occupied by women, surpassing the Southern African Development
Community’s parity target. Additionally, women constitute 43%
of the Cabinet and 40% of councillors in local government.
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However, the generation of today must ensure that the dreams
of our earlier generations’ women such as, Umama uCharlotte
Mannya Maxeke, Lillian Ngoyi, Sophia de Bruyn, Albertina
Sisulu, Adelaide Tambo, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and many
more are realised. Government and the private sector must
redouble efforts in ensuring that total women emancipation is
achieved in our lifetime.
Our forebears worked tirelessly to see to it that our people
are serviced irrespective of race, culture and gender. Their
every action was aimed at achieving liberation and equality in
society and creating platforms for advancing women’s rights.
As the situation stands, the majority of South Africans,
especially those in rural provinces such as Limpopo, are
largely dependent on government’s social grants, which are
mainly within the Department of Social Development. These
grants are in fact the main source of income for about
18 million citizens across the country. In Limpopo, half of
the population’s households depend on the provision of these
grants.
Further, the South African government extended the R350 social
relief of distress, SRD, grant to further assist our people
who are in dire situation. We must all take comfort to the
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fact that government is doing its best in ensuring that our
citizens, our people are kept afloat, and it continues to
create an enabling environment for the private sector to
invest and create employment opportunities.
Guided by this reality we are indeed delighted that the sixth
administration as led by President Cyril Ramaphosa is
determined to ensure that no South African, especially the
vulnerable groups of our society go to bed on an empty
stomach. We must also use this day to confront some of these
issues that are still hampering the empowerment and
development of our women.
In Limpopo, like in some parts of the country, we still
experience social ills such as; gender-based violence, teenage
pregnancy, school bullying, substance abuse and general
violence meted out against the vulnerable groups of society.
We can never fully celebrate this day while we are still
experiencing some of these challenges mentioned above in our
communities. Gender-based violence and other social ills
remain stumbling blocks to the progress we should be making
towards the complete liberation of women.
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In his state of the province address delivered a few weeks
ago, the Limpopo Premier, Chupu Stanley Mathabatha, spoke
sharply against this phenomenon. He said, and I quote:
Our particular attention is focused on gender-based
violence which has reached unprecedented levels of
brutality and barbarism. Perpetrators of this violence
are becoming more vicious with each day that passes.
We have seen women being killed in their homes, women are
killed on the street, women are victimised at workplaces and
women are still being killed while in possession of a
protection order against their abusive partners. We simply
cannot afford to fold our arms and watch while the women of
our country become endangered species.
Faced by this reality, the Limpopo Provincial Government,
established a technical committee on gender-based violence in
order to bolster accountability, co-ordination and leadership
in the fight against the scourge of gender-based violence and
femicide. A step in the right direction, but we cannot fight
this war alone. I am inviting all sectors of our society, from
the religious community, traditional leadership, NGOs,
political parties and everyone, to join hands with government
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in confronting this vicious monster called gender-based
violence and femicide. This is a fight we all cannot afford to
lose. This is a monster that affects all of us and is fast
becoming a pandemic of its own proportion.
There is also a strong relationship between violence and
substance abuse. The fight against the abuse of alcohol and
drugs is also a fight for a peaceful and orderly society. It
is my strong conviction that gender-based violence will only
end when each one of us takes responsibility for the
happenings in their own homes, in their backyards,
communities, in their workplaces, in their places of worship
and in their schools.
I must indicate that for as long as women remain burdened by
the societal conditioning towards sexual vulnerability; as
long as women shoulder the greatest burden of poverty; for as
long as they form the largest part of those unemployed in our
society; for as long as they are paid less than their male
counterparts; for as long as they struggle to start
businesses; for as long as they face discrimination in the
workplace; for as long as women confront these and other
countless challenges, our vision of an equal and just society
will remain elusive.
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We must all of us be directed by the Women’s Charter which was
adopted in 1954 to set the tone for today’s democratic order.
The charter was reviewed in 1994 under the Women’s National
Coalition which adopted the Women’s Charter for Effective
Equality. Women’s Charter review process was taken during the
Women’s Parliament held in August 2019, to cover all nine
provinces.
In 2020 the Limpopo government managed to convene the district
review sessions to take stock on the progress made in
implementing the articles of the Women’s Charter since the
advent of freedom and democracy. The review process was
conducted in all the five districts of the province. This was
a multi-stakeholder initiative with a sole purpose of
advancing women’s economic empowerment and inclusion.
Since the dawn of our democracy, work has been done to
transform our society, to bridge the material divides between
black and white, between men and women, between boys and
girls, between urban and rural. We have made significant
progress in several areas, not least in the provision of
health care, education and essential services and
infrastructure to the poor. But we have not fundamentally
transformed patterns of ownership, control and benefit in our
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economy. The empowerment of women is not negotiable and is
therefore an integral part of our effort to achieve inclusive
growth, create jobs and expand economic opportunities for all.
It is a task that requires a dedicated and unrelenting
attention.
There is another reason why this 2021 Women’s Charter for
Accelerated Development initiative is so vitally important.
The economic empowerment of women is one of the pillars of our
National Strategic Plan of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide,
as I have already alluded to. By improving the economic
circumstances of women, we are reducing their vulnerability to
abuse and violence. By being less economically dependent on
male partners, women have a better chance ... [Interjections.]
A word of warning to us all seated here, COVID-19 arrived on
our shores and as a country, we did what we needed to do to
save lives. There have been consequences that have followed as
an aftermath, and we are all alive to this reality. It is now
more crucial than ever to ensure that all our collective
efforts in empowering the women of our society do not begin to
degenerate.
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I want to leave you with the encouraging words of President
Ramaphosa when he was delivering the state of the nation
address last month and he said:
Time and time again, we have pulled ourselves back from
the brink of despair and inspired hope, renewal, and
progress. Now, we must do so again. Let us forge a new
consensus to confront a new reality, a consensus that
unites us behind our shared determination to reform our
economy and rebuild our institutions.
As we are regrouping to build our economy again, we will make
sure that all people, irrespective of gender are empowered
fully and equally. I thank you.
The MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY FOR WOMEN, YOUTH AND PERSONS
WITH DISABILITIES: Chair, good evening. I thank you again for
the opportunity to participate in this very important Women’s
Charter Review for Accelerated Development, which is taking
place a day after the commemoration of the International
Women’s Day.
I must say that we had a very good interaction yesterday with
Member of Executive Council, MEC, Rakgoale and more than 100
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women farmers as we are preparing for the 66th Session of the
Commission on the Status of Women, CSW66.
CSW66 this year will be different because we have been given
the honour to be, as a country, the chair of the session whose
theme is: Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all
women and girls in the context of climate change,
environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and
programmes; which will be under the Chairship of South Africa
– as I said.
