Ministers,
 
Deputy Ministers,
 
Premiers,
 
MECs in attendance,
 
Deputy Chairpersons, Mr. Ntshalintshali and Ms. Mayekiso, Members of the Human Resource Development Council,
 
The principal of Sedibeng TVET College, Dr. George Mothapo, and the leadership of the College in attendance,
 
Ladies and Gentlemen
  
We are pleased to have all of you at this Human Resource Development Council meeting at Sedibeng TVET College in Vereeniging.
  
This is the first time we are physically meeting since the lifting of the COVID-19 restrictions and of the new term of this council.
 
It is humbling to see the level of commitment by Council members towards making the work of this body a success, more especially in the current turbulent economic times, as we collectively seek innovative solutions to skills development for the economy and future of work. 
  
This meeting is important in charting a way forward as our country is on a path of recovery from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, nearly 150,000 children in South Africa were orphaned as a result of COVID-19 associated deaths.
 
The devastating effects of the pandemic disrupted economic activities and their value chains, leading to the closure of many businesses, thereby resulting in massive job losses and the loss of livelihoods.
 
More specifically, COVID-19 brought to the surface the harsh realities of the need to change, and adapt to new ways of doing business, including the adoption of virtual technological platforms, and digitalisation of business processes and interactions. 
  
Suddenly, the global society was confronted with the task of delivering knowledge and skills sets in a short time in order for nations to survive.
 
Vaccine shortages, inadequate hospital equipment and supplies, limited logistics and distribution capabilities, and skills shortages in critical areas necessitated and spurred urgent interventions at global and domestic levels.
  
Across all key sectors of the economy and social endeavour, there was a need to adapt to new demands in terms of additional personnel and skills, research and vaccines development, digital connectivity, as well as the introduction of alternative platforms to deliver education, health and public services in general.
 
Equally, this evolving nature of doing business has set in motion the shifting content of skills and capabilities needed to build, and grow  a sustain modern economy.
  
It requires a quick paradigm shift and reorientation to realign the content of our curriculum offerings and skills development programmes so that we can respond to the demands of industry and the economy.
 
Within the overall context of the evolving Fourth Industrial Revolution, our National Digital and Future Skills Strategy provides a critical framework for inclusive partnerships between industry, labour, higher education institutions and society to imagine and build a new set of skills and capabilities for our country.
 
From the foundations of basic education to tertiary levels, key resources and infrastructure must be provided to accelerate the provision of relevant and appropriate skills.
 
Our focus as Council should be rooted on strategies that will see an increase in productivity and the realisation of skills that are necessary for our country to become a knowledge and skills-based economy.
 
That is why we are encouraged by what we have seen on this campus, where the world of old knowledge collides with new cutting-edge research and technology in disciplines like Mechatronics, and where this institution is at the forefront of its introduction for our skills revolution.
 
This combination of mechanical engineering, electronics and computer systems will definitely go a long way in developing the skills that we require as country in our effort of re-industrialisation toward growing our economy.
 
We applaud the leadership of this College, the principal for such innovation, and we hope it will inspire other institutions to follow suit in looking at other similar initiatives to expand and diversify our skills base.
 
We are also encouraged by partnerships that this College has entered into with industry players to ensure that it aligns and tailors its training and skills offering to industry needs. 

As the Council, we need to ensure that all our TVET colleges have strategic partnerships with industry players across all economic sectors.
 
This will enable experiential learning, placement, entrepreneurship development and employment opportunities for all our students that are produced in the TVET College system.
 
 
COVID-19 challenges: Economic Stagnation and Unemployment
 
We must address the socio-economic challenges we are facing in order to ensure sustainable livelihoods and social cohesion.
 
Stats SA says the country’s unemployment rate stood at 33.9 percent in the second quarter of the year, with almost 12.3 million of our people who jobless.
 
Most concerning is that 35.7 percent of youth between the ages of 15 and 24 are classified as not being in employment, education, or training.
  
The story that these statistics depict is very concerning as we note that 39.3 percent of black women are unemployed and therefore vulnerable.
 
In part, our ability to reverse rising levels of unemployment and poverty depends on our progress in delivering training and skills development programmes that will address the challenges of the moment.
 
Apart from those in the schooling and training system, the reality is that we have an unsustainably high number of young people who are unemployed. Something drastic needs to happen.
 
