Commission on Gender Equality Annual Report and Budget 2006/07

SECURITY AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
5 June 2007
COMMISSION ON GENDER EQUALITY ANNUAL REPORT AND BUDGET 2006/07

Chairperson: Mr L Mokoena (ANC)

Documents handed out
Commission on Gender Equality (CGE) Annual Report 2005-2006 (available at www.cge.org.za)
CGE Budget Report 2006-2007
CGE presentation


SUMMARY
The Commission on Gender Equality described its work, outlining the peaks and troughs of the period under review, being 2006-2007. It was able to report that the number of Commissioners was now up to strength and hence a greater presence in the provinces was, and would be, maintained. Its programmes, strategic objectives and budget for 2006-07 were explained.

The CGE outlined the discrepancies between the Chapter 9 institutions, and particularly the CGE, and the public at large, especially in the rural areas, and the need for more educational programmes. The discussion covered wide-ranging issues. As a result of a suggestion from one of the Committee it was noted that the use of Constituency Offices, in collaboration with the Member of Parliament for that constituency, would provide a suitable mechanism for its educational function. Further, although the CGE and the Human Rights Commission, another Chapter 9 institution, might have different mandates or approaches regarding a particular problem, it was noted that collaboration and co-operation between the two Chapter 9 institutions would be beneficial and greatly to the advantage of both institutions.

MINUTES
In response to the invitation by the Chair, Ms Joyce Piliso-Seroke, Chairperson of CGE, introduced the newly appointed Commissioners and stated that after a twelve months' delay the full complement had been appointed, and would be taking up the reins full time after some of them had disposed of their previous obligations.

Ms Joyce Piliso-Seroke stated that she felt proud that with the assistance of its secretariat, the CGE had worked tirelessly and that without the enthusiasm and dedication of the Secretariat, CGE would not be as effective as it was. Ms Joyce Piliso-Seroke reported that her term of appointment was soon to terminate and she felt both proud and confident that the work of the CGE would continue and flourish upon the foundation laid.

Ms Joyce Piliso-Seroke was of the view that the question of gender interests, which were primarily, but not solely, women’s interests, was being advanced and that the CGE was assisting with, or driving the process, to make strides in the changing of attitudes to gender issues, so as to reflect the tenets of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution. However, she cautioned, that in this regard South Africa was a work in progress and it required dedication, enthusiasm and work to keep gender issues abreast, if not ahead, of needs. She mentioned the review of all Chapter 9 Institutions - the first of its kind - being undertaken by a parliamentary ad hoc committee under Prof Kader Asmal, which was considering their reports. Ms Joyce Piliso-Seroke welcomed this expressing the hope, that the gears would be engaged, that the review committee would strengthen the Chapter 9 Institutions and publicise their work more.

Ms Joyce Piliso-Seroke was pleased to report that permanent offices were now established and operating in all provinces, including Gauteng provincial office which had been separated from the National Office as a stand alone office. The advantages were a presence in Gauteng itself, greater publicity and an increased workload. Additionally as each provincial office now had its own educational and legal officers and researchers it boded well for the future, as gender issues would now be better introduced and handled.

In collaboration with various partners the CGE had attended the Conference on Ritual Killings in Limpopo, a workshop on gender equality, the World Conference on Rural Women and Rural development, the United Nations Conference on the status of women, the Commonwealth conference on the marginalisation of indigenous women, co-hosted a Conference in New York City on the role of women in society and the creation of strategies to oppose discrimination. But above all the task of CGE was creating the foundation for internal dialogue on women and their status. She observed that even after ten years much needed to be done to heighten the subject of gender inequality. This required complementing the work of other bodies, defining attitudes to and occurrences of the rates of gender inequality and imparting education. To drive this,CGE now had a staffing complement of 101, which had necessitated concomitant institutional governance programmes, which had reduced staff turnover but highlighted leave problems, which had received attention.

Finally, Ms Joyce Piliso-Seroke observed that the fact that CGE had to approach Treasury on budgetary matters only through the intervention of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Affairs impacted upon the independence of the CGE. This brought into question the doctrine of the separation of powers between the executive legislature and judiciary. She felt the CGE, a Chapter 9 institution, should be approaching the Treasury through Parliament.

