Speech by COGTA and Human Settlements MEC Jacob Mamabolo at the
occasion of internal Women’s Month celebration and staff gathering at
Turffontein on 25 August 2014
Programme Director
HOD Ngoasheng and HOD Nkontwana
Representatives from labour movement
Various speakers for the day
And most importantly, lena bomme ba ronna ba mafapa ale mabedi abo maspala le
dintlo
Greetings to you all
Let me start by thanking you for allowing me an opportunity to present a speech in
what is supposedly should be a women’s only event. I promise you I won’t spoil a
thing, and before you know it I will be out of here just to make sure that you enjoy the
pampering that you so deserve as our mothers and sisters who are not only the
anchors of both departments, but anchors of our broader society too.
But as I look at you now, and how happy and excited you are, I am reminded of
thousands of women in our society who daily continue to face the hardships of life,
mostly not of their own making. One such woman is a disable lady from Palm Ridge,
who I met two weeks ago when as MECs we were deployed to do stakeholder
engagements with communities. The father of the landlord, who is now late, wanted
to evict this lady from a shack she was renting because the building of the RDP
house is complete, which is part of an in situ development. To make matters worse,
the man even cut electricity supply to this poor lady, showing no mercy over this
lady’s disability. I had to intervene to stop this inhumane eviction, and thanks to the
Rental Housing Tribunal we made sure her dignity is protected.
This blatant display of insensitivity was a sign to me that we still have a lot of work to
do to ensure respect and dignity of women in our society, and therefore as
government we will continue to support women in all facets of life and ensure that
equality and recognition of women tops the agenda of our nation-building. Thus the
struggle for pushing back the frontiers of apartheid and inequality to a democratic
and gender responsive country must still continue.
The direct recognition and equalising of women in our society did not come by
accident. It is a consequence of the basic principles of the ruling party, the African
National Congress. Having lived through and experienced the harshness of
apartheid, inequality and racial segregation, the ANC leadership and membership
vowed to fight for a new society that would be different from what South Africa was
back then. The ideal of this new society is best expressed in the basic objective of
the ANC which is the creation of a united, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic
society.
This objective epitomises what a good, caring and prospective society
should be, and through the NDP we will realise this society where we are all equal
and share in the country’s wealth.
Undoubtedly the lives of the women of South Africa have changed for the better.
More than hundred years ago, the role of men and women were clearly defined: the
man was a worker and a provider, and the woman was a mother and a housewife.
This picture looks very different today; women are now working equally as men,
whilst their roles as mothers and as nurturers have remained. The past increase in
the inequalities between men and women was growing alarmingly, and in South
Africa it was worse because there was also a racial oppression against women as
well.
In protest against such subjugation of women, the women’s movement was born. In
South Africa, the 1956 Women’s march to the Union Buildings, cemented the resolve
by all women of South Africa to fight for the total eradication of women’s oppression
and racial discrimination. With such events as we have today, we continue to honour
the strength, the courage and the power of women of all races, for rising against the
injustices in 1956 during a period characterized by injustice and inequality.
Since 1994 and with the advent of democracy, the lives of women have changed in
South Africa. The lives of women have changed for the better. The progressive
Constitution of our country guarantees women equality and access to all forms of
opportunities, be it work, business or leadership. Our yesteryear leaders such as
Lilian Ngoyi, Albertina Sisulu, Ruth First, Adelaide Tambo and many others have left
a strong foundation for women of South Africa to flourish and to fully realize their
own potential.
Today women are now in important and strategic positions, like some of you here. It
must be noted that no matter where you are placed at work or society, each one of
you here is a change agent, and you are all contributing to the betterment of our
society. Whilst this event today is about joining the whole nation in celebration of
Women’s Month, it is also about recognising those women who have been with both
departments for more 20 years, serving the people of Gauteng selflessly and
contributing towards making their lives better.
The two Departments that I lead are responsible for two very important deliverables
that are very key to the sustainability of our society. Every member of this society
must live under a roof, and there’s no question about that. This is the task at the
heart of Human Settlements. Equally, a basic service such as water, environmental
cleanliness, energy, access to infrastructure and so on requires a capable leadership
and management that will make sure that these services are available to
communities at all times. This is a task and responsibility at the core of COGTA.
Both departments are the custodians of these very basic rights. Part of providing
these two important responsibilities and managing them properly is to make sure that
we avail as much support as is possible to those who are employed and deployed to
making sure of their delivery.
Whilst we celebrate the empowerment of women, we are also mindful of the fact that
life for women has becomingly increased difficult and challenging, with women
playing dual roles at home and at work. The challenge has been to balance home
and work life. It is for this reason and others that the focus of this event today is on
women’s health, wellness and how to create a working environment where women
support each other and on how the departments can also contribute in the women’s
development.
Honestly speaking, balancing home and work life is not an easy task for modern day
women. Families, especially children, expect no less from mothers. The nurturing of
children and homekeeping responsibilities remain demanding despite women taking
leadership roles at work. Over and above that, in the past 100 years, the world
experienced a number of economic recessions, and these have put an added
pressure on working mothers, especially single mothers. Women also face
resistance from men who do not want to give up their dominion in the workplace.
Needless to say, in some organisations women are still being overlooked when it
comes to promotions in the workplace.
As if that was not enough, women are still being harassed sexually at work. Despite
these challenges, we will continue to lobby for women’s rights, and this struggle will
continue until each and every woman is free. We are also not forgetting husbands
who feel threatened when their wives climb up the corporate ladder. Instead, they
must support their wives, a support that will assist their wives to excel at work, and at
home.
One of the best ways to strike a balance between work and family life is to manage
how your families perceive your work. This perception affects how they relate and
respond to the work that you do. When you make it a daily habit to complain about
work, bosses, salaries, this will result in enforcing wrong perceptions about the
environment of workplaces in the minds of your children. My advice to you is that it is
much more prudent to promote the positive aspects of work to your children, this will
include; the challenges, people you meet, feeling of accomplishment and the
opportunities for progression and advancement, for an example. When you do this,
you will make your children to aspire to be like yourselves, or even better. What we
plant in our children will have an important effect in their adult and working life.
Both your families and your work need you. At home some of you are single
mothers, breadwinners, grandmothers, and every family member is looking up to you
as women to provide for your families. You have it in you as women to meet and
exceed the expectations that society have of you. I have no doubt in my mind that
each one of you here will make a meaningful change in your family and work lives.
Let us use this women’s month to reflect on your strengths, and then find out how
best to use them to change the lives of South Africans for the better.
I thank you.