Address by Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa at the 2007 Gauteng Women's Dialogue

We are meeting here today at the beginning of Women's Month to continue the dialogue that we started in 2003 looking at what is being done and what more needs to be done to make Gauteng a better place for women. In eights days time, on National Women's Day, we will join the entire nation in paying tribute to the women of the 1950s who played a pivotal role in our struggle for equality, freedom and peace.

When we meet to remember the courageous action that women took on 9 August 1956, a question will arise as to how much we have done to bring about full participation and full empowerment of the women of Gauteng in political, social and economic programmes of their province.

Thirteen years into our democracy we now have concrete evidence of the work we have done to involve women in policy and decision making on issues of governance.

Many important gains have been made to empower women. A wide range of Gauteng government programmes pay special attention to the needs of women, especially African women and black women in general. Priority has also been given to promoting women's access to economic opportunities.

However, there is a lot more work to be done before we can say that we have truly achieved gender equality in our province and in our country. Too many women, particularly black women, still live in poverty and suffer the consequences of underdevelopment and deprivation. Too many women remain jobless and have little access to skills and economic activity. Too many women are still victims of violence and abuse.

That is why we must continue to have a platform such as this one for women of our province to share their experiences on successes and challenges of social, political and economic transformation. This dialogue has become much more important now that we have engaged in the process of building Gauteng as a globally competitive city region.

Building Gauteng as a global city region requires that we grow economically so that we are able to address the pressing challenges of a lack of work opportunities, underdevelopment and poverty in our province. But growth without equality between all our citizens, between men and women, between the older and new generations and between the poor and the wealthy is a recipe for instability. Our strategy to make Gauteng a global city region therefore also directs us to address issues of equity and social inclusion. This dialogue should assist us to achieve this.

This conference is also important because it provides an opportunity to report back and take stock of how far we have come since December 2003. It is an opportunity for us to monitor each other's work, to give feedback and evaluate what we have done as well as to plan ahead and identify what further steps need to be taken to advance the position of women in our province.

In the last dialogue you identified three areas which you said needed more focussed attention. These areas are:
* empowerment for small women entrepreneurs
* services for women who are victims of violence
* supporting women in the partnership against HIV and AIDS, including care for families and children infected and affected by the epidemic

A number of initiatives have been undertaken by the provincial and local government to promote the economic empowerment of women. As a provincial government we have made a commitment that by 2009, 50% of women in senior management positions will be women. We have said that of the 20 000 jobs that will be created through the Expanded Public Works Programme this year, 40% will be for women.

By the beginning of 2006, 63% of senior management was black and 30% were women. Currently, four of Gauteng's 10 members of the Executive Council are women. The province also has four female Heads of Department and a growing representation of women at senior public service management level. We must guard jealously the progress we have made in this regard and ensure that there are no reversals.

We have also made a firm commitment that in the 2009/10 financial year 50% of funding for small, medium and micro-enterprises will be allocated to women-led job creation activities through Gauteng Enterprise Propeller.

Broad based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) is one of the key mechanisms we have adopted to address the exclusion of black people from the mainstream economy. It is central in bringing about significant increases in the number of black people that manage, own and control the country's economy and it helps to reduce income inequalities.

We have been using our buying power to promote BBBEE and small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME), particularly those owned by women. The BBBEE strategy requires the provincial government to procure 70% of its goods and services from BBBEE companies in 2009.

By the end of 2006, Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) procurement spending reflected that a total of 2 703 black vendors with direct ownership had benefited from our programme. Of these, 1 433 were women owned. The total value to business conducted with women-owned enterprises was more than R1,049 billion.

Rachel Tladi, one of the women who has benefited from our programme to empower women in construction had this to say: "The Gauteng government through the Department of Housing really showed us what women empowerment was all about. It took the biggest risk by giving us such a huge project. It is an opportunity of a lifetime."

Rachel's projects include the building of Ya Rona Clinic, Lusaka Library and fencing in Toekomsrus and Kagiso Stadia. She says she has managed to employ about 120 people, the majority whom are youth and women, as a result of the projects received from government.

What is more encouraging is that Rachel says: "I also want to empower other women as government had empowered me. My relationship with people that I work with is fantastic because I respect them and I pay them on time."

The empowerment of women in the delivery of housing continues to grow. Since 2004, the government has awarded tenders worth over R359 million to women companies for the construction of thousands of houses throughout Gauteng. Women are also receiving assistance through the On-site Construction Contact Centres launched in 2006

We are naturally concerned about fronting as it threatens the gains that we are making. This conference must help us to fight corruption and ensure that women are not used as tokens by those who want to undermine our empowerment initiatives.

