Chairperson, thank you Minister for a very extensive elaboration on the themes and the challenges that women face all over the world. However, I want to contend that the hon Minister did not respond to the issues at hand on the question. The issues were:, firstly, did she lead this delegation because she denied that in the question by one of Cope members where she said that "my department never attended the UN Gender Summit"; and secondly, whether the trip was budgeted for in her department's budget for 2010-11?
The fact is that the annual report that was presented in October clearly illustrated that the trip and the junket was not budgeted for and as a result the department overspent. What is of grave concern to us as an opposition party is that the Minister was misleading the House. Thank you.
The MINISTER OF WOMEN, YOUTH, CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: Chairperson, there has never been a UN summit in New York and therefore my department never attended a UN gender summit. I think hon members must do their homework when they ask questions to Ministers and know exactly what they are talking about.
Secondly, the annual report she is referring to does not relate to the UN session that we attended this year. That annual report refers to the UN session of 2010 which I was not part of.
Lastly, the 2010-11 budget of the department included an allocation for participation in the 55th session of the commission on the status of women. I have never seen any delegate go shopping or to a night club. I was shocked to hear that delegates, including myself, were attending night clubs in New York. I have never been to a night club in Cape Town, Johannesburg or Pretoria. I don't understand why I should go to a night club in New York in the middle of winter.
The Ministers and Deputy Ministers that participated represented this country very well. They came for the sessions that affected their departments. They did not stay there for the entire two weeks. I stayed there because I had to stay until all resolutions were taken at the UN commission on the status of women.
As I had elaborated on the themes you can see that relevant Ministers who have the expertise and who work in those areas had to go and give reports on the work of their departments.
Mr Chairperson, the fact is that Minister Xingwane's department has overspent its budget by more than R9 million as a result of overseas travel. For a UN conference in New York for example, delegates flew business class at a cost of R81 000 per person, stayed at the Ritz Hotel in Central Park at R5 000 a night. Several officials skipped important conference sessions, yet 40% of deaf children whose lives could be transformed by Cochlear technology do not receive implants due to a lack of funds, which is the work the Minister should be doing. Mr Chairman, how does the Minister justify her frivolous spending while this money could have given deaf children the gift of hearing?
The MINISTER OF WOMEN, YOUTH, and CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: Chairperson, first of all, I am neither the Minister of Health nor a doctor. I am therefore, not in a position to give anyone the gift of whatever operation.
Secondly, regarding the report of R9 million, I never even spent a million on the UN conference. The report of R9 million comes from the session of 2010. Your member, hon Robinson, was part of that session I was not part of that session. She flew business class to New York and she stayed in high class hotel in New York. Must I stay under a tree? Must I fly by broom to New York to go and account on behalf of South Africa? South Africa is a UN signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children. I also flew to New York in September to report to the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. I did not sleep under a bridge, I slept in a similar hotel that the hon DA member slept in when they went to New York. I flew business class for my health and I cannot fly "lala" (low) class as the hon member of DA did not fly lala class in her 18 hours fly to New York. Thank you, Chairperson. [Interjections.]
House Chair, thank you Minister for your detailed and informative response. Members of the Portfolio Committee on Women Children and Persons with Disabilities were given a draft report on the South African delegations. Amongst other programmes discussed by the commission focused on access and participation of women and girls in education, training science and technology including the promotion of women's access to full employment and decent work, empowerment of rural women and the role in poverty and the eradication of hunger.
The Minister also confirmed that the department has started to implement those programmes. Can the Minister share with us on the progress and the achievements made by the department thus far. Thank you very much.
The MINISTER OF WOMEN, YOUTH, CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: Chairperson, one of the site events we had in New York was on the Thuthuzela centres which were declared by the UN Secretary-General as some of the best practices in fighting violence and abuse of women and children. The other site event was on techno-girls which is a special project initiated by government in partnership with United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef, where we do job shadowing for girls between 15 and 18 who are doing matric. Research has shown that we have reached the Millennium Development Goals', MDG, target of 50% in ensuring that boys and girls equally have access to education. In fact we have more girls in schools and at tertiary level than boys.
However, research shows that we still have more girls doing the arts and humanities at tertiary level. To encourage girls and in keeping with the theme of Commission on the Status of Women, CSW, 2011 we have also set up these projects in partnership with private companies like Anglo Platinum, Vodacom, Airlink and so on and various government departments, for instance the Department of Finance is training girls to become pilots and they are also exposed to the mining industry.
We started with a pilot, but because of the success of this project we have seen many girls become engineers, technicians, scientists and chemists. In fact on 4 November we launched this project. We are going to ensure its roll-out from 2012 in all nine provinces. We started with three provinces. We will now be rolling it out.
Since March this year we also had programmes and workshops on rural women. In preparation for the next report to the UN we are working with rural women and closely with the Department Of Rural Development to prepare a good report for South Africa next year. Thank you, Chairperson.
Chairperson, the Minister said that she is not a doctor and that she cannot give the gift of hearing to disabled young children. That is a disappointing answer, Chairperson. She has got a very big budget in her department that she can use to help disabled children get the life changing surgery they need.
The fact is the Western Cape government, where this party is in power, has budgeted R8 million, the same amount of money spent by the Minister to fly to New York, to give those children the kind of life-changing surgery they need. That is why the Minister and her department flew luxury class to New York. Will, the Minister agree that this is shameful and that her department should be embarrassed by that kind of expenditure?
The MINISTER OF WOMEN, YOUTH, CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: Chairperson, it is a lie that I spent R9 million to fly to New York. It is a lie and the distortion of the truth completely. Secondly, I would like to assure the hon member that we are working together with various departments to ensure that children with disabilities, children who need medical care - in fact I have signed a memorandum of agreement with the Minister of Health to ensure that we work together on these issues.
I would just like to highlight to the DA that last year with Premier Zille we visited a blind woman in Khayelitsha who does not have a house. Today, she still does not have a house whereas she promised her that she will be a priority.
We also visited a family of whom both the husband and wife are in wheelchairs. He had a stroke and does not have a house. They live in a shack that has no water, toilet or electricity. Their 11-year-old boy must take a bucket and throw it away for them.
The whole area does not have water, electricity or toilets. They have to go to the next section in a wheelchair to access toilets. So, I am saying that if the DA cared about people with disabilities, those people would be properly housed and cared for. Thank you, Chairperson.
Chairperson, we just want to have an understanding. One of our members has been ruled not to refer to that particular ablution in this House today. I just want to ask if the same applies.
Government's intentions regarding revised funding formula for municipalities
252. Ms D G Nhlengethwa (ANC) asked the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:
Whether the Government intends to revise the funding formula for municipalities with a view to implementing a differentiated approach to financing municipalities (details furnished); if not, why not; if so, what steps are being taken with regard to the (a) short, (b) medium and (c) long term to resolve the need for a differentiated approach?