Minister Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya, Deputy Minister, hon members, officials present, civil society in the gallery and learners in the gallery, this is a historic moment for us as this is our first Budget Vote debate. This has come about as a result of one of our Polokwane resolutions. This Ministry has the huge task of improving the lives of women, children and people living with disabilities. This Ministry replaces the OSW, that is the Office on the Status of Women, which was located in the Presidency. We would recall that the Office on the Status of Women was located with the Office on the Rights of the Child, as well as the Office on the Status of Disabled Persons.
There were structural issues which needed to be considered in terms of how these vulnerable groups would relate to the new Ministry. It is important that the Ministry take note of the challenges that hindered the Office on the Status of Women in functioning well. Some of the challenges were lack of funding and lack of human resources, and also the ranks of officials driving the programmes did not give them the authority that was in line with their responsibilities for co-ordination and oversight. Now that we have a Ministry, the question is: Are we better positioned to make sure that gender equality will be achieved? Taking into account the number of women Ministers and Deputy Ministers in the Cabinet, this should make a vast difference. This should give us hope. Our women Ministers should lead the process of gender mainstreaming. This women Ministry is here. We all have to make a point to ensure that it works despite all the challenges it faces.
Ukusebenza koMnyango, sithe uma sibheka izinselelo zoMnyango sabuka ngokuthi kwakuyoba usizo ukuba loMnyango wawubekwe ngaphansi kwehhovisi likaMongameli. Nokho sesibhodla emswaneni ngoba akwenzekanga lokhu. Phela empeleni umsebenzi walo Mnyango ubalulekile. Umsebenzi wawo ukubheka ngeso lokhozi ukuthi ngabe eminye iMinyango iyakulandela yini ukuhlela izinhlelo zayo ngokulingana ngokobulili, futhi kungabe ikhona yini ingxenye yesabelo mali eya kuzo lezi zinhlelo.
Uma lokhu kungenzeki, yiwo lo Mnyango ofanele uthole izizathu. Kafushane nje lo Mnyango ungunogada ufanele uqaphele ukuthi ingxenye ethile yefa lalo hulumeni wethu liyafinyelela komama, abantwana nabantu abaphila nokukhubazeka. Naso ke isizathu esingenza ngiwubone lo Mnyango, kufanele ubenamandla athe xaxa kuneminye iMinyango ngaphandle kokuba ngubhongoza. Unogada uyawadinga amandla, nokho yinselelo esizoyiphonsela uMongameli wezwe. Phela ingani engakhali ifela embelekweni, siyathemba ukuthi uMongameli akayukusho ukuthi hawu "ngininika isandla senifuna ingalo yonke".
Umsebenzi waloMnyango ubanzi kakhulu, bheka ngoba uqala khona la kule sishayamthetho sethu, uye kwizifundazwe, uphinde uye nakomasipala bethu. Khumbula phela ukuthi nazo lezi zinhlaka zikahulumeni ziyasithola isabelo mali, ingabe izinhlelo zabo zihleleke ngokuyikho na? Akufuneki ukuthi sidedele nje kube yikwaampunzi edla emini sikhona. Kungani pho isabelo sethu sifane neconsi olwandle izigidi eziyikhulu nanhlanu nesithupha, R156 million kuphela nje? Awu! siyakhala impela.
Asifuni ukubona isabelo mali soMnyango siphelela ehhovisi nakubasebenzi, bese izinhlelo zoMnyango zona zithole imbijana. Nakuba kunjalo Ngqongqoshe umsebenzi kumele wenziwe phela "impangele enhle umakhala egijima". Asiqaphe- ke siwuMnyango - ake ngenze isibonelo, Umnyango Wezokuthuthukisa Kwemiphakathi ugixabezwe ngesamba esiyizigidigidi ezingama-95 zamarandi, Umnyango Kahulumeni Wokubambisana kanye Nezindaba Zendabuko ugixabezwe ngezigidigidi ezingama-43 zamarandi, Umnyango Wemfundo Ephakame ugixabezwe ngezigidigidi ezingama-32 zamarandi, Umnyango Wezokuvikela ugixabezwe ngezigidigidi ezingama-32 zamarandi kanti Owezempilo ugixabezwe ngezigidigidi ezingama-21 zamarandi., njalo njalo. Angeke ngikwazi ukuyiqeda yonke.
Inhloso yokubonisa isabelo sale Minyango ukuveza lapha kufanele siyekhona, siyobheka ukuthi kungabe yinani elingakanani elibekelwe omama, abantwana, nabantu abaphila nokukhubazeka. Uma nje laba abanye oNgqongqoshe bezokwenza njengoba kufanele, hhayi Ngqongqoshe sekuyoba ngozi makhaza. Empeleni abanye ngqongqoshe vele bayakwenza lokhu. Sibonile uMhlonishwa uJeff Radebe, uMnyango wakhe wenze isichibiyelo kuMthetho Wabantwana "i-Child Justice Act". (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[When we looked at the challenges the department faced with regard to its functioning, we realised that it would have been helpful if this department was placed under the Presidency. Nevertheless, let us not dwell much on that because it did not happen. Its function is to monitor carefully to make sure that the other departments follow the policies accordingly with regard to gender equity, and whether there is any portion of the budget that goes to those programmes. If this is not happening, it is this very department that should investigate what is happening.
