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.