Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Ministers, Deputy Ministers and hon members, the SA Local Government Association, Salga, is very honoured and pleased to participate in this debate held on International Women's Day. The timing of this debate is of particular significance as we are approaching and preparing for the next local government elections to be held in May this year. It therefore becomes imperative that we take stock and reflect on the past in order to adequately plan for the future.
Hon members, we are all aware that, given the constitutional imperative of gender equality and nondiscrimination, the South African government has put in place clear targets to enable the advancement of women in political and decision-making positions. We are also aware that, as a country, we have made substantial progress in increasing the number of women in political office, including representation in local government structures. However, it is also true that many challenges still remain that limit the realisation of an enabling environment that promotes full and effective participation of women in decision-making, policy-making and service delivery.
A nonsexist society is one in which there is no discrimination in any form on the basis of gender. We are therefore seeking to ensure that all members of society are afforded opportunities, particularly equal access to education, training, facilities and resources, with no regard to gender. This means that policies and practices within government in relation to citizens must be appropriate to meet the needs of both males and females within communities.
In recent years, a number of studies have suggested that the gender machinery established at a national level, primarily due to the difficulty translating concepts of gender into practical and tangible approaches, has not found adequate expression at the local government level. Salga has prioritised mainstreaming of gender in local government for close to 10 years now. We have worked to ensure equity of gender representation and integrating gender into the various layers of local government's functioning and practice.
The Salga 50/50 campaign was launched in August 2005. It is clear that the campaign was successful in taking up the issue of women's representation. The number of women councillors increased from 29% to 42%.
However, the acknowledgement of the campaign has not led to concrete gains for ensuring women's participation beyond the goodwill of political election lists and statements from different leaders. The Local Government: Municipal Structures Act of 1998, for example, encourages but does not oblige political parties to field equal numbers of women and men candidates. Some parties are vehemently opposed to quotas on the grounds that they violate free choice. They do, however, admit that a quota system does have a snowball effect on their own practices.
As we go into the next local government elections, Salga has continued to advocate for parity in representation. This campaign was approved at the 2010 national members assembly held in Kimberley and launched later, at the 2010 Women in Local Government Summit. The aim of the campaign is to concretely address the issue of women's underrepresentation in political decision-making and to confront the structural and cultural barriers that impede women's access to decision-making and leadership positions. Central to the campaign is ensuring both equal gender representation and meaningful participation of women in local governance.
Salga also maintains that equity of representation should be enshrined in our legislation, notably that amendments be made to the Electoral Act, Act 73 of 1998, the Local Government: Municipal Electoral Act, Act 27 of 2000 and the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, Act 117 of 1998. The proposed amendments speak to the inclusion of specific gender clauses and recommendations that equal numbers of women are included on party lists. They also propose penalties and the sanction of the Electoral Court where this has not been done.
Legislation mandating 50/50 gender representation in all decision-making positions is long overdue in South Africa. Not only is such legislation necessary but it is mandated by South Africa's own equality legislation and numerous international obligations.
From a constitutional perspective, the founding provisions provide foundational values: dignity, equality and nonsexism. Section 9 states, "Everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and benefit of the law". Equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedom. To promote the achievement of equality, legislative and other measures designed to protect or advance persons or categories of persons disadvantaged by unfair discrimination may be taken.
As a way of creating a mechanism to co-ordinate and give voice to issues of gender in local government, we launched the Salga Women's Commission in November 2010. The establishment of the women's commission for Salga derives from a United Cities and Local Governments of Africa, UCLGA, initiative aimed at strengthening gender equality within African local governments.
The Salga Women's Commission will be the voice of women in local government and it will ensure that appropriate planning and implementation of gender mainstreaming, programmes and projects will take cognisance of the inclusion of science and technology in its activities at national, provincial, local, district and ward levels and that this is done in an integrated, consistent and sustainable manner. It is through the activities of the women's commission that we intend to create a strong foundation on which the stakeholder community can holistically mainstream gender into local government.