Nevertheless, Ms Joyce Piliso-Seroke re-iterated that the CGE was an institution responsibly advancing the transformation of South Africa.

Ms Majake then presented the Annual Report of the CGE, outlining its strategic objectives, programmes and research, public education, human and financial resources, budgeted personnel expenses, distribution of funding and programme of expenditure, the Auditor General’s generally favourable audit, challenges arising from the CGE Act and finally the most pervasive gender equality concerns of 2006-2007, culminating with the impact of the CGE.

Ms Majake stated that with a Gauteng Office now being operational and separated from the Head Office, the last of the offices had been established and there were now twelve Commissioners. The CGE intended to embark upon more effective marketing and educational campaigns, review and evaluate all Acts of Parliament and provincial povernments and municipal by laws, investigate gender-related issues mero motu or upon complaints from the public, and that having provincial offices would make the CGE more effective. With regard to internal affairs the CGE had decided to update its own staffing policies, especially as against the Basic Conditions of Employment and Skills Development and Employment Equity Acts, and that the expertise gained thereby would additionally prove useful when considering gender issues. The financial side of CGE had been upgraded to achieve compliance with the requirements of the Auditor General, Treasury and internal and external audits. Slides of graphs reflecting personnel and financial allocation statistics were shown. In the area of research, they would look at:
- the gender implications of widowhood,
- the infusing of gender issues in the curriculum by the Department of Education,
- the development of a barometer of gender issues in South Africa,
- the issues of gender, HIV AIDS and the elderly would be surveyed,
- compliance with the United Nations Commission on Status of Women,
- assistance with the infusion of gender in international, national, regional, sub regional processes developing human rights treaties
- a review of the National Gender machinery.

She set out that the most pervasive gender equality concerns in 2006/7 were femicide, rape, both female and male, HIV AIDS, the abuse and sexual offences against boys and girls children, domestic violence, maintenance payments issues being the non compliance with maintenance orders and the consequent secondary victimization by the justice system, teenage pregnancies, boy against boy violence in schools, witch hunting and ritual murders, the exploitation and abuse, financial and emotional of widows and elderly peoples, offences and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, sexual harassment, unfair labour practices, bullying and abuse of women in the workplace, and gender based violence against people with disabilities.

Ms Majake emphasized that the above were always approached from the standpoint of supporting, and if possible advancing, the democratic processes. With regard to public education process there were campaigns, workshops and dialogues with the consequent development and production of resource material. Information programmes included publications on the CGE website, resource centres, exhibitions and the archiving of all material electronically and in hard copy form. Their workshop data was presented in a table. Legal Services had revised and updated its complaints manual; instituted and maintained a database of complaints with the consequent statistics, delivered opinions on and submissions concerning the media and advertisements, responded to online, telephonic, written and walk-in enquiries and complaints, developed a national court coverage plan, monitored the Courts, appearing amicus curiae where necessary and performed research. In this regard the Shilubane and Masiya matters and the pensionable age were the most important issues. Legal Services had handled 407 complaints in the 2006/07 financial year of which 153 files/complaints were regarded as finalized. Currently there are 186 complaints from all 9 provinces. In addition Legal Services had made submissions on the impact of the Promotion of Equality and Unfair Discrimination Act, Equality legislation and the Institutions that promote Democracy, the Civil Union and Sexual Offences Bills. Challenges emanating from the CGE Act were the entrenched gender inequality and patriarchy that distorts the gender course, the broad mandate vis a vis resource allocation, the structured relationship with the Executive in budget vote matters and the need for a standing committee for Chapter 9 institutions and the alignment of the roles of the National Gender Machinery partners.
In conclusion she said that South Africa has a beautiful legislative framework but the implementation thereof was a problem. Although the impact of the work of the CGE on communities was important she felt that it was very important for rural communities where women were subject to entrenched patriarchal attitudes.

Discussion

The Chair thanked both Ms Joyce Piliso-Seroke and Ms Mjake for a well presented briefing.