Therefore, as the Council, we need to put measures in place to ensure that those who have lost employment and learning opportunities are able to bounce back through a package of skills development interventions that will create viable options in life.
 
What the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us is that certain jobs may not come back as we know them. Therefore, we need to work with industry to design targeted skills programmes that will facilitate the absorption of youth into entrepreneurship and employment.
 
Many a time, we keep deliberating on our challenges, and we also make undertakings to change course, but very little is done to implement all the good resolutions that we take to change the situation.
 
You will remember that we had a Council Summit and took a number of resolutions to change our fortunes.
 
This meeting should reflect on the progress we have made, bearing in mind the dire state of the economy and hardships that are an outcome of unemployment, poverty, and inequality.

 
Interventions to rebuild our economy and job creation
 
To this end, as we finalise our programme of action today, we should:
 
Reflect on whether the work of this Council will produce skills that are appropriate for citizens to thrive in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution;
 
Reflect on how the Council develops targeted and progressive delivery of key outcomes that can be measured over the term of the  existence of this Council;
 
Instead of trying to do everything, we should reflect on how we prioritise and select a portfolio of interrelated national ‘high impact’ interventions or projects to deliver tangible results for our country;
 
More critically, we need to be clear about how we mobilise requisite financial resources from government and the private sector to jointly drive these initiatives; and
How do we ensure that the HRDC strategy responds to the current job seekers and those pursuing entrepreneurship?
 
Therefore, the programme of action should lead to the realisation of a better environment for learning and training. With proper education and training, we can move forward as a country.
 

Improving schooling throughput
 
Equally so, we can move our country forward if we urgently intervene to address the challenges that are facing the basic education sector. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen an unfortunate increase in school dropouts.
 
The fact that approximately 750 000 students did not return to school due to the pandemic should be of great concern to all of us as a Council. These increasing dropout rates, compound the already high number of young people that are not in education, employment, and training.
 
Furthermore, COVID-19 has highlighted the issue of the digital divide in our society. While other schools in affluent areas were able to continue learning during COVID-19, those who have no access to ICT have been disadvantaged, thus lagging behind, hence our call for the mobilisation of requisite resources from the government and private sector to jointly drive these initiatives.
 
In line with the vision of our National Digital and Future Skills Strategy, let us ensure that the South African community becomes digitally adaptive, to ensure digital inclusivity for future generations.
 
This will be possible if we establish an education and skills development ecosystem that provides South Africans with the required skills to create and participate in the digital economy.
 
We must bridge the digital inequality gap in our country, especially amongst unskilled and low-income citizens, among whom women and girl children represent the majority.
 
If we are to win the war against poverty, we must find ways to keep our children in school so that they can gain the necessary knowledge and skills to be active participants in the economy.
 
The Council must continue to reverberate a message that says, "Education is the only way that we are going to transform our society." It unlocks doors to greener pastures and locks the doors to crime, substance abuse, and many ailments that are negatively affecting our communities.
 
With the time that we have remaining for our term as members of this Council, let us recognise our collective responsibility as partners to work more diligently towards the realisation of the goals as outlined in the strategy, and we are not going to fail our people.
 
I thank you

Premier of the Free State Province, Ms Sisi Ntombela,
Morena e Moholo Moremoholo Mopeli,
Morena e Moholo Montoeli Mota,
Chairperson of the National House of Traditional and Khoisan Leaders, Nkosikazi Mhlauli, Ah! NoSandi!
Chairperson of the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders, Morena Neo Mopeli,
Marena le Mafumahadi,
Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Mr Mcebisi Skwatsha,
Deputy Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr Obed Bapela,
Members of the Provincial Executive Council,
Mayors present,
Senior Government Officials,
Ladies and Gentlemen, 
 
We wish to take this opportunity to convey our sincere word of appreciation to you Premier Ntombela, for your warm words of welcome to this beautiful city of Mangaung, here in the Free State province.
 
Thank you for hosting this critical engagement with traditional leaders to deliberate on a range of issues affecting the standing and leadership role of traditional in development and service delivery. We also acknowledge your leadership role in fostering partnerships between the provincial government and traditional leadership institutions in the Province to ensure that the quality of lives of traditional communities are improved.
 
We thank all our revered traditional leