CABINET ENDORSES POST BEIJING COMMITMENTS

Issued by: SA Communication Service

CABINET ENDORSES FAR REACHING POST BEIJING COMMITMENTS

Cabinet has endorsed a far reaching memorandum of measures to advance gender equality in South Africa following the Fourth World Conference on Women which took place in Beijing last year.

The cabinet memorandum will buttress South Africa's obligations under the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women which was ratified in December, and becomes operational today (16 January).

Highlights of the cabinet memorandum include:

• As part of a plan to eliminate sec discrimination in the work place over the next five years. The Ministry of Labour will be initiating extensive Employment Equity legislation this year. THe legislation will provide for special training, skills and knowledge development aimed at improving access to jobs traditionally dominated by men.
• The Ministry of Education pledges to close the gender gap in primary and secondary school education by the year 2000, and to reduce the female illiteracy rate to half its 1990 level in the same year. THe ministry says it will provide counselling to encourage girls to pursue non-traditional careers. It also plans to look into the schooling of pregnant adolescents and young mothers; and the provision of child care.
• The Ministry of Finance says that it will "consider re-allocating military expenditures to support women's economic advancement." A single rate of income tax will be applied to all individuals starting in 1995/96. Newly proposed pension legislation for civil servants omits any reference to gender. An office for affirmative action has been established in the department.
• The Ministry of Trade and Industry promises to review and amend policies and programmes that discriminate against small scale, rurally based enterprises operated by women. The ministry will also "enhance women's knowledge by disseminating market, trade and resource related information and provide appropriate training in these fields."
• The Ministry of Provincial Affairs and Constitutional Development says it will gather gender disaggregated data on newly elected local government structures to "evaluate equality in access to power sharing and decision making for women."
• The Ministry of Justice is evaluating mechanisms to improve the effectiveness of the Prevention of Family Violence Act. The special needs of the girl child are being looked at by an interdepartmental working group which is developing a National Programme of Action for Children in South Africa.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs will evaluate and amend citizenship laws and administrative measures that discriminate against women in acquiring permanent residency status and citizenship.
• The Ministry of Water Affairs and Forestry has introduced an Employment Equity Policy. It says that by the end of 1995/96, two million households, formerly without water will have a dependable water supply. Women are to constitute at least 30 per cent of local water committees.
• The Ministry of Health pledges to provide sexual and reproductive health as well as family planning services with a focus on the health needs of the young.
• The Ministry of Welfare and Population Development says it will "reformulate policies and programmes impacting the family's economic and social wellbeing to promote a more equitable distribution of incoming services."
• The Ministry of Public Works has amended its Guarantee scheme for one hundred per cent housing loans to officials and employees in the government sector to include married women.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

The Deputy Minister of Welfare and Population Development Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi on 012-326-5815/6/7