CSW is an important organ of the United Nations, UN, that must
be utilized to maximize the advancement of gender equality and
empowerment of women.
The timing of the chairing of the Commission is critical.
In preparation for South Africa’s participation in the 66th
Session, the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with
Disabilities together with the Departments of Forestry,
Fisheries and the Environment as well as Agriculture, Land
Reform and Rural Development have been coordinating sessions
on the priority theme with different stakeholders including
women farmers to hear how climate change has affected them.
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We seek to carry to New York a South African position that
reflects the collective strength of women in driving gender
equality through key reforms.
We have concluded two of the three ongoing consultations
planned at the national level to consolidate a national
position.
As I said, yesterday we spent time in Limpopo; we will be in
North West. Our director-general is the Northern Cape; we will
continue doing that.
What emerged even yesterday, I’m sure MEC Rakgoale had spoken
to this, are the persisting challenges that continue to impede
women’s advancement in these male dominated fields, especially
the issue of water licences, that affect them negatively
because you cannot be a farmer and not have water for your
crops and animals.
Furthermore, South Africa is one of the 12 countries selected
by the UN women to present its country review on the economic
empowerment of women in the changing world of work.
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Hon members and Chair, ANC-led government inherited, in 1994,
a country built on the systematic exclusion of women. The
South African economy had been shaped by a century of
patriarchal, segregationist and exclusionary policies that
marginalized most of the women from meaningful economic
participation.
A major legacy of apartheid has been the feminisation of
poverty and gendered inequalities that continue to impact on
the lives of many South African women today.
The road to strengthening our democracy must be anchored in
the actions outlined in the Generation Equality Forum that
seeks to accelerate the implementation of the Beijing Platform
for Action which is the instrument developed by women from all
walks of life and is being monitored by UN women and reported
and discussed by member states annually at the CSW.
South Africa has a long history of women’s collective struggle
waged against intersecting struggles. It is through this bold
revolutionary efforts of great women that we enjoy the rights
and freedoms of their actions, like Mme [Ms] Charlotte Mannya
Maxeke.
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The formation of the Women’s National Coalition in 1992 was
critical in ensuring that the democratic transition of South
Africa envisions freedom of all people, particularly minority
groups including women, children, persons with disabilities
and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning,
intersex, asexual and many other gender and sexual identities,
LGBTQIA+ and other persons.
The Charter Campaign became the vehicle to which to drive a
narrative of inclusive development for all South Africans.
Through the Charter Campaign, the Women’s National Coalition
drafted and presented the Women’s Charter for Effective
Equality to Convention for a Democratic SA, CODESA, for
inclusion in the Bill of Rights. This Charter was adopted in
1994 and served as the basis on which the gender agenda was
promised.
Hon Chairperson, the period since 1994 has been characterized
by government efforts to effect political, economic and social
transformation. In addition, our government has sought to
overcome the barriers to gender equality and women’s
empowerment with a clear intent to transform historical gender
imbalances.
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Chapter 1 and 2 of the Constitution provides an enabling
framework that guides the introduction of policies and laws to
enforce transformation, non-discrimination; non-sexism and
equality for women and their equal representation and full
participation in national government structures, decision-
making and leadership positions.
Chair and hon members, economic transformation and empowerment
of women is part of the mandate we established in 1994. While
many strides have been made, more still needs to be done. We
need to remove all barriers put by patriarchy and its enablers
to ensure that women participate effectively in the mainstream
economy.
Government has introduced a range of policies and programmes
designed to facilitate women’s economic empowerment, to
provide business resources, information and opportunities for
South African women entrepreneurs.
However, there has been limited success. Women’s unequal share
of unpaid care and domestic work is an important barrier to
economic empowerment and wellbeing. And this reflects the
time-intensive nature of some tasks performed around the home,
such as caring for other household members.
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While there is still a long way to go, women have started to
break through the glass ceilings in the corporate world. This,
especially in previously male dominated fields such as
manufacturing, finance, big business, science, engineering,
mathematics, technology, Information and Communication
Technology, ICT, related fields, mining and construction, just
to count but a few.
Overall, women have made significant strides in ensuring that
they are better represented and have a voice in Parliament, in
the judiciary, in cabinet, in the public service, in the
corporate world and in the society at large.
Chair and ladies and gentlemen, it is important to reflect on
key gender priorities on how to overcome persisting challenges
as we move towards the target date of the UN Agenda 2030, the
National Development Plan: Vision 2030 as well as working
towards the African Union, AU, Agenda 2063.
I wish to thank hon Sylvia Lucas and her esteemed team, the
hon members of the NCOP in leading a review of the Women’s
Charters across all 9 provinces, 44 districts and 8
metropolitan municipalities from 2019-20.
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It is out of this extensive review that the Women’s Charter
for Accelerated Development 2021 emerged. It is truly a demand
document for the women of South Africa.
Hon Chair, in 1995 the country adopted the Beijing Platform
for Action. The core principle underpinning the implementation
of this instrument to advance women and girls and achieve
gender equality in this approach and gender mainstreaming.
Gender mainstreaming demonstrates the need for significant
shift in focus and approach to the budgetary process as an
important policy framework, administrative tool and governance
ethics.
Since democracy, South Africa has initiated a number of gender
responsive budget initiatives and is seen as leading both in
the continent and globally. Yet women remain economically and
socially impoverished.
As the members are aware, the Cabinet approved the Gender
Responsive Planning, Budgeting, Monitoring, Evaluation and
Auditing Framework in 2019.
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This framework is being implemented across the government and
Gender Responsive Budgeting, GRB, is an important component of
the framework and aims to bring gender mainstreaming to public
finances, which ultimately results in gender responsive
budgets.
Gender responsive budgets are not separate budgets for women
but are general budgets that are planned, approved, executed,
monitored and audited in a gender responsive way.
In February this year the department, with the support of the
European Union, hosted a policy dialogue on Gender Responsive
Budgeting to improve understanding and implementation of GRB.
I am proud and honoured to announce that this dialogue was
attended virtually by over 700 participants from all over the
world who wanted to hear what South Africa is doing. This
shows the critical nature of this process.
At the heart of gender budgeting is a response to the needs of
the recipients of public services. Measuring the degree to
which public services provided for by public finances, meet
the needs of men and women, boys and girls, for whom they were
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designed, is the first step toward making budgets that are
gender sensitive.
Clear target setting per industry Sectoral Master Plan and
economic empowerment it’s what we all should gear up for and
continue working together even including running workshops
where it is necessary, for us to know what to ask for but
above all work together with all the society but in particular
government. I thank you, Chair.