In short, this department is the monitor - it must observe whether the portion of the wealth of our government reaches the women, children and people living with disabilities. For that reason we will recognise this department. It must have more powers compared to other departments, but should not do things without consultation. A monitor needs power; nevertheless, this is a challenge that we will present to the President of the country. As you know that keeping quiet does not help, we hope that the President will not say: "Give someone an inch and they will take the whole yard."
The function of this department is very broad; it includes the National Assembly, the provinces and our municipalities. Remember that these government structures also get their share of the budget. Are they properly designed? We must not allow people to do as they please while we are there. Why is our budget a drop in the ocean - only R156 million? We are truly complaining.
We don't want to see the department's budget exhausted through the office and the workers, while the sections in the department get only a little money. Even if it is like that, Minister, the job must be done. "A good person is the one who complains while continuing to work". Let us as the department be on the lookout ... let me give an example: The Department of Social Development was granted an amount of R95 million; the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs was granted R43 million; the Department of Higher Education and Training was granted R32 million; and the Department of Health was granted R21 million, etc, etc. I will not be able to mention them all.
The reason for giving these departments as an example is to show where we must go, to see how much has been set aside for women, children and the people living with disabilities. It will be much better if the other Ministers do what is expected of them. Actually, some of the Ministers are already doing this. We have seen hon Jeff Radebe's department make an amendment to the Child Justice Act.]
The Department of Health, led by the hon Aaron Motsoaledi, has engendered the roll-out of antiretrovirals by recognising that women are more susceptible to HIV and Aids and to sexually transmitted infections. In other words, the Department of Health has recognised the gendered face of HIV and Aids in South Africa. In 2009, the Department of the Public Service and Administration, headed by the hon Richard Baloyi, hosted the first Public Service gender indaba under the theme "Engendering Public Service Policy". Siyakuncoma ke lokho. [We appreciate that.] For the sake of time, I cannot mention all the other departments.
Let us come to protocols and agreements. The Southern African Development Community protocol has been signed by South Africa, but has not been ratified by Parliament. This is one of our challenges we need to address. Be that as it may, article 3 of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development states that the objectives of the protocol are to provide for the empowerment of women, to eliminate discrimination and to achieve gender equality through the development and implementation of gender-responsive legislation, policies, programmes and projects. The question is: Is this happening?
The objectives of the protocol are also to harmonise the implementation of various instruments to which SADC member states have subscribed to at regional, continental and international levels on gender equality and equity, which, amongst other things, are the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and many more.
For the purpose of time, allow me to focus on Cedaw only. When departments put programmes in place, it should be borne in mind that those programmes effectively contribute to the achievement of the social and economic goals of the country, especially for the vulnerable. According to Unifem, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, all stakeholders should apply Cedaw principles, that is, substantive equality and the nondiscriminatory participation and modification of social and cultural patterns of conduct when allocating budgets.
Without even realising it, stakeholders could make budget decisions that are discriminatory to women. We should also not lose sight of the fact that not all individuals have the golden opportunity to contribute towards budget processes. Members of Parliament and stakeholders like civic society should have a much more inclusive role to play in the budget process.
Let me illustrate a case in point. Parliamentary committees have different mandates to fulfil. How does it then come about that budgets allocated to parliamentary committees are equal in amounts? This is a great challenge that needs to be addressed. It also calls for measures that build the capacity of us, as elected representatives, to be able to analyse budgets, particularly from a gender perspective. This could also be done with civil society as well, as they are also beneficiaries of these budgets. Budget allocations should be seen as a human rights issue.
In terms of working with other departments on women's issues, this department is not an implementing one but a monitoring one. For example, we need to look at legislation that has an impact on the lives of women. We have to monitor whether laws passed impact positively on the quality of life and status of women. There has been a lack of disaggregated data to gauge whether targeted programmes have impacted on the lives of women and on how many women have benefited from these programmes. Examples of such pieces of legislation are the Domestic Violence Act, the Reform of Customary Law of Succession and Regulation of Related Matters Act, the Traditional Courts Bill and many more.
The same would apply when monitoring bodies like the Commission for Gender Equality. Are they delivering on their mandate, as outlined in the Commission on Gender Equality Act? My colleague the hon Ramodibe will speak more about this. Allow me to touch a little on the Domestic Violence Act. Elizabeth Petersen, founder of the SA Faith and Family Institute, together with Venessa Padayachee from the National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders, Nicro - a pioneer organisation leading the battered women's movement in the early nineties - strongly argue that domestic violence is a specialised field. Experience shows that not all social workers, psychologists, priests, nurses, police officers, magistrates and probation officers understand the complex dynamics of intimate partner abuse. Far too much damage is done to victims ...