RESPECT OUR INDEPENDENCE

Issued by: Government Communications

The Commission on Gender Equality has called on the government to respect the independence of Commissions through "making them directly accountable to parliament for their work and their budgets."

In its second annual report to be release at a public function on 9 April 1999, the report says that "among the unique provisions of our Constitution is the recognition of the need for independent watchdog bodies to buttress our democracy". Sadly this independence is not always respected.

An example of this is the way in which the budgets of independent bodies are allocated. Last year, we recommended that the budget of the Commission be directly allocated by parliament, rather than through the Department of Justice. This year we expressed alarm of the reference in the memorandum attached to the Treasury Bill that the accounting officers of Commissions report to the heads of the departments through which their budgets are allocated; a move we view as having the effect of weakening the independence of Commissions.

The annual report further criticises the government for the continued way in which it pays lip service to gender issues but continues to marginalise them in reality. In her forward to the report, the CGE's new Chairperson Joyce Seroke asks if "it is a coincidence that when the Commissioners of other Chapter Nine institutions resign every stop is pulled out to find a replacement, yet where the Chair of the Commission on Gender Equality resigned it took a full year for her to be replaced?"

"The truth is", she says "while we are talking the talk of gender equality, we are still not walking the walk."

This report also acknowledges with pride:

• that South Africa has one of the most progressive Constitutions in the world with regard to gender equality;
• that South Africa is one of the few countries in the world to have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women without reservation;
• that we are signatories to the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development and
• that we are one of the few, if not only, independet bodies in the world committed solely to advancing gender equality.

The underlying theme of the report is that "while we have come a long way in recognizing and codifying what needs to be done, we must still make it happen in practice. The CGE's audit of remaining discriminatory legislation points to some remaining glaring discriminatory practices, for example with regard to the customary law of succession, for which legislation has yet to be developed. But the report also highlights the hidden discrimination, which often requires us to go beyond legislative measures to ensure that equality actually occurs. For example, it is one thing to give men and women equal rights to access to land; and quite another to ensure equality in land tenure".

The report notes that "only one political party (the African National Congress) has committed itself to a quota for increasing the representation of women. Gender inequality is not seen as central to poverty - and conversely its reverse to the achievement of economic progress. Bank robberies are still accorded far more attention than the increasing incidence of rape and violence against women. All our diverse cultures, customs, religions, media drama and popular theatre relegate women to second place in our society."

Among its achievements over the last year, the Commission highlights: undertaking of South Africa's first gender opinion survey and audit of remaining legislation that discrimates on the basis of sex and gender; the processing of gender related complaints; defending the Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act; a Working Women's Manual; the Gender and Media Directory; handbook for women on how to access government services at a local level; public education workshops in all provinces and over half of the country's regions; co-ordinating Women's Week; major research projects on gender and the private sector; gender and advertising; equal pay for equal work and work of equal value; and a gender audit of the Maputo corridor project.

The report says that "despite these achievements, gender equality remains a distant dream for the majority of South African women. A body like the CGE must constantly ask itself how it can be more strategic, more economic, and more effective in undertaking the mammoth responsibilities with which it has been entrusted. Among the important challenges for the CGE are striking a balance between working with government, the private sector and NGOs while jealously guarding its independence, and making maximum use of the powers conferred upon it by the constitution."

For more information contact Kubeshni Govender on (011) 403 7182 or 083 273 8428 or email kubeshni@cge.org.za