Title: Parliamentary Hearing Report
1COMMISSION ON GENDER EQUALITY
- Parliamentary Hearing Report
- To the Portfolio Committee
- 17th March 2006
2Vision
- A society free from gender discrimination and
oppression
3Mission
- Promotion, Protection, Monitoring and Evaluation
of gender equality through - I) Fostering public understanding by developing,
managing and conducting educational and
information programmes - ii)Â Proactively and reactively investigating
issues and complaints on gender discrimination at
all levels identified through interaction with
stakeholders and other concerned citizens to
attain reform in the area of gender equality and - iii)Â Conducting research to further the
objectives of the institution
4Strategic objectives
- Monitor, and develop where necessary, effective
gender monitoring mechanisms for public and
private institutions to ensure the appropriate
implementation of gender sensitive strategies,
policies and programmes - Develop, manage and conduct information and
education programmes for the promotion and
attainment of gender equality - Evaluate and monitor and Act of Parliament or any
other law or treaty affecting or likely to affect
gender equality or the status of women and make
recommendations to Parliament with regard
thereto Law reform to be made part of the legal
service department - Investigate any gender-related issues of its own
accord or receipt of a complaint and endeavour to
resolve any dispute and rectify any act or
omission
5Programmes
- Public Education and Information
- Develops, manages and conducts information and
education programmes, including workshops and
campaigns - Policy and Research
- Undertakes research in rural and urban settings
in all provinces through the Provincial Offices
of the CGE
6Programmes (cont.)
- Legal Services
- Investigates gender-related issues,
- Evaluates and monitors any Act of Parliament or
any other law or treaty affecting or likely to
affect gender equality - Submissions to Parliament with regard thereto.
7Programmes for enhancement of capacity within the
CGE
- Civil Society Advocacy Programme
- Agreement SA/73200-03-03
- Objective
- The project will contribute towards more
effective governance, reduction of poverty and
improved living conditions in selected
communities. - Results
- Targeted CSOs provide effective advocacy support
thus The targeted communities are empowered to
access their rights - Chapter 9 institutions provide active advocacy
support within their mandate - Budget
- Total commitment for May 2005-May 2006 R10m
- Total commitment for duration of period Euros
3.3 million
8Programmes for enhancement of capacity within the
CGE
- (2) Premiers Discretionary Fund Eastern Cape
- Objectives
- Conduct situational analysis and collect data in
3 pilot areas - Combat gender-based violence
- Gender mainstreaming
- Institutional capacity building
- Empower women through skills development
- Empower women economically
- Integrate gender equality component into existing
programmes - Establish community newsletter
- Budget R1m
9Corporate activities
- Restructuring and Job Evaluation (Completed)
- Performance Management (Ongoing)
- Skills Development (Ongoing)
- Employment Equity (Ongoing)
- Risk Management (Ongoing)
- Fraud Prevention Plan (Completed)
- Supply Chain Management (Ongoing)
- Internal Auditing (Annual auditing)
- Strategic Planning (Annual Review)
- Internal Review (Forthcoming)
- External audit (Unqualified audit report 2005/6)
10Human Resources
-
- Since 1999 the CGEs total staff complement
(secretariat) increased from 42 to a total of 64
employees in 2006 - Currently
- Female 48 Male 16
- Senior Managers 2 female, 2 male
- HDIs 95
11Financial Resources
- Treasury allocation increased from R8m in 1999 to
R26,4m in 2005/6 - Next allocation for 2006/7 will be R37,7m
12Financial Resources
 1998/ 1999 1999/ 2000 2000/ 2001 2001/ 2002 2002/ 2003 2003/ 2004 2004/ 2005 2005/ 2006
Treasury Allocation R8m R10,7m R12,2m R13m R14,9m R17,3m R 21.30 R26,4
Donor Funds R0.62m R1,2m R0,25m R0.3m R1,5m R1.7m R2m R1.7m
Requested Budget R20m R22m R25m R30m R34m R39m 39.4m R44m
Shortfall R11,3m R10m R12m R16m R18,5m R20,1m R18m R18.3m
13Financial Resources
14Financial Resources 2006/7
15CGE Budget 06/07 Division of Funding
16Programme expenditure 2006/7
17Donor Funding 2005/6
- Mott Foundation
- Research on Womens Participation in Local
Governance - Heinrich Böhl Stiftung
- Gender Opinion Survey
- Premiers Discretionary Fund
- Eastern Cape Province
- European Union
- Civil Society Advocacy Programme (with other
C9s)
18Research
- Monitoring and evaluation activities