Ms B P SHIBA (Mpumalanga): Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, hon
Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, House Chairperson, hon members
of the House, hon Chief Whip of the NCOP, permanent and
special delegates of the NCOP, Ministers and Deputy Ministers
present, my colleagues Members of the Executive Council, MECs
present, good afternoon. House Chairperson, the Women’s
Charter gives expression to the diverse experiences, visions
and aspirations of South African Women. The Women’s Charter
Accelerated Development drafted in 2021, demonstrated that
when women are united for a common course they are able to
achieve more.
Hon House Chairperson, we all know that the 1954 Women’s
Charter was adopted at the Founding Conference of the
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Federation of South African Women in Johannesburg, on 17 April
1954.
Some of the giants on whose shoulders the Women’s Charter
stand are veteran activists such as Helen Joseph, Lilian Ngoyi
Florence Mkhize, Ray Alexander, Dora Tamana and many who dared
the brutal regime and fought for women’s rights.
At the time the charter expressed the philosophy and aims of
the then newly established Federation of South African Women,
FEDSAW. These include: The right to vote and to be elected to
all state bodies, without restriction or discrimination, the
right to full opportunities for employment with equal pay and
possibilities of promotion in all spheres of work, equal
rights with men in relation to property, marriage and
children, and for the removal of all laws and customs that
deny women such equal rights.
For the development of every child through free compulsory
education for all, for the protection of mother and child
through maternity homes, welfare clinics, crèches and nursery
schools, in countryside and towns, through proper homes for
all, and through the provision of water, light, transport,
sanitation, and other amenities of modern civilization.
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For the removal of all laws that restrict free movement, that
prevent or hinder the right of free association and activity
in democratic organisations, and the right to participate in
the work of these organisations.
To build and strengthen women’s sections in the national
liberatory movements and the organisation of women in trade
unions, and through the peoples’ varied organisation. To
co-operate with all other organisations that have similar aims
in South Africa as well as throughout the world. To strive for
permanent peace throughout the world.
Hon House Chairperson and members, the real essence of the
charter is well captured on its preamble which reads as
follows:
We, the women of South Africa, wives and mothers, working
women and housewives, African, Indians, European and
Coloured, hereby declare our aim of striving for the
removal of all laws, regulations, conventions and customs
that discriminate against us as women, and that deprive
us in any way of our inherent right to the advantages,
responsibilities and opportunities that society offers to
any one section of the population.
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Through this charter, women pledged themselves to keep high
the banner of equality, fraternity and liberty. They took the
challenge and burden of removing from our society all the
social differences developed in past times between men and
women, that entrenches the effect of keeping women’s gender in
a position of inferiority and subordination.
They resolved to struggle for the removal of laws and customs
that deny African women the right to own, inherit or alienate
property. They resolved to work for a change in the laws of
marriage, which have the effect of placing wives in the
position of legal subjection to husbands, and giving husbands
the power to dispose of wives’ property and earnings, and
dictate to them in all matters affecting them and their
children.
Hon House Chairperson, a lot of ground has been covered since
the adoption of the initial Women’s Charter and a number of
ground-breaking legislation have been passed and are today the
cornerstone of the women emancipation.
One of those is the Constitution of the Republic of South
Africa, Act 108 0f 1996, Chapter 2, the equality clause that
lays the foundation for protecting women’s rights. The
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equality clause provides the legal framework within which
gender equality is protected and forbids discrimination
against anyone on the grounds of race, gender, sex, pregnancy,
marital status, sexual orientation and ethnic or social
origin.
Hon House Chairperson and members, the triple challenges of
poverty, inequality and unemployment, including the pervasive
levels of gender based violence and femicide, represent the
amalgamated and most persistent challenges faced by women.
The depth of this challenge is well captured by the former
Malawi President and the author of the book, From Day One,
Joyce Banda, when she said:
Discrimination and social norms that penalize girls and
women do not start at the adolescence, and by the time
girls turn 10, it is often too late to undo the damage
that has already been done.
The feminisation of poverty is significant because poverty is
experienced differently by women, as compared to men, more so
due to the economic political and social dynamics prevalent in
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the country, which is the most unequal in the world and
incomes are highly polarized.
Overcoming this deeply entrenched and cyclical nature of
generational poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment,
particularly as disproportionately experienced by women, will
require concerted and sustained efforts from sectors of
society.
Hon House Chairperson, in conclusion let me highlight a bit
that Women in Mpumalanga have proven that when women are given
an opportunity to access land, they make good use of that
land. Women in Mpumalanga contested in the forestry,
livestock, agro processing and crop production in the adult,
youth and persons with disabilities categories in the
Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development,
DALLRD Female Entrepreneur Awards and achieved up to the
overall national prizes. These shows that despite the
limitation posts on women, when they find an opportunity, they
display their resilience. Thank you very much, House
Chairperson for the opportunity.
Ms T MODISE: Hon Chair, hon members, my colleagues, let me
start with a quotation from tata Nelson Mandela: “Freedom
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cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all
kinds of oppression.” We can never fully enjoy ... am I
protected?
The ACTING HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K M Mmoeimang): Hon MEC, can
you mute, please? You are protected. You can continue.
Ms T MODISE: We can never fully enjoy the fruits of our
democracy without the emancipation of women. We have
identified gender-based violence and femicide, GBVF, as an
endemic in our country. Sorry Chairperson, I am using two
gadgets due to the network problem. It does not only impede
the development of women but also of our country,
economically. Statistics have indicated that South Africa is
the most dangerous country for a woman to live in. It is said
that only 25% of women in our country feel safe when walking
alone at night.
We must change this reality for our women, we must continue
our efforts to build a safe society for women and children, in
fact, for everyone in our country, to feel safe. It cannot be
that year by year the, figures on the number of women killed
or violated increases.
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The violence aimed at women is deeply embedded in patriarchy
and the high levels of inequality is our society. The Women’s
Charter explains that “domestic violence in South Africa is a
consequence of the complex interplay of patriarchy, culture
and the negative masculine construct”. This patriarchal
cultural belief, still prevalent today, emphasises male
assertiveness and domination of women, influences the
constructions of masculinity and reinforces domestic violence.
Noting and understating the roots of the challenge of gender-
based violence and femicide that we are seized with today, the
National Strategic Plan, NSP, on Gender-Based Violence and
Femicide addresses issues of toxic masculinity, to further
drive our agenda of social cohesion. The NSP makes provision
for addressing this issue through pillar two of prevention,
and the rebuilding of social cohesion. In doing so, we try to
shift away from toxic masculinity, towards embracing positive
alternative approaches to explaining masculinities and other
sexual and gender identities.
Acknowledging that violence is deeply entrenched in the
social-cultural fibre of families, communities and extended to
the broader society, it therefore becomes imperative to
involve communities and families, if we are to truly engage
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and solve the challenges that we face. After all, gender-based
violence is not only a government problem, it is a societal
problem that requires a multifaceted approach, if we are to
deal with it.
