Date: 19/04/2007

Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government

Title: Ndebele: Africa Pre-Consultation conference on World Congress for Rural Women (19/04/2007)

Speech by Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Mr S'bu Ndebele to the World Congress of Rural Women (WCRW), Durban

Programme Director
Fellow presenters
Local and international delegates
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen

It is a pleasure and a privilege to be part of this opening ceremony of the Africa Pre-Consultation conference which precedes the World Congress for Rural Women a few days later.

We are pleased even more by the fact that you have chosen KwaZulu-Natal as the first venue for the WCRW in Africa. This morning I am going to speak to you about the empowerment of women and some of the programmes that we have designed to cater for women.

You have come to a province which occupies almost eight percent of the total land area of South Africa and is home to 21 percent of the population. We have an urban / rural distribution of 46/54. Often some of the towns in our province which are described as urban do not meet the strict definition of the term. The point therefore is that we are dealing with a predominantly rural economy and all its attendant challenges.

While it is accepted that there has been an increase in the quality of life for our people, the incidence of poverty in KwaZulu-Natal remains one of the highest in the country. Between 1996 and 2002 we established that unemployment had increased by 9,3 percent according to the strict definition, and by 9,6 percent according to the expanded definition.

In particular unemployment amongst women had increased by 3,6 percent, faster than among men. This resulted in a female unemployment rate of 54,8 percent in 2002 compared to a male unemployment rate of 40,2 percent in the same year. While during the same year we had the largest Department of Education in the country, catering for some 2,9 million learners, we faced a backlog in classrooms of some 14 660. At least 32 percent of our schools were judged to be in poor physical condition to such an extent that many needed to be demolished and replaced.

In July 2002 the country's prevalence of HIV and AIDS was estimated at 14,2 percent. That of KwaZulu-Natal was 18,4 percent. We estimated that there were more than 885 000 maternal orphans in the country in July 2002, with KwaZulu-Natal accounting for 26 percent of the total orphans in the country and 35,5 percent of the total AIDS orphans.

In our self-assessment report of 2006 that is part of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) we were able to identify the following indicators in terms of spatial differentiation of poverty across the districts of our province.

In the APRM report we said the following:

* The general trend is that, people are living in poverty in KwaZulu-Natal and that poverty has increased over the last five years.
* Poverty is widespread and deep-rooted in the non-urban and rural areas.
* Poverty is more prevalent in Black households than in other race groups. This therefore means that poverty is essentially a black problem.

In the political overview presented by President of the Africa National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to the National General Council of the ANCWL on 30 March 2007 it is clear that as a country we have made tentative progress on the empowerment of women.

Mapisa-Nqakula had this to say and I quote:

"If the millions of women to whom we refer, the majority of who constitute the bulk of the poorest of the poor, were to be asked to join us directly in conducting this assessment, they would have made quite divergent observations.

Many of them would point out the amount of progress that has been made in the area of social delivery. They will point to tangible progress in the provision of housing, water, electricity, healthcare, social security and education.

They will attest to the impact that these levels of delivery have had on women and that it has emancipated many of them from literally being hewers of wood and drawers of water, thereby altering social and gender relations in our communities. They will point to visible empowerment.

Some of them will refer to the difference in their lives that has come as a result of their involvement in Expaes. They will say that not only did these programmes provide them with job opportunities but also gave them greater potential through skills training and real involvement in community development initiatives in their own communities."

Mapisa-Nqakula said however that there were still women who could attest to a totally different picture. Mapisa-Nqakula said these women were yet to be reached by the social delivery to which we refer. In point of fact women continue to constitute the bulk of the masses of unemployed people. They continue to suffer trauma as a result of seeing their children die of curable diseases because the healthcare facilities to which we refer, are yet to reach them.

These women wilt in the winter cold as decent accommodation and housing is still yet to come their way. An even greater number amongst them continue to suffer in silence at the hands of those who brutally abuse and assault them. So to recap, KwaZulu-Natal is a predominantly rural province which is characterised by the poverty and unemployment of the majority. That majority is black and female.

Our solutions

In 2004, when we were mandated by the electorate of KwaZulu-Natal to lead the provincial government, circumstances were such that we could only have one woman in the Executive Council. This was an abnormality. Now we have four out of ten.

We have 14 provincial departments, and seven of which are headed by women. Out of a provincial budget of R49,9 billion these women are managing 59 percent which translates to R29,6 billion.

As early as 2004 we decided we would do everything which was aimed at the circumstances in which women found themselves. In particular we placed emphasis on unemployment and the ideological problems affecting women.

We have also deliberately provided space for the Gender machinery to consolidate their base by using state platforms to advocate their stance of women's rights. The protection and promotion of women's rights is being directed from the Office of the Premier. As a result an array of legislation has been adopted, which enhances women's participation in society.

Gender equity and the transformation thereof are being taken very seriously; a number of policies and programmes promoting and protecting the rights of women are currently being prioritised. Women rights have been gaining significant momentum over the last five years. The province can be lauded for keeping abreast with international standards and the call for equality, access to resources and employment opportunities especially in management positions amongst others. Of the recent years greater emphasis is being placed on violence and abuse.

Having said this, the point must be made that we do not regard women as passive agents in their own liberation. As a matter of fact, they are the primary leaders in the struggle for their own liberation at all levels.

In this regard we have created the environment necessary for women to operate at all levels of the economy. We have also devised programmes of government whose central aim is the employment and empowerment of women. These include all the programmes under the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and those under the Accelerated and Shared Growth for South Africa (AsgiSA) but also relates to our procurement spend and Black Economic Empowerment practices.

In the EPWP report for the period April to June 2006, KwaZulu-Natal created 866 net or new jobs out of more than 13 000 which were created nationally during the period. Close to 40 percent of the beneficiaries of the EPWP in KwaZulu-Natal are women. This is a figure which we hope will increase in the coming years in line with our long-term strategy which seeks to improve the quality of lives for all our people especially women.

Poverty and unemployment express themselves in our localities. It is our view however that their causes are to be found in the relationship between the South and the North, the history of colonialism and racial segregation. The causes are to be found in the master-servantarchal nature of our societies. In other words if the causes of poverty and unemployment extend beyond our borders, their lasting solution will be found through partnerships between local and international partners, across borders.

I want to say that no one acting alone in this country will make a lasting impact on poverty and unemployment. No one acting alone will be able to eradicate poverty and unemployment on the continent of Africa. Indeed no one acting alone will be able to fully deal with the twin challenges of poverty and unemployment. It is not possible to win this battle alone. It will be possible only when we establish provincial, national, continental and global partnerships.

I wish you well in the deliberations over the coming few days.

I thank you

Issued by: Office of Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
19 April 2007