If the impact of local government's efforts in addressing issues of social and economic justice is to be enhanced, it must be remembered that gender inequality and the low status of women in society are among the principal drivers of poverty. Therefore, in tackling the issues of service delivery, equal access to education, training, science and technology are critical in building a pathway to decent work for women as a means to address specific challenges that relegate women to a subordinate status and impede their empowerment.
In conclusion, Salga acknowledges the rich contribution that women have made in developmental local government and are mindful of the fact that women in local government still face many challenges, especially in the Western Cape. Salga will be required to play a central role in guiding the gender policy direction at the local level as we move forward towards consolidating the gains and the lessons learned over the past 10 years. It is important to emphasise that gender parity needs to transcend numerical equality. It needs to incorporate resources and space needs to be created for both genders to participate meaningfully in decision-making. I thank you. [Applause.]
Ms M M NTULI (KwaZulu-Natal): Chairperson, hon Chairperson of the NCOP in absentia, Ministers and Deputy Ministers present, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, International Women's Day is a magnificent mark for women from all walks of life globally. It is an honour for me to stand before you on behalf of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature.
This celebration existed way back, since before 1994, but in a different shape. We would celebrate it feeling restless, shaking and expecting a bad cloud to pass over us, but today it is transformed. We are free; we have the right to speak. We thank those who laid down their lives for our freedom, particularly women. Their pictures were once on the walls of this Parliament and the list is long.
The first postdemocratic government defines double freedom to those who were triple oppressed. It spells out the rights and dignity of all women, unlike the apartheid regime in our country. Indeed, we should move forward but history remains.
Namhlanje sesikhuluma ngabantu besifazane asebekwazile ukuthatha igxathiu eliya phambili. Bakwazile ukuzithuthukisa bakhombisa umhlaba wonke amakhono anhlobonhlobo abanawo. Phela nangokwemfundo bona babehleli emuva kodwa namhlanje izibalo zikhomba izinga lokwenyuka ngesivinini esikhulu. Bakhombisile ukukhula kwezepolitiki, emnothweni nasemphakathini jikelele.
Siyavuma ukuthi ziningi izinselelo esisabhekene nazo kodwa uhulumeni we-ANC uyisibani esikhanyayo ekuqhakambiseni izindaba zabantu besifazane. Sibonge kuMongameli uMsholozi ngoNgqongqoshe obhekene ngqo nezindaba zabantu besifazane, uNgqongqoshe u-L Xingwana. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Today we talk of women who have taken a step forward. They have been able to develop themselves and have showed the whole world the different talents they possess. Even in education, women were lagging behind, but today statistics show an accelerated rise. They have shown maturity in politics, in the economy, in the community and in the general public.
We agree that there are many challenges that we are still facing but the ANC-led government is a light in promoting women's issues. We thank President Msholozi and the Minister who specifically looks at women's issues, Minister L Xingwana.]
Our province took a clear position on increasing women in leadership and decision-making bodies because the best investment you can make and the highest return you can obtain is to invest in women. They work hard, building their future and pushing the patriarchal boundaries.
The entrepreneurship programme in our province is working to improve women's economic security, which contributes to economic growth, poverty eradication and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Yesterday we had the provincial budget speech by one of our powerful women on International Women's Day. The budget seeks to respond to the President of our country's call to create more jobs. We believe that women are going to benefit from it and get decent jobs.
Uma sibuka ukumeleleka kwabesifazane emikhakheni eyahlukahlukene, izibalo zikhomba ukuthi njengesifundazwe saKwaZulu-Natali sesidlulile kumaphesenti angama-30 kodwa luselude ukhalo ukuze sifinyelele kumaphesenti angama-50. Nokho, sesikhona isibonelo kuwisiShayamthetho uqobo, uma sibheka inani labesifazane bezinhlangano zonke, kusenofa, "i-crack" ngenxa yokuthi udaba luka-50/50 lweza ne-ANC kuphela abanye azange balugqize qakala.