In the first year of the implementation of the NSP, we have
continued to address a number of initiatives to address
harmful social norms, by respective government departments,
civil organisations, the labour movement, faith-based
organisations and the private sector. These sectors comprehend
the importance of stopping gender-based violence before it
even happens.
The Department of Social Development has bolstered
preventative efforts amongst communities, in partnership with
civil organisations. We have also integrated programming
interventions within departments to address the scourge of
gender-based violence and femicide more strategically, to
widen and deepen impact. As government, we are also increasing
capacity in the public sector through the National School of
Government amongst public servants, to identify and respond to
gender-based violence through a five-day gender course and its
course of championing antidiscrimination in the public
service.
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We are also working with the education sector, by building the
capacity of educators and school management, to facilitate
inclusive teaching and learning. If we are to address gender-
based violence, we also have to be aware of the manner that we
socialise to teach our children - girls and boys. We must
utilise mechanisms appealing to children to address matters of
violence.
The Department of Basic Education is a key department in
prevention and has undertaken a range of important
interventions, including the use of sport and play to address
social ills, particularly those that are contributing factors
to gender-based violence such at, bullyism, substance abuse,
human trafficking and sexual abuse even amongst themselves.
These measures are also in the form of running webinars to
locate GBVF prevention and as part of the wider social
cohesion, prevention and nation-building agenda and through
interventions, to facilitate gender responsiveness at the
level of education textbooks and tools.
There has been vast progress that has been made in the
implementation of the NSP on GBVF. As government, our primary
priority is to institutionalise the NSP on GBV across
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government and it has been our key focus in order to build a
stable foundation for the effective implementation of the
plan.
We note the challenges along the way. However, as government,
through the Department of Women Youth and Persons with
Disabilities, we continue to play a catalyst and oversight
role, for effective co-ordination and institutionalisation of
the NSP.
The process of rolling out the NSP took place in various
provinces, and the following successes were recorded.
Firstly, the NSP-GBVF is aligned in existing structures, to
expedite the process of implementation of the plan. Continuing
with the spirit of the multisectoral approach, there is
visible progress in provinces where civil organisations are
actively involved in the provincial structures. And in most
provinces, the monitoring and evaluation plans are in place.
Secondly, progress has also been made to address the
systematic challenges that have resulted in an inadequate
response to the management of GBV cases, and the facilitation
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of access to justice, safety and protection in response to the
needs of GBVF.
Setswana:
The ACTING HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K M Mmoeimang): Lebala ke la
gago.
Ms T MODISE: This is some of the progress that government has
done to mitigate the scourge of gender-based violence, however
we do acknowledge that much still needs to be done. We have to
improve the state of our shelters to also cater for persons
belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community.
In provinces where ... Gender-based violence requires all of
us to be activist, and confront toxic behaviours when
confronted by them. It is up to all of us to work towards the
goals of the NDP where women and children feel safe and
secure.
South Africa, let us change the narrative that we are the most
dangerous country for a woman live in. Our Constitution is
seen to be the most progressive in the world, and it promotes
and acknowledges rights for everyone, promoting tolerance in
our country.
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In conclusion, let us make this country safe for future
generations and stop pointing fingers, but instead, solve the
problem that affects and impacts all of us despite race, class
or gender.
As in my opening quote, I quote Nelson Mandela: “Freedom
cannot be achieved, unless women have been emancipated from
all kinds of oppression.” As I conclude, I leave you with this
quote from our former statesman: “If you want to change the
world, help the women.”
The Acting HOUSE CHAIRPERS (Mr K M Mmoiemang): Thank you, hon
Modise for taking part in the debate with the theme: Setting a
25-Year vision and agenda to advance Women’s equality, growth
and development
Afrikaans:
Mnr S F DU TOIT: Agb Voorsitter, ek is trots op vroue wat ten
spyte van uitsluitende wetgewing, ankers vir die nasie,
opvoeding vir ‘n volk, ’n voorbeeld vir die wêreld en liefde
in die huis is.
English:
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The adoption of the first Women’s Charter on 17 April 1954
during the founding conference of the Federation of South
African Women, called for the “empowerment of men and women of
all races, for equal opportunities in employment, equal pay
for equal work, equal rights in relation to property rights,
marriage and children, and the removal of all laws and customs
that denied women such equality”.
Did this happen? What happened instead? Department of
Environmental Affairs has implemented the gender action plan,
that gives preference to the appointment of black Woman, to
achieve its gender empowerment and equality mandate, ie not
all woman benefit from this.
Afrikaans:
Hierdie wetgewing gee nie voorkeur aan alle vroue nie, maar
aan swart vroue!
English:
The following legislation, Acts and empowerment models, are
some of the measures that was put in place to ensure
advancement of some, not on the basis of merit, but gender,
resulting in woman benefiting from these initiatives to be
reduced to mere quotas: broad-based black economic
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empowerment, Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act,
the National Environmental Management Act, the South African
Network for Women in Transport, the National Housing Act, the
Social Housing Act, SALGA’s Women’s Commission introduced the
50/50 approach, where 50% of the people elected in leadership
positions must be women.
It has been argued in some circles that some of the woman in
government structures that are in leadership positions are
frowned upon. Why? Because it is uncertain if they are there
on merit or gender?
Afrikaans:
Vroue word deur hierdie wetgewing bemagtig op die basis van
hul geslag en nie op meriete nie, dus word baie van hierdie
vroue gereduseer tot kwotas wat voordeel uit wetgewing en
voorskrifte ontvang het.
English:
It’s a privilege and honour to acknowledge women that have
achieved success, in spite of all the current social economic
and domestic challenges.
Afrikaans:
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Die VF Plus glo in gelyke regte en gelyke geleenthede vir
vroue en haal ons hoed af vir elke vrou wat in strukture
sukses volgens meriete behaal het. Julle verdien dit! Baie
huishoudings is ook deur wetgewing soos regstellende aksie
benadeel.
Vele Vroue wat deur wetgewing gedwing is om alleen die
broodwinner in die huis te wees, ma en mentor te wees, en
steeds ondersteunende vrou tot bekwame werklose man te wees,
nie omdat hy onwillig is om te werk nie, maar omdat wetgewing
hom verhoed om sy volwaardige rol in die huishouding en
samelewing te vertolk en as hulp tot sy vrou op te tree.
Ek bedank vandag vroue wat nie moed opgee nie, ten spyte van
onregverdige wetgewing wat haar daarvan ontneem om haar passie
op welke wyse uit te leef.
Dankie aan elke vrou wat boerderye deur droogtes gebid het,
wat stukkende gesinne met geloof in God na plaasaanvalle
bygestaan het.