Providing business skills is one way of ensuring that small, medium and micro enterprises are able to stand on their own. Since the launch of the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller in April 2005, over 400 SMMEs have been given training in key areas such as productivity enhancement, quality assurance, developing business plans, marketing and human resource development. An additional 1000 aspiring and existing entrepreneurs have been trained. Of those assisted, 88% are black owned and 52% are owned by women. An SMME portal has also been set up to link SMMEs to economic opportunities and more than 2000 SMMEs are already registered on the portal.

Skills development is crucial in our efforts to build Gauteng into a globally competitive city region. We have developed a Gauteng Human Resource Development Strategy to turn young people and women into a pool of skilled human resource capital that will drive our economic growth and social transformation.

By the end of 2006, the Gauteng Provincial Government had achieved its target of ensuring that 8% of its eligible workforce is in learnerships and internships. A total of 5 381 young people have been given internships and learnerships opportunities. Of these, 99% were black and 68% were women.

Through the Gauteng Agricultural Development Strategy we are succeeding in bringing previously disadvantaged sections of the population, including women and the unemployed, into the value chain of mainstream agriculture in the province. Many women have already become successful farmers.

Sue Jackson is one of the women who have benefited from the implementation of this strategy. Her organic farm has a turnover of R4 million a year and - in addition to supplying Pick 'n Pay, Shoprite and others - she exports some of her products to Dubai. Last year she won the Female Farmer of the Year.

Women are reaping the fruits of intervention programmes such as Women in Agriculture and Rural Development (Ward) and the Micro Agricultural Finance Institution of South Africa (Mafisa) programmes.

An amount of R10 million in agricultural project's funding has been made available to further women empowerment in the agricultural sector in Gauteng.

Through the help of the provincial government women are also succeeding in breaking into the male-dominated transport industry. Many women have successfully entered the taxi and bus industry and others have won tenders to transport children to and from school.

Hundreds of others are benefiting through the construction of the Gautrain rapid rail link. About 366 are women, 11% of whom are in management positions are employed in the Gautrain Project. By the time the project is completed, many more women will benefit through new skills development and job opportunities emerging from broader socio-economic development.

Seventy-nine young women have already enrolled and are currently actively participating in a learnership programme in scarce skills including mining and blasting, fitting and turning, mill righting and business administration. A total of 120 women will be taken through learnership programmes during the construction phase of the Gautrain rail link.

Fighting poverty remains our top priority. For those who are unable to benefit from economic opportunities - the poor, children, the elderly and people affected and infected by HIV and AIDS - the government is committed to providing immediate relief.

Last year we launched the Gauteng Social Development Strategy to ensure that we balance economic growth with sustainable social support for those who are unable to work and have special needs.

A comprehensive and integrated food security programme has been introduced focusing on increasing local food production through support for farmers, especially black and women farmers, and food gardens, continued school feeding programmes and improving nutritional status through supplementation and awareness programmes.

There are over 80 developed projects across the province to establish homestead food gardens. Women directly benefit from an additional 150 community food garden projects.

Women have also benefited from government programmes to widen access to essential services for poor households as well as the provision of free basic services such as electricity, water and sanitation and through municipal indigent policies. Of the registered indigent households, 1 225 854 (96%) households are receiving free basic water and 1 150 416 (78%) households are receiving free basic electricity.

Education remains a key pillar in our efforts to reverse inequality and improve the standard of living of the people of Gauteng. Several programmes and policies aim to improve the quality of education, including the 'No Fee Schools' policy, the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Strategy, the School Nutrition Programme, Scholar Transport programme and initiatives such as the Blue IQ Smart Young Mind Challenge and the Sci-Bono centre.

Girl learners in Gauteng are increasingly benefiting from the provincial government's efforts to give every girl-child access to quality public education. An important part of this is the strategy to improve maths, science and technology education. A girl-learner mathematics and science project aims to maximise the girl-child's learning in this critical area.

Although poverty continues to prevent many young girls from realising their dreams, we are optimistic that we are succeeding in making Gauteng a better place for girl to receive education.

Since 2004, the provincial government has made great strides in improving the health of women and children in Gauteng through a range of programmes. Strategies and programmes arising from the Saving the Mother Report have been implemented in maternal and neonatal care units established in 2004, focussing on preventing and reducing avoidable deaths of mother and babies.

Cervical cancer screening has benefited 266 843 women since the inception of the programme in 2000. More than 21 000 mammograms were performed to improve early detection of breast cancer since 2004. These screening services afford women the opportunity to be offered early treatment and follow up.

