No. Hon Chair, it is refreshing to see that the Minister is prepared to bring changes to the Ministry of Women in the Presidency because women deserve better.
Women make up 51,3% of the South African population and the recent election held in May indicates that they were the majority of voters as compared to their male counterparts. That on its own is an indication that women believe in this democracy and that they still remain hopeful that their lives will improve for the better.
While there is no doubt that life is better post-1994, many South African women are yet to experience a better life. The former Minister Lulu Xingwana, who was tasked with trying to rectify this situation, did little to assist. Indeed, a probe by the Public Service Commission found that her irregular appointment of officials in the Ministry clearly had nothing to do with serving women in this country.
The department buckled under poor management, with a 77% vacancy rate and meeting just 10 out of 16 set targets. All this happened, while the Minister notched up passport stamps at an alarming rate.
The department spent R130 000 on entertainment and only R79 000 on training. This department soon became a national embarrassment - not a vehicle entrusted to improve the lives of women. Minister Shabangu, this is what you have inherited - unfortunately. I urge you to not make the same mistakes.
Hon members, addressing issues that are related to women takes more than just 16 days of activism. We must tackle the real problems facing women every day of the year. This requires the department to fulfil its mandate and focus on what matters, namely helping women to get onto the ladder of the economy.
As Statistics SA noted in 2013, the responsibility of household work and caring for children and the elderly lies with women more than it does with men. In contrast, there are more men than women doing paid work.
Therefore, poorly thought out political stunts such as the Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill must be scrapped once and for all. The Bill distracted from the real issue, which was cannibalising the constitutional mandate of the Commission for Gender Equality, CGE, - a Chapter 9 institution.
Besides overriding the mandate of the CGE, this Bill only duplicates provisions in a host of other Acts, including the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act of 2000; the Employment Equity Act of 1998; the Basic Conditions of Employment Act of 1997; the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act of 2003; and the Human Rights Commission Act of 1994.
At the time, the Green Paper produced in preparation for this Bill called on the Ministry to co-ordinate a comprehensive process for reviewing and assessing current legislation and policy. This did not happen.
Instead of introducing new legislation, there are a number of issues which need to be prioritised instead. We need a comprehensive audit of existing legislation to identify where the gaps are. We must know why crucial pieces of legislation are not sufficiently implemented and what can be done to ensure that their objectives are realised.
We must ensure that women, girls and sexual minorities are protected from violence. Empowerment means nothing if people are scared to walk in the streets.
We need to address the scourge of teenage pregnancy. Teenage pregnancies trap so many girls and their children in permanent dependency and degrading poverty, often accompanied by sexual violence.
In order for this department to even come close to achieving its mandate, we need to come up with interventions and find best practices that will help achieve targets and measure outcomes by doing follow-ups and recording data. We must tackle the real issues head-on.
In conclusion .... [Time expired.] [Applause.]