Dankie aan elke vrou wat raap en skraap om honger monde te
voed, ’n kind se dors na kennis te les en steeds tyd maak om
met deernis ’n skurwe moeë hand ’n drukkie te gee na ’n
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moeilike dag, wat deur hul optrede bewys dat vroue nie
spesiale voorkeur nodig het om sukses te behaal nie! Julle is
in staat en is spesiaal!
Dankie, aan die vrou wat haarself nie beperk en as die gesig
van armoede in Suid-Afrika sien nie. Julle is die morele
kompas in baie se lewens!
Hierdie is vroue wat bewys het dat geen bevoordelende
wetgewing, die bepalende faktor was om hul as leiers en
suksesvolle inividue bo die res te laat uitstyg nie! Hierdie
vroue het ’n wilsbesluit, deursettingsvermoë, inisiatief,
kriatiewe denke en ’n onuitblusbare passie vir sukses en
oorlewing! Vroue van formaat!
English:
Great respect to modern female giants that achieved great
success without allowing to be labelled: Melanie Jacobs,
motivational speaker and life coach; entrepreneurs like
Michelle Brits, Elizabeth van der Bijl, Alita du Plessis. All,
Women of stature! Thank you.
Mr M I RAYI: Thank you very much, hon House Chairperson, hon
Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP,
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hon Chief Whip, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon MECs, hon
fellow delegates and special delegates, I am honoured to
participate in this debate. My focus will be on recognising
women as a motive force of change in Africa, struggles of
women and girls and how South Africa has contributed to these
struggles globally.
Understanding women’s organisational leadership in Africa is
complicated. Firstly, because of a lack of data; and secondly,
due to constraints within organisational environments. What we
do know though, is that organisational culture does perpetuate
stereotypes and biases about what women can do, sculpting
women’s leadership and roles to fit predefined norms.
The ever-evolving human desire drives the development of men
and women alike.
Over the past 60 years, we have witnessed a conspicuous change
in women’s consciousness in Africa. Many more women wish to be
less and less involved in household management and child care,
and are increasingly expanding their involvement in other
areas of society. However, there are always challenges
particularly in business. Women in business all around the
world face barriers and Africa is no exception. In Africa,
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there are more women in chief executive officers, CEOs, and
board roles than the global average, according to McKinney’s
2016 report on Women Matter Africa. Still, there are too few
women in leadership positions in our country and in our
continent.
Almost three decades ago, African women had reason to expect
change following a much-heralded global conference that set
ambitious targets to transform the lives of women across the
world. This year marks the 27th anniversary of that milestone
event, the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing,
China, in 1995. Like their counterparts elsewhere, African
women are taking stock of progress and are asking to what
extent promised reforms have been implemented? They are also
examining why progress has been limited in many countries and
are seeking ways to overcome the obstacles.
During the last 30 years, there have been a number of signs of
improvement. There have been moves to implement the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women, CEDAW, a UN protocol, as well as the development of new
policies and guidelines and creation of networks of gender
experts.
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Hon members, poverty has a woman’s face. For many African
women, the Beijing platform and the various international
instruments our governments have signed have yet to translate
into positive changes in their daily lives. They remain at the
bottom of the social hierarchy, with poor access to land,
credit, health and education. While some of the agreements
that African governments have ratified, enshrined property and
inheritance rights, in most countries women are denied those
very rights.
Compounding the situation are setbacks such as the HIV/Aids
pandemic that is destroying the health of more women than men
in Africa, eroding some of the development gains women have
attained. As a result, poverty in Africa continues to wear a
woman’s face. The findings of the Zimbabwe-based
nongovernmental organization which is called Women in Law and
Development in Africa, WILDAF, were distressing. They found
that 20 years after Beijing, African women were much poorer.
Perhaps the most inhibiting factor to women’s development is
that women in Africa and in parts of our own country continue
to be denied education, often the only ticket out of poverty.
Disparities between girls and boys start in primary school and
the differences widen up through the entire educational
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system. The positive news though is that in total enrolment in
primary education, Africa registered the highest relative
increase during the last two decades.
Many now acknowledge that to enable women to escape poverty,
development policies should place more emphasis on their
contributions to the economy. Even though women make up a
significant proportion of the economically active population,
their contribution is not fully recorded because they are
mainly engaged in family farming or in the informal sector. In
other cases, what they do, such as household work, is not
considered economic activities.
In agriculture, sub-Saharan Africa’s most vital economic
sector, women contribute 60–80% of labour in food production,
both for household consumption and for sale.
When we consider the phenomenon of climate change, we believe
that it affects everyone, but it is the world’s poorest and
those in vulnerable situations, especially women and girls,
who bear the brunt of environmental, economic, and social
shocks. The same women and girls are also early adopters of
new agricultural techniques, first responders when disaster
strikes, and important decision-makers at home about energy
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and waste. We would argue that climate action cannot be
successful or sustainable if it does not involve women.
The UN Secretary-General, His Excellency António Guterres, has
singled out women’s leadership for their unique ability as
drivers of solutions when they are empowered. The UN analysis
has shown that men and women have different coping mechanisms
and vulnerabilities in the face of climate change. It is not
surprisingly, then, that gender dynamics are a factor in the
consideration in designing and implementing strategies for
adaptive approaches to climate change.
Patriarchal practices remain one of the biggest stumbling
block to progress in South Africa and the continent. Gender
stereotypes can be a result of gender socialization. Girls and
boys are expected to act in certain ways, and these ways are
socialized from birth by many parents and society, for
example, in many households, girls are still expected to be
clean and quiet, while boys are messy and loud. As children
get older, gender stereotypes become more apparent in styles
of dress and choice of leisure activities. Boys and girls who
do not conform to gender stereotypes are usually ostracized by
same age peers for being different. This can lead to negative
effects, such as lower self-esteem, substance abuse, suicides
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and other antisocial behaviours, for instance, boys are more
active, physical and play in larger spaces than girls. In
contrast, girls are more compliant, prosocial and play closer
to adults than boys. One important way in which children learn
about gender roles and develop gender-type behaviour and
attitudes is through their interactions with peers.
Hon members, women are most poorly represented at the highest
level in management and leadership in both government and the
private sector. A 2017 South Africa survey found that while
20,7% of directors and 29,4% of executive managers were women,
women accounted for only 11,8% of CEOs and chairpersons.
Women have traditionally faced a lack of ... okay.
Despite the challenges, more and more women are paving the way
for young girls to become leaders in their own communities. We
hear every day of the accomplishments of South African women,
from the everyday frontline work of women against the pandemic
to the elevation of others to positions of influence and
responsibility.
At this momentous time in the history of the global trading
system, we celebrate one of our own, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,
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former Nigerian Finance Minister, former managing director of
the World Bank Group, and non-resident distinguished fellow
with the Brookings Africa Growth Initiative, who became the
first woman ever and first African to head the World Trade
Organization, WTO. Thank you so much, hon House Chairperson.