Uma ubheka inani loNgqongqoshe bezifundazwe savuka namaphesenti angama-50, kuBbaPphathi bemMiNnyango, HODs, nokho sesidlulile kumaphesenti angama-50 kodwa kwazona lezi zibalo zisagcizelela ukuthi awatholakale amakhono. Senyuke siye phezulu. Sikhuthaza labo abakulawa mazinga ukuthi bangami, bathuthuke ukuze basabalale.
Uma nje sikhuluma ngamakhono ayimvela kancane abesifazane basacathula kwazise phela iSayensi noBuchwepheshe bebeyilandela ngemuva. Kwazise phela umuntu wesifazane kuqala ubekhethelwa ukuthi abe nguthisha noma unesi kwaphela nje. Nakuba izibalo ziphansi kodwa sesinabo onjiniyela emikhakheni ehlukahlukene. Nasezibhedlela siyababona besebenza ngemishini enhlobonhlobo, nasezikhungweni zemfundo sinabo komatematiki bayimithonselana. Ngaphandle kokuthi nje isifundazwe sethu kumakhono ayimvela kancane sisathekela kwamanye amazwe ngisho nakoDokotela abangongoti, kodwa lapha ezikhundleni sinabo abaphathi bamakolishi, othishanhloko, abaPhathi beMinyango,HODs; hhayi kokunye-ke bandla sisacathula. IKwaZulu-Natali ngenye yezifundazwe ezihambe phambili ukukhipha uKhomishana wezokuPhepha jikelele okusho ukuthi udaba lwabesifazane ezikhundleni kulo mkhakha bayazama impela. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[If we look at women's representation in the different sectors, statistics show that as the province of KwaZulu-Natal we have exceeded 30%, but we still have to do more to reach 50%. There is, however, an example in the legislature, where there is still a challenge as the issue of 50/50 parity was proposed by the ANC, but the other parties' organisations don't care about it.
If you look at the representation of Ministers, we have reached 50%, and the number of heads of department, HODs, has exceeded 50%, but even these statistics emphasise that we need to identify more skills. We must get more. We encourage the ones at these levels not to stop, but to further develop so that it can be spread wider.
If we speak of scarce skills, women are still lagging behind because they have not been at the forefront of science and technology. In the past women could either be a teacher or a nurse. Although the numbers are still low, we do have engineers in different fields. Even at hospitals we see them using the different machinery, and in educational institutions we have a few of them in the field of maths. Despite this, in our province we are still relying heavily on foreign countries for scarce skills, especially doctors. We do however have women in management positions in colleges, as principals and HODs. In other fields we are still lagging far behind.
KwaZulu-Natal is one of the provinces that was leading in supporting the appointment of the National Police Commissioner, which means in terms of positions for women in this department, they are trying their best.]
In our province women are the main role-players in the provincial flagship programme, which forms part of the provincial strategy to address socio- economic issues, with a specific focus on poverty eradication. The flagship programme rests on three pillars: the food security and emerging farmer programme; the healthy and sustainable communities programme, and the empowerment of youth and women programme.
Women have embarked on an agricultural programme, given that our province is predominantly rural. They train in co-ops and consortiums. They are seen in commercial farming as well. Thus agriculture is playing a meaningful role in changing their lives. The Premier of KwaZulu-Natal is leading the campaign of "one home, one garden" and this has assisted in the revival of people taking farming seriously and bettering their lives in this regard.
Markets have been identified and therefore women are slowly moving away from a hand-to-mouth situation. Again women contribute in many ways to the economy of the province.
In conclusion, women have achieved a lot yet the journey forward is still long. Women have realised that decent jobs do not mean employment only - although that goes a long way. When united in action, together we can do more. Hon Chairperson, this is a synopsis and a reflection of women in KwaZulu-Natal. I thank you. [Applause.]