Mr Mosiki (ANC) jocularly referred to the Free State and the number of equality courts and stated that his province, the North West, was bigger by far than Free State but hardly rated a mention. Seriously he wished to raise the question of discriminatory legislation which “was still on the shelves” and in this regard he referred particularly to the municipal by-laws

Mr Manyasi (ANC)  referred to the question of primogeniture as still practiced and asked what was being done to change the mindsets of the rural peoples. Education of the people was important but could only be performed through attention to specific cases. He asked who are the major role players and partners in this regard and especially within the country. Lastly he saw a conflict between the role of the CGE and the Commission for Human Rights for as he saw a matter could be viewed either as gender specific or a human rights matter.

Mr Le Roux (DA) stated that his impression is that gender violence is on the increase and he wished to know whether there was a specific reason for this sad state of affairs. He pointed out that as the result of recent developments his Party’s National and Parliamentary Leaders were women and he felt that his party was setting a precedent thereby.

Mr Worth (DA) referred to the fact that the Free State had apparently received more attention from the CGE than the other provinces and that there was reference to five Equality Courts in the Free Sate but only one case and he wished to know the reason for this.

Mr N Mack (ANC) directed his questions to the CEO. He explained that he represented Beaufort West, which was a rural area and as such he felt it was neglected. In reports of the CGE and to other parliamentary committees, Beaufort West did not appear to warrant serious attention being glossed over at times. He wished to know whether the CGE had done any research on identifying the poorest provinces and the poorest areas of the provinces. His impression was that gender inequality was worst in the rural areas and especially so for poor rural women. He wondered whether his Parliamentary Office in Beaufort West could serve as a local office for the CGE, especially in parliamentary recess times when he was present. He felt that his personal assistant would be able to play a major role in advancing the educational programmes of the CGE and that his office email and fax facilities could be a service point.

He also was concerned about prostitution as a health risk. Any inspection of the N1 between Worcester and Beaufort West, at any time of day and night, would reveal that women were lining the sides of the highway in both directions to consort with the truck drivers. He felt that in this way rural women, especially the young and poor and hence the vulnerable, were being drawn into prostitution. He raised the question of the family violence interdicts. Women were applying for, and receiving, these interdicts but when it came to the implementation of these, the SAPS were not enforcing them, thus rendering then valueless and mere pieces of paper. He was concerned that the SAPS should be educated about the importance of family violence interdicts. Further he knew that many a family violence interdicts when it came to the return day before Court, were withdrawn. In this regard he felt that undue pressure was being brought upon the applicants, or that the applicants realized that they were economically and/or emotionally dependent upon the respondents. He wondered whether there were statistics to either confirm or disprove his impression. Also he wondered whether an amendment to the Criminal Procedure and Domestic Violence Acts would not remove from the applicant the right to withdraw the complaint which must then be adjudicated by any court. Lastly he was concerned about abuse of alcohol by women. It was common to see women, some with babes in arms, drinking and disporting themselves in bars and shebeens and other drinking dens, with a very harmful effect upon family life.

Dr van Heerden (FF+) asked whether any of the conclusions from the research by the CGE was submitted to the SA Law Reform Commission for consideration and possible further action. He referred to a recent Judgement by the Constitutional Court, the Roberson judgement he thought, where Judge K O”Regan had delivered a strong minority decision regarding primogeniture and the surviving partner and he felt that this judgment, both the majority and the minority, and the subject matter should be considered by the SA Law Reform Commission. Additionally on the question of maintenance and custody he wished to know whether the CGE liaised with the Courts onthis. Finally he was aware that recently there was a meeting of the Women’s Lawyers Association and he wondered whether this tendency of pressure groups to sub divide into gender pressure groups was to be countenanced. He wondered whether such gender groupings were not going too far.

Mr Fielding (ANC) asked if in their work the CGE looked at the CPIX. He was also concerned about a possible conflict between the CGE and Human Rights Commission since they approached the same problems from seemingly diametrically opposed points of view. He felt that the two Chapter 9 institutions should collaborate and work together. In addition there were the instances where empowered women were working and the husband was a househusband or non-worker and there were complaints or issues about maintenance.

