Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, the ANC-led government salutes the late mother of the nation, Mama Albertina Sisulu, who has made a lasting contribution to the struggle for freedom in South Africa and will be greatly missed.
It was exciting when, on 9 May 2009, the announcement of the establishment of the Ministry for Women, Children and People with Disabilities was made, since it showed government's commitment to women's empowerment and gender equality, the rights of children and people with disabilities in line with the Freedom Charter principle that "all shall be equal before the law".
These three sectors are transversal and this is shown by the fact that various departments deal with the issues of women, children and people with disabilities. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 is clear on the state's position regarding the rights, equality, empowerment and human dignity of women, children and people with disabilities.
The department presented its strategic plan, budget and annual operational plan to the portfolio committee. The committee also held a workshop with the department to further discuss the mandate and the strategic and annual operational plans of the department.
The mandate of the department and this Ministry is huge. For the Ministry to succeed, it will need to be properly resourced, both financially and with properly skilled personnel. It has taken us almost three years to have not only a fully functioning Ministry, but also a Ministry whose objectives and mandate is fully understood and appreciated by government departments, civil society and the private sector and whose impact still has to be felt by all of us.
The task is daunting. The role of the department is to build and contribute to strengthening the movement for global justice for women, children and people with disabilities. It is to co-ordinate, monitor and evaluate programmes in the three spheres of government, civil society and the private sector and requires the Ministry to fulfil its mandate smartly and with distinction. The department acts as a central co-ordinating point for national efforts on women's empowerment and ensures the mainstreaming of considerations relating to gender, children and people with disabilities in all national policies, programmes and activities. The ultimate goal is to achieve equality and ensure that institutional mechanisms at all levels and in all spheres of governance are strengthened and to open up a space where some serious thinking can be done on the inclusion of rural women, who are in the most poverty-stricken areas of our country.
The department has already signed a memorandum of understanding with several government departments and continues to do so with others. Some departments have already established a gender, children and people with disability desk, while others are in the process of doing so.
The department aims to drive, accelerate and oversee government's equity, equality and empowerment agenda on women, children and people with disabilities, especially in poor and rural communities, which is one of the government's priorities. We are part of the effort to attain the national goal to halve poverty and unemployment by 2014, in line with Millennium Development Goals.
It is encouraging that, under the leadership of the ANC, government continues to lead with regard to increasing women representation, with figures above 40% of elected positions in local government, Parliament and Cabinet. The ANC-led government has called on opposition parties to play their role in advancing the country towards gender parity.
In relation to the policy position of the ANC, you will remember that Cabinet endorsed the appointment of Nombulelo Pinky Moholi, as the chief executive officer of Telkom SA. I would like to congratulate Pinky Moholi on being the first woman chief executive officer to lead this major information and communications technology entity.
The government of the ANC also welcomes the announcement by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange that its deputy chief executive, Nicky Newton- King, will assume the position of chief executive at the end of this year. She becomes the first woman to run this institution in its history of 120 years. [Applause.]
We have to address the stereotypes that continue to limit opportunities for people with disabilities to participate fully in the economy. We have to stop the wrong perception that employing people with disabilities is either more expensive or limits productivity.
This department will have to make sure that more concerted efforts are made in the eradication of poverty among women and children; that no child is denied education and that they are in fact at school; that traditions of prejudice are removed and culturally sanctioned violence against women and children is tackled with conviction; that law enforcement does not turn a blind eye to women and child abuse; and that rape and sexual assault cases are reported.
The purpose of the first programme under our administration is to support the Minister and the department to provide effective leadership. We will help manage and give administrative support services to the Minister and sectors in the department. The budget allocated for this is R34,2 million for the financial year 2011-12.
Programme 2 is women empowerment and gender equality, which has received R64,6 million for the financial year 2011-12. The largest portion of the budget, R55,2 million, is to be transferred to the Commission for Gender Equality. The allocation for this programme is R9,1 million over the Medium- Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period, while R2,8 million has been allocated for 2011-12 financial year. Again, more than half of the programme budget is allocated for the remuneration of employees.
The committee is concerned that in each and every subprogramme more than half of the budget goes to salaries. Is it because of its mandate, in that this department is not one of service delivery, but of monitoring and evaluating and advocacy, or is it because the issues of women, children and people with disabilities are not taken seriously, hence the limited budget?
Under programme 3, children's rights and responsibilities have been allocated R35,7 million over the MTEF period and R9,6 million for the 2011- 12 financial year. In each of the subprogrammes more than 50% will be utilised for the compensation of employees. With the limited budget allocated, this impacts heavily on the implementation of flagship programmes for street children.
The targets of the Millennium Development Goals address extreme poverty, hunger and disease. These have an impact on children's survival, development and wellbeing. In this regard, the department has to work closely with the Department of Social Development, which is already happening.
Children who are orphans and child-headed households are more vulnerable. They are subject to abuse - physically, sexually and emotionally. According to the Department of Social Development, these occurrences contribute to the high levels of poverty, unemployment and family disintegration.
Programme 4, on the rights of people with disabilities, has been allocated R35,2 million over the MTEF period and R9,6 million for the 2011-12 financial year. As I indicated earlier, more than half of the programme budget is allocated for the compensation of employees, which leaves very little for the implementation of programmes.
In terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa with regards to the Employment Equity Act, the department is to draft and finalise the disability policy towards a Disability Bill. This area is very much neglected. As a result, even our government has failed to meet the minimum target of 2%. People with disabilities are living in poverty and are known to be the poorest of the poor within our community, and the most vulnerable. They are faced with many challenges, including access to buildings and various modes of transport. This is a challenge to the Department of Transport, as well as the Department of Public Works. I must emphasise the fact that we appreciate working together with these departments and their co-operation.
Allow me to share with you some achievements. A human resources director- general was appointed in November 2010; two of the three deputy directors- general were appointed in 2011; a number of chief directors were appointed across various sectors of the department; several directors were appointed, particularly in units dealing with research and policy development and with intersectoral and international co-operation, as well as in various units in the office of the director-general. Also, the department has now relocated physically from the Presidency to its own building.
The department has compiled the draft national mainstreaming strategy and the implementation plan on the rights, dignity and empowerment and equality for women, children and people with disabilities. It has also entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Departments of Health, Basic Education, Transport and others.
The national mainstreaming strategy and implementation plan that has been developed is being consulted upon. To date there have been four consultation processes with the national gender machinery, Gauteng provincial gender machinery and North West provincial gender machinery. A national task team has been established.
Regarding the child-friendly communities model, the concept document on piloting the model was developed in partnership with the United Nations Children's fund, Unicef, and the pilot initiative is to be in the City of Tshwane.
The department successfully commemorated and celebrated International Children's Day and the day of the African Child. It participated in the Third Conference of States Parties of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in New York in September 2010 and developed a memorandum of understanding with relevant departments regarding the transformation of sheltered workshops. These are a few of the many achievements - the list is long. In conclusion, the committee welcomes the development of gender equality. However, the department should also develop legislation that will enforce the implementation of programmes pertaining to children and people with disabilities. The department should prioritise the programmes for each branch - that is women, children and people with disabilities - bearing in mind the budgetary constraints and the department's mandate.
The ancient Chinese saying that women hold half the sky has to be lived and be alive in all societies, including ours. It cannot be left in policy documents, legislation, speeches and international instruments. It has to be felt, touched and lived by all. It has to reverberate in our homes, churches, schools, places of work, in Parliament and in politics. I thank you. [Applause.]