Mr N M HADEBE: Thank you, House Chairperson, hon Chair, Deputy
Chair, Chief Whip of the NCOP, provincial Whips and
colleagues, as we are nearing the end of the fourth wave of
the pandemic, we must take stock of the fact that the social
and economic consequences of COVID-19 undeniably had a much
greater impact on the women of our country.
According to Statistics SA, the rate of unemployment amongst
women was recorded at 36,8% for the second quarter of 2021,
compared to 32,4% amongst men.
This reality, coupled with the reality of climate change and
the devastating consequences thereof on our natural resources,
place an additional burden on women.
Women, according to the United Nations, UN, are much more
vulnerable, as they are more dependent on natural resources
and constitute the majority of the world’s poor. This is even
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more true for women in rural areas, whose livelihood depends
on the sustainability of natural resources and access to land.
As we celebrated International Women’s Day on 8 March, under
the theme: “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”,
we must recognise this harsh reality. We must ask ourselves,
what we are doing? And more importantly, what is the
government doing to lessen this burden on women?
We urgently require the political will to implement policies
aimed at empowering and uplifting women, especially in rural
communities. We cannot merely continue, year-on-year, to
discuss the issue of gender equality and how to increase
women’s access to land, especially in rural areas. We need
firm commitments from our government, and more importantly, we
require the rollout of these initiatives. We need to see these
promises become reality. Policies and programmes specifically
designed to benefit women mean very little if women are not
aware of these programmes, and if government fails to meet
targets and timeframes provided for in these policies.
We therefore must ask ourselves, what is being done to inform
women, specifically in rural areas of government initiatives
that are aimed at empowering and uplifting women in the
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agricultural sector, and in the green economy. How many women
in rural areas are actually aware of skills training
initiatives launched by government departments?
Again, we can continue to talk and talk, and publish lengthy
discussion papers on the matter. This will all mean very
little if we do not analyse the outcomes of these initiatives.
Let us demand action and implementation. Let us work together
to empower and celebrate our women. I thank you.
IsiXhosa:
USEKELA MPHATHISWA WEZOLIMO, UBUYEKEZO LWEZEMIHLABA NOPHUHLISO
LWAMAPHANDLE: Sihlalo weNdlu, uSihlalo kunye noSekela Sihlalo
weNCOP, abameli abatshintsha-tshintshayo, amalungu asisigxina
ayo le Ndlu. Mandithathe eli thuba ndiliphiwayo lokuba nam
ndithathe inxaxheba kulo mba mkhulu kangaka namhlanje. Lo
ngumba ojongene nokuba kungenziwa njani ukuphakamisa le
komishoni ukuze baqhube babheke phambili abantu abangoomama,
ngokukodwa ke amakhosazana asaze ngobuso elizweni ukuze
akulungele ukukhokela i-Afrika nelizwe ngokubanzi.
Ndizakuqala ke ngokuzibulisela kubo bonke aBaphathiswa
bamaPhondo abathe bandifaka esikolweni ngokuthi ndithathe
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inxaxheba ngokuphulaphula, kananjalo nabaPhathiswa
besikhanyisela ngakumbi ngezinto ezenziwa kumaphondo ethu.
Ndihlabeke kakhulu ke Sihlalo weNdlu, kuba eneneni ndiye
ndayazi ngokubanzi ukuba ngamakhosikazi aphakamisayo
ukuqinisekisa ukuba kukho ukutya kweli lizwe. Zichaziwe ke
ngabantu abathe bazizithethi phambi kwam izinto, iinxaxheba
kwakunye neenkqubo ezikuwo la maphondo.
Ndiyavuya ke njengoko ilizwi lawo la makhosikazi eli loMzantsi
Afrika lizakuvakala phakathi kwamazwi phaya eNew York,
ngokukhokelwa nguMphathiswa wethu nabo bonke abazizithunywa
besithi ...
English:
... our voice as women in South Africa will be amongst the
voices of the women of the world. I’m very proud to say that
the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural
Development is already endorsing and agreeing that some work
is being done.
I can tell that the new land tenure system has allowed women
of this country to be allocated 117 000 hectares that is in
their own hands today. I also want to highlight the part that
says, women in rural areas have inheritance in one way or
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another where households were allocated land as a tradition
still remains and those hectares remain in the hands of those
homesteads.
But, indeed I agree with those who actually said not enough
funds have been allocated to ensure that that land is put to
use. To an extent, it is always referred to the land that
[Inaudible.]
I am also of the view and justifiably so, that it is not not
the lack of the skills that these women are not successful in
production rather it is the means of production where you
don’t have water, where you don’t have required implements and
as time change the climate changes and we therefore want to
say that the department is actually prepared and our guidance
through all the policies that were put created an ecosystem
that is user friendly to our women and young people to engage
in agriculture.
We are actually on track and our step plan is very clear on
that and our policies agree that such programmes will be
accelerated. However, I would want to warn that all the human
beings have actually adapted from where they come from.
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It is also important to understand the basic principles of
adult education. People, human beings learn only when
education is brought to their doorstep and secondly
remembering what former President Thabo Mbeki said in one of
the manifestos. He actually said,
“We will place senior skilled professionals amongst our
people where they are in order to support them.”
I would argue that if at some stage we will not always be in a
helicopter type of view but rather be local and localisation
must take place and therefore there will be change and there
will be a bottom approach to help our people.
Going forward, I would also argue that there is information,
there is work under those books that our women wear. There is
wealth of information that is in those elderly women we now
see in queues waiting for the grant. If only they were
empowered as we all agree to actually do what they used to do
best.
Most of us in this House debating today, only went to school
because agricultural products were a support for us to pay for
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our fees. May we in our wisdom pay respect to those and focus
on the indigenous information because it will be helpful.
I also would want to say as long as we run in parallel lines,
that in science are always referred to as never neat, we will
not achieve the goals. Hon chairperson and hon members, now is
the time for us to focus on the new way of doing things. That
is the district development model to ensure that we come
together as a way to attack the poverty, crimes and rape but
let us be visible where our people are.
Chair in conclusion, I want to mention a few things that
gender mainstreaming is an important issue within the climate
negotiations space. This climate matter will damage South
Africa and the continent. We need to start now and recognise
why there was National Environmental Management Act. It was to
enable all of us in this House to preserve the land for the
coming generation that is not here.
We can’t’ be allowed to ruin this land in a way of saying we
are producing. Let us preserve, let us focus on sustainable
development by ensuring that we love our land. We must also
not forget that whatever burdens we carry as women, we must
ensure that we are in a position to actually look after our
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families in whatever businesses we are busy with but one other
thing, we are good homemakers, we are those people who promote
peace, understanding and love in a family life. With that as a
team we will win.