Finally there was the problem where the Courthouse served a widely outlying district and at great inconvenience and cost women had to travel to the Courthouse for maintenance payments, only to find that for one reason or another their journey had been wasted and they had been inconvenienced. He wished to know whether the CGE could do something about assisting the women concerned.

Ms Majake expressed herself impressed by the number and kind of questions and would be leaving the answering thereof to her staff.

Mr M Mzizi (IFP) then referred to the question of witchcraft. He stated that the old regime authorities had complicated this issue by attempting to change the customs and practices of the people. He seemed to him that where an old woman was doing well by judicious small scale farming or use of her grant, the community became jealous of her and then someone accused her of witchcraft, sometimes with murder or ritual killing taking place. He felt that the tribal leaders and/or healers should be educated, and especially the youth for in many cases the person who first cried witchcraft was a young person .

Ms Majake said that although witchcraft was still prevalent it was not as prevalent as some years ago. She expressed the hope that it was dying out but conceded that it occurred in waves.

With regard to the use by the CGE of the Constituency Offices as satellite offices, she was very impressed by this suggestion which she intended to follow through.

Commissioner Maitse addressed the subject of witchcraft and said that she felt that if the accusers were to be charged criminally for the insult this would go a long way to curbing the prevalence of such accusations. She accepted that in many cases both the CGE and the Human Rights Commission had not only an interest, but a role to play. She was of the opinion that these two bodies collaborated but would take steps to ensure that both institutions advance their separate interests co-operatively.

With regard to Equality Courts these were being established in terms of the Equality Act 2000, and were situated in the ordinary Courts but the Judicial Officers and Prosecutors required specialized training and sensitization. Quite frankly it was a challenge to the CGE - for example, there were 49 Equality Courts in the Western Cape and 79 in the Eastern Cape and the distances between courts was vast, the geographical layout presenting a challenge to both the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and the CGE. For instance it meant that the legal officer had 5 courts to visit each week, and within the courts there were difficulties. For example Stutterheim already had an Equality Court but it was not operating as the public was not aware of it. Cathcart had no court, having to share an office. Queenstown had an Equality Court but thus far only one case had been heard as the public were not aware of it. The task before both the CGE and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development was an educational one, and both had to await the lodging of complaints, where after there would be a question of capacity.

There were many instances of harassment, such as the withdrawing of family violence interdict complaints and she would be asking the provincial CGEs and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and the Department of Labour which controlled the Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to take these into account and do everything in their powers to curtail it.

By contrast maintenance was an easier matter. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development was being computerized and electrified and so could pay maintenance monies, if received, directly into the bank accounts of the intended recipients obviating the necessity of travel to the courts. She conceded that much required to be done but added that strides of progress had been made.
 
A problem with divorces was the settlement agreements in terms of which the woman would be entitled to the domestic residence but only after the male, or she, had paid off the mortgage bond, and this was not done, possibly because there were no resources.

With regard to the question of victimization she felt that the Sexual Offences Bill had made provision to end most victimization and she pleaded with the Committee members to do all in their power to pass this Bill.

With regard to custody of and access to children, the Courts usually mero motu awarded the children to the mother, although the best interests of the child were required to be established, and taken into account. Once she had the children, in some instances the mother "abducted" the children in so far as she denied the father, whether married or not, access to the children. The father had the right of access to his children and the CGE was trying to enforce such rights and alter the perception that the CGE was biased in favour of women. This was not so, the CGE worked on the basis of equity and it just so happened that women were more victimized, or conscious of their discrimination.

With regard to primogeniture there was a case before the Constitutional Court for a decision. However, the feelings out in the field were that this is a custom and it should not be disturbed, notwithstanding the equality provisions in the Constitution. She ventured to suggest that in time it would be appreciated that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and as such people would decide that long held customs were discriminatory and should be done away with, giving certainty to gender interests.

With regard to gender based violence although there were increasing statistics of such she felt that this was under reported and was hopeful that the Sexual Offences Bill, when enacted, would lead to an upsurge in reporting, and prosecution to a consequent diminution of gender based violence.

Ms de Waal then added that CGE was busy identifying issues of concern and referring such to the provincial bodies. South Africa was a very dynamic country but more implementation was required. In fact implementation of the current laws was an enormous problem.