A new breast cancer clinic opened at Helen Joseph hospital last year will improve access to surgery for breast cancer patients in Greater Johannesburg and Soweto.

Since the first women's dialogue in 2003, we have taken serious to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS in our province. The prevention of mother to child transmission programme has been rolled out throughout the province covering 223 primary health care clinics and community health centres offering ante-natal care services and all hospitals with ante-natal care services. The number of women accessing this service has increased from 87 546 in 2004 to 124 398 in 2006.

Post-exposure prophylaxis, introduced to provide a preventative treatment to rape survivors, is now available in 57 facilities throughout the province. In addition, the provincial government runs and funds a wide range of programmes to prevent HIV and AIDS, encourage voluntary counselling and testing, to prevent discrimination and provide treatment and care for those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. These programmes all have a considerable impact on women.

Demand for the HIV and AIDS comprehensive care, including the provision of anti-retroviral treatment (ART) programme has grown since its inception in 2004. Up to April this year 78 102 people were on treatment, including 7 990 children.

We however must try to understand all the conditions that make the spread of this disease to continue. We must examine why is it that behaviour is not changing in proportion to the amount of time and resources we have dedicated to education and awareness about this disease.

Violence against women at home, in the streets and at work remains a major challenge confronting our province and our country. Early this year, we launched the Gauteng Safety Strategy and the Take Charge campaign to ensure a sustainable reduction in crime throughout Gauteng. The strategy and campaign both pay careful attention to violence against women and seek to address issues of safety that women have to contend with.

While women continue to carry a disproportionate load of disease, trauma and poverty, we are succeeding in providing them with the necessary support and means to emancipate them from these shackles.

Trauma centres and victim empowerment centres have been established across the province, and the training of police officers, forensic nurses and other role players has been prioritised to ensure that victims of domestic violence and other sexual offences are assisted in a humane and sensitive way and to improve successful prosecutions against the perpetrators.

We must continue to look for ways to engage men in finding solutions to this challenge. I am certain that no man in his right senses would keep quiet while his daughter, sister, mother or wife was violated. As violence against women often happens at homes and is perpetrated by people known to survivors, men also need help in improving conditions that ensures safety of women in their homes.

Women also stand to gain from the 32 sporting hubs which are being developed in the province to promote seven priority sporting codes - athletics, cricket, rugby, boxing, swimming, football (including women's soccer) and netball.

Gauteng has the most well developed creative economy in the country and is home to the largest concentration of cultural enterprises in South Africa. Research has shown that over 40% of all creative enterprises are found in the province. The Gauteng Creative Industries Development Framework is further promoting creative industries to, among others: maximise the sector's contribution to the economy, job creation, community development and urban regeneration. Women will benefit from the growth of the creative industries, which creates many opportunities for small and micro enterprises and reinforces job creation and opportunities in related sectors such as hospitality, tourism and food and beverages.

Close to 90 percent of jobs in the craft sector benefit women. Plans to promote and expand the arts and craft sector in Gauteng will therefore also contribute significantly to the economic empowerment of women.

Good governance and democracy are thriving in our province because of participation of women. Women played a pivotal role in the consultations to review the province as part of the African Peer Review Mechanism process. They play a key role as Community Development Workers, as members of the Gauteng Youth Commission and in Ward Committees across the province.

This Women's Dialogue is also an example of the role women are playing in our province to review political, economic and social transformation and in setting priorities to achieve to make Gauteng a better place for women.

In addition to the Women's Dialogues, women have opportunities to raise concerns and suggestions through women focussed izimbizo. Through these initiatives women in our province are shaping a better future for themselves and the next generation.

Gauteng continues to honour many unsung heroines who have dedicated their lives to social progress through the annual Women's Awards for Outstanding Women Achievers. In addition, the Gauteng Local Government department introduced the Women in Local Government Awards to recognise outstanding women councillors and officials contributing towards good governance and improved service delivery in their local areas.

As a provincial government we have a policy framework to achieve gender mainstreaming and the empowerment of women, taking into account issues raised by women themselves. The policy outlines the province's vision of gender equality and aims to enhance government's capacity to address gender development challenges.

All departments have dedicated gender empowerment programmes and projects that are adequately resourced. We must evaluate whether these structures are succeeding in ensuring the mainstreaming of gender issues in each department and suggest what we need to do for further strengthen them.

The task before you as you start the dialogue is a daunting one. I have no doubt that you will execute it with commitment and dedication. The many women in our province who are still shackled in poverty, whose rights and dignity is trampled upon daily are looking up to you to come up with suggestions that will make Gauteng a better place for them as well. I wish you fruitful deliberations.

Issued by: Gauteng Provincial Government
1 August 2007