Hon members, thank you for listening to me and allowing me to
participate in this historic debate after listening to the
best debate yesterday. It was so warm that it felt like we
were in the same venue. Thank you very much.
Mr M R BARA: Thank you, House Chairperson. Hon House Chair,
hon Minister, hon members, and fellow South Africans good day.
The Women’s Charter was adopted in 1954, and it played an
important role in setting the tone for today’s democratic
order by providing a foundation to build from. It was when
reviewed in 1994, under the Women’s National Coalition, which
adopted the Women’s Charter for effective equality. The
Women’s Charter is a declaration of intent by the Federation
of South African Women which clearly defines the rights, and
privileges for women, by women in South Africa. Under the
Women’s Charter, it seeks to advocate that only women are
entitled to seek maintenance from their spouse.
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However, mainly and most importantly, the right to full
opportunities for employment with equal pay and possibilities
of promotion in all spheres of work. It also stipulated
clearly equal rights with men in relation to property,
marriage and children, and for the removal of all laws and
customs that deny women such equal rights. It therefore
continues to unite women against political, social, legal and
economic injustices. It is therefore important to take stock
of how far we have come as a nation to measure our successes
in trying to strike a balance on gender bias in South Africa.
It is important to know how far we have come in creating a
country that is favourable to South Africans in order to
achieve gender parity in South Africa.
In the 6th Parliament of South Africa, women’s representation
in the National Assembly stood at 46% and in the National
Council of Provinces it is at 36%. This is what we need to
build on as a nation, positive representation for young South
African women to see what is achievable. The best we can do is
to ensure that we open up our political landscape to ensure
that all our community groups are adequately represented. We
must ensure that voices of women and other vulnerable groups
are heard not only identifying who participates in these
programmes, but that women can actively participate in these
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programmes and can actively shape and influence how these
programmes are put together to inform the needs and desires of
women and other vulnerable groups.
It is important to create a gender sensitive – inclusive
economic growth so as to give opportunities to women in South
Africa. In that way we would be able to ensure that labour
policies and interventions effectively create opportunities
for women participation and equal benefits. Women economic
empowerment is central to realising women’s rights and gender
equality. That in essence means agency and meaningful
participation in economic decision making at all levels from
the household to international institutions.
One of the key challenges that women have to go through is
inaccessibility of heath care services. Women in rural areas
have to travel long distances before getting to medical
facilities. The government must ensure that health care
services are accessible to women and with a special
consideration of women in rural areas. There have been
specific cases when women from rural areas end up giving birth
under unbearable conditions. Empowering women in the economy
and closing gender gaps in the world of work are key to
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achieving the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. When
women work, economies grow.
One key issue that has to be addressed is the fact that women
are paid less than men even when the responsibilities are the
same. This unfortunately is a global trend that has to be
addressed immediately to eradicate this unfair discriminate
practice. Violence, and harassment in the workplace affects
women regardless of age, location, income or social status. It
is crucial for women to be protected as to ensure that gender-
based violence and sexual harassment does not have space in
the workplace and in society as a whole. There must be legal
protection for all women against sexual and racial harassment,
abuse and assault. There must be facilities staffed by trained
personnel where women can report cases of rape, battery and
sexual assault, undergo medical examination and receive
appropriate treatment and counselling can be provided.
Therefore, all endeavours must be put in place including legal
covers to protect women in society.
It is quite important for men to accept women as equal
partners starting at home and to teach the young men and boys
to treat women correctly. Men must know that they can’t
liberate themselves from discrimination practices and
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prejudices and yet fail to extend the same to women in law and
in practice. We still have cases where adult male teachers
find pleasure in impregnating young girls in various schools
in South Africa. The Department of Basic Education and the
Department of Health must ensure that learner pregnancy in our
schools comes to an end. This happens while adult male
teachers only recognise their own children as still young. The
national policy for the prevention and management of learner
pregnancy interventions must be implemented to prevent learner
or teenage pregnancy.
Women must have equal political leadership opportunity and
access at all levels of government, the private sector and
civil society organisations. No political position should be
based on gender or race. Rural women must be part of decision-
making structures in traditional communities. We have seen no
wrong doing where women are in chieftaincy in any community
across the country.
South Africa has the best Constitution in the world. We have
the best Chapter 9 institutions compared to many countries
around the globe. All we need to do, is to ensure that South
African citizens benefit from the good that the Constitution
seeks to achieve.
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House Chairperson, we have a lot of ground to cover for us to
be really where we should be. However, we have gone too far to
go back. Let’s soldier on, as we can see the finish line. I
thank you, House Chairperson.
Ms M N GILLION: Hon Chairperson, the oppression of women has
affected their political, social and their economic life.
Within the socio aspect, various dimensions affect the socio
position of women and their freedoms. Our society being
patriarchal breed a lot on discrimination and marginalisation
of women.
Culture is one dimension which has had a profound impact on
the freedoms of women and the type of reproductive practices
they can undertake.
Religion is another social institution which also influences
our women to exercise their reproductive rights. From an
economic point of access, reproductive health care very skewed
to the level of inequality in our society. Despite the access
provided by our public health care system. The inequalities in
our dual health care systems has an impact to access. It is
for this reason that the National Health Insurance is a
necessary policy imperative of the ANC as it will expand
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access and this will contribute in providing health care for
all women as public health care as other capacity challenges.
As Cathy Albertyn in a paper claiming and defending abortion
rights in South Africa noted that interestingly for women in
the exiled ANC, the conditions of exile serve to inform them
on issues of reproductive choice. At this point the burdens of
motherhood, gender-based violence and teenage pregnancies
combined with poor health acre, unsafe and illegal abortions.
Further increasing relief by the ANC women section that
abortion should be ligalised in a democratic South Africa
providing a basis for the development of public health and
feminists arguments of the 1990s. South Africa legalized
abortion services through the choice on the Termination of
Pregnancy Act of 1996. The law is considered as the most
progressive abortion laws globally. Since its inception in
1996, abortion related deaths and injuries are estimated to
have reduced by over 90%. This is the paradigm shift on
reproductive health in our country. This is an outcome of a
protected process due to the different diversion views of
citizens on access to reproductive health care such as
abortion.
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The abortion law has transferred the freedom of women and
their right to take decisions which have to do with their
reproductive rights. The most important aspect of the choice
on the Termination of Pregnancy Act, is the fact that it
allows pregnant women to take deceptions without the authority
of anyone else to terminate a pregnancy. This is to protect
the reproductive rights of women without being pressured by
anyone else including their partner.
The Women’s Charter in article 11, on health clearly outlines
that women in particular are unaware of their rights in
relation to health services. The health services have not been
appropriately orientated to meet women’s health needs and
priorities the lack of basic life sustaining services such as
water and sanitation has denied the majority of South Africans
access to the resources necessary to ensure good health.