- Gender Mainstreaming in
- national and provincial departments, local
authorities, political parties (50/50 campaign),
ordinary citizens gender opinions
19Research
- Research Reports 2005/6
- National Gender Opinion Survey
- Monitoring and evaluation of womens
participation in political decision-making - The gender dimension of HIV/AIDS and the elderly
20Public Education and Information
- Educational Programmes
- Campaigns
- Media Releases
- Workshops
- Exhibitions
- Gender Dialogues
- Development of resource material
- Summits
21Public Education and Information
- Information Programmes
- Publications
- Posters, pamphlets, training manuals
- Resource Centre
- Establishment of Resource Centres in Provinces
Archiving - Exhibitions- 28413
- Information management
- Website
- IT support
- - Policy
- - Support and maintenance
22Legal Services Complaints 2005/6
Rank of Complaints (top 10 only)
GBV 30
Maintenance 25
Sexual Harassment 16
Labour 6.3
Tradition, religion and culture 6
Court processes 6
Inheritance property 4.3
Social security 3.1
Access to government services 1.6
Citizenship Regis. of population 1.1
Total number of complaints 525
23Complaints (cont.)
- Legal interventions
- Sidwell Mamitwa / TLPN Shilubane Others TPD
25411/2002 - Omar v Government of the RSA and others CCT 47/04
- Submitted 20 gender related complaints to ASASA
- Also gender-related cases monitored by the CGE
24Outputs Parliamentary Office
- Submissions to Parliament
- Engage in Parliamentary Committees on upcoming
bills - Consult with civil society and relevant
stakeholders
25Challenges
- Dealing with entrenched gender inequality and
patriarchy - Implementation of legislation and law enforcement
by officials e.g. maintenance complaints - Many people (incl. media) do not know the content
of the Constitution and have little knowledge of
C9s, their work, roles and mandate - Amendment of old statutes that violate the
Constitution - Participation in the National Gender Machinery
- Reaching out to remote rural areas, lack of
programmes for young women, HIV/AIDS - Easy flow of information from Dept. of Foreign
Affairs to enable CGE to participate in
sub-regional, regional and international
activities
26Challenges (cont.)
- Lack of access to country reports in time for
monitoring - Broad mandate, given the scant capacity and
resources - Challenges emanating from the CGE Act
- Measurable outputs required for Commissioners
- Delays in appointment and replacement of
Commissioners - Inability to litigate in terms of the CGE act
- Harmonising CGE Act with PFMA
- Opportunities to interact directly with
Parliament in terms of provisions of the Act
27Collaborative Work
- Government Departments Justice Dept (Equality
Act implementation) Premiers Discretionary Fund
- Strengthened relationship with local governments
- Parliament Portfolio Committees
- NGOs and CBOs special themes
- Other Chapter 9s CSAP, MOUs, elections
- National Gender Machinery
28International Work
- Monitoring of international, regional and
sub-regional instruments - Participation in World Conferences
- Participation in Gender Fora
- Also
- UN Commission on the Status of Women (Beijing
10) - SADC and African Union gender-related processes
- Bilateral Agreement
- MOUs with international organisations
- Interaction with foreign delegations
29Impact
- Launching and implementing of the 50/50 campaign
in local government elections. - Increased awareness of gender-based violence
brought about by education programmes and
legislation - Improved maintenance system
- Developing gender training and resource material
for public sensitization on gender - Developing a number of gender related policies
with government departments, public and private
sector - Impacting on gender-related law reform,
particularly the Childrens Bill in relation to
virginity testing and circumcision. - Annually we have a number of campaigns on gender
sensitization
30Achievements
- Increased public awareness on issues of gender
- Sensitized government departments towards issues
of gender - Improved representation of women in
decision-making structures - Increased gender-sensitivity in the school
curricula - Participated in including a gender perspective in
national, sub-regional, regional and
international processes - Together with ASASA the CGE, dealt with cases of
demeaning advertising which promotes negative
stereotypes about women - Strengthening civil society through partnerships
with CSOs - Public requests for CGE to be utilized as a
resource - Inclusion of men in gender programmes
- Increased accessibility through two new
provincial offices
31