With regard to discriminatory legislation she ventured to suggest that most of it now existed in the third sphere of government, the municipalities, but it was being addressed as was the question of gender representation both among elected councillors and appointed staff.

Ms Majake then added there was ongoing research, collaboration and co-operation with international bodies similar to the CGE, and especially in Africa and more especially in the field of conflict resolution in Burundi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Sudan. In all these conflict areas the question was how does one begin resolution if there was no forgiveness. In this regard South Africa was a good example, a starting point. On the matter of primogeniture, the question was how do we change an attitude based upon custom. With primogeniture, in almost every case the female was worse off than the male, which sex was clinging to its privileges, notwithstanding the constitutional imperative.

With regard to publication of research and papers there were a million goals. They were trying to align themselves with NEPAD but much work remained to be done. In the field of local publications in addition to the eleven official languages it was contemplated that Braille was also necessary.

As far as outreach they were currently approaching the educational institutions starting with the primary phases and aiming to work up to the tertiary institutions.

All in all the CGE was operating on a complaint by complaint basis rather than mero motu and this was as a result of available resources.

She felt that South Africa is a unique country and it must send a strong message both internally and externally to secure equality of treatment between the genders with neither being preferred or subservient.

The Chair raised the question of a break. It was unanimously decided to continue by raising questions, which would be answered in writing in due course.

Mr Mzizi persisted in wanting oral answers and raised a question about the status of the CGE.

The Chief Executive Officer, Ms Majake stated that wherever possible the CGE collaborated with other institutions such as the Civil Society Advocacy Programme which was funded by the European Union and the African bodies working in the field of gender equality.

With regard to co-habitation the CGE receives many complaints from women who live with men, and have children and acquire property, mainly movable, and then the man disappears with the property or assets of the (temporary) unions. It was hoped that the Civil Union Act would go some way to obviating this problem. With maintenance payments it had been arranged with Department of Justice and Constitutional Development to deposit the monies directly into the account of the recipient. The problem arose when the payer did not pay the Department.

Mr Mzizi then added that he felt that questions were asked but not answered. In divorce cases not withstanding the CGE intentions or the regulations,  the question of custody of children was settled but one or other of the party went against the court order. He wished to know what the CGE were doing about this.

He continued that the old regime had instituted the crime of accessory to witchcraft and he knew of a case where the accessory had been charged and found guilty. As the convicted prisoner was being led down he looked at the magistrate and said that for as long as he was down the magistrate would not rise. It happened that in the face of such curse, the magistrate could not rise from his chair and the prisoner had to be recalled and made to clear the curse.

Mr Manyosi wished to know whether for comparison purposes, the CGE was looking only to Africa or whether it was also looking to the so called developed countries as well and if so, which.

In respect of finances he was concerned about whether the CGE was lean, and if not what measures were under consideration to make it lean. He asked what the vacancy rate was and what plans there were for filling vacancies. He commented that in some provinces such as Kwa Zulu Natal, old customs persisted such as virginity testing which he personally considered unconstitutional as well as gender discriminatory

He asked if it was in fact a myth that the CGE was not biased against men for the people believed it was. Finally in Limpopo and Mpumalanga there is the practice of a "candle wife". If a man should die before having fathered a son the Royal Council insists that the widow must marry another approved man and a boy child is fathered, but the father is not “known” except to a small group of courtiers. Then the child is raised by the mother who also acts as regent pending the appointment of a successor to the deceased. This is approved and administered but yet the deceased sister who has a better blood claim to the position and the property is not allowed to assume the deceased’s position and property. Where did the CGE stand on this?

Other questions were:
- What was the CGE policy regarding retention of staff and expertise?
- Internal human trafficking. There had been reference to the women on the N1 but this did not only occur on the N1. What was the CGE doing about all the internal trafficking, especially women who were beguiled into traveling to accept non existent work and forced into prostitution.

At this point since the members did not appear to have more questions, Ms Joyce Piliso-Seroke thanked the Committee for attending to the reports of the CGE. Mr Mzizi at the request of the Chair thanked the CGE for their attendance and report.