The Charter calls for equal, affordable and accessible health
care services which means specific women’s health needs shall
be provided.
Women have the right to control over their bodies which
includes the right to reproductive decisions. Access to
information and knowledge to enable women to make informed
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choices about their bodies and bout the health care should be
provided.
Education about family planning and family planning services
should be provided free of charge to both men and women.
Appropriate and accessible mental health care services must be
provided to women
The Women’s Charter and Priority actions on social protection
as a mechanism to advance gender equality has prioritised
providing access to adequate protections for girls and women
of reproductive age, including pregnant women, girls and new
mothers. This is a concrete expression of power to the people
and ensuring that the rights of women are restored.
Reproduction rights are human rights. The implementation of
the Termination of Pregnancy Act has also come with
challenges. One of the major challenges is around access to
reproductive health care which is timeous and holistic in
providing comprehensive support for women. There are a number
of factors that impact access that can be poor services
provided by health practitioners stigmatizing reproductive
health care in the community. The privacy and safe
psychosocial support are important, noting the deferent
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attitudes and perspectives on abortion, an example or access
to other birth control measures that are important.
In other location, reproductive serves are accessible distant
from communities that have led to an increase of private
services in reproductive rights. We are gravely concerned as
the ANC on illegal providers offering reproductive health
services in rural and urban areas.
Research has reported that approximately 50% of abortions are
ocarina outside of designated health facilities. Many women
and girls especially those from poor backgrounds and
marginalised communities still struggle to access safe
abortion services due to structural and systemic barriers.
Chairperson, in order to address this problem, it is important
that we increase awareness and information sharing among all
women in our country so that they fully understand the sexual
and reproductive rights and the different services that our
government provides.
Hon Chairperson, as I conclude, the ANC with the people of
South Africa, has laid a basis for the continuation of women
struggle and generations to come will surely live in a better
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society where women have equal and better opportunities. I
thank you, Chairperson.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Papa, Jomo Nyambi, hon
Chairperson, as the protocol has been established, I would
like to continue in saying I would like to express my sincere
appreciation to all the members and provinces who participated
in this debate, and we could see that members acknowledged
that this document, our Women’s Charter as it is reviewed, on
the surface one of the key instruments in serving as a guide
and a roadmap to accelerate the realisation of gender
equality.
I think there is quite a considerable consensus that this will
require that we do not continue to pay lip service to the
issues facing the women of the country. Just like the members,
the women of South Africa spoke unanimously that we must
employ every instrument available to change the material
conditions of women. The women of South Africa see us and
Parliament as a champion of their plight. Before I continue, I
want to appreciate the members that have participated in this
debate. I would love to, if time allows, just take out one or
two issues from what the members have said to indicate that it
is true that our members are taking the issues of gender
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equality seriously. We are also taking the fact that the
Women's Charter is the roadmap and the document they provide
for us. We want to congratulate the Eastern Cape for the fact
that it is indicating that more and more women are being
appointed in positions of power, particularly the
administration.
And also there is one issue that was raised by the hon
Christians, the issue of child marriages. I think in our
consultation and hon Christians, as one members that was quite
consistent in attending the consultation processes, will know
that the issue of customary law was an issue that was
consistently raised, where women in their dispensation and not
really necessarily being accommodated in a way that is
conducive for themselves. And also the disconnect, that is now
the gap between the legislation and the implementation, is
something that was also raised.
I think the issues, the particular issue that I am taking from
what the hon Maleka was saying, is the issue of the
decriminalisation of sex work has become a very important
issue, and because sex work in South Africa until today is
still not seen as work. So that is one of the issues that I
think is very important, and I am raising these issues
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specifically to show that the Women's Charter, as it is
reviewed, should not be a document for our shelves but should
be a live document. Hon Rakgoale spoke about the issue of the
social compact that we should use to unite everyone around a
common objective and that is the objective of achieving gender
equality. We particularly want to commend the Minister and
thank her for the comment where she is commending us as the
NCOP for the work that we have done in ensuring that we review
the Women's Chapter, but also for her commitment to move with
greater speed in changing the plight of the women of our
country.
We particularly appreciate the commitment made by the hon
Minister to ensure that women are given tangible opportunities
to participate in the mainstream of our economy. Indeed,
women's ability to participate in the mainstream economy is
indeed a key catalyst for changing the status of women in
South Africa. She also outlined very specific and detailed
interventions that are geared towards implementing the 2021
Women's Charter for Effective Equality which symbolises a firm
commitment by our government to give clear expression in the
planning, budgeting, and implementation processes which must
give effect and expression to the charter. We will continue to
work together with the Ministry of Women, Youth and Persons
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with Disabilities to ensure that the charter finds expression
across all sectors of our society. But we also want to
congratulate South Africa on the chairpersonship of one of the
sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women, CSW. It is
very important that women of the world should continue to
participate in the CSW sessions. I have seen there will be
virtual or hybrid sessions, but it was very informative and
very empowering for us to be able to go to New York, to be
part of the sessions of the CSW before COVID-19 hampered that.
Hon Rayi, for a continental perspective on the issues of
gender equality and also women empowerment, and we agree that
in many African countries you find women are being put in the
administration whilst men occupy the positions that they think
are the true positions of power. And if you see the face of
poverty on the continent, it remains black, a female face let
me put it like that.
Hon Bara, particularly on the issues of education, and I am
just picking from every member just to show that we have
listened attentively because we know that every one of you
before you came here you prepared yourself on looking into the
issues that were raised within the Women's Chapter for
Accelerated Development. The hon Deputy Minister, particularly
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on the issues of land and climate matters, something that is
close to the heart of the current chairperson that is
presiding over the session, the issues of climate change and
climate matters, and I want to thank also hon Bara for the
fact that you have, that you have encouraged us to soldier on
in to making sure that we reach a dispensation where women
will be equally seen as an equal partner within society and
broadly.
And thank you, hon Gillion, also for your very important issue
around the issue of reproductive health care, and particularly
on the issue of psychosocial support. That is so important,
particularly for women, because two people will eventually
reproduce, but in the end it is the woman that must take the
responsibility there is to, to ensure that it's either to
abort or bring into life a healthy new member of society.
Hon Chairperson, with that, we want to express our
appreciation to everyone that made this debate possible, but
also to our Chief Whip in particular, for allowing us to bring
this very important document to table it today in this House
of the NCOP. Thank you very much. [Interjections.]
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The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr A J Nyambi): Thank you, Deputy
Chair. Hon delegates! Hon delegates. That concludes the
business of the day. I wish to thank the Minister, the Deputy
Minister, MECs, all special delegates for availing themselves
with this very important debate.
Debate concluded.
The Council adjourned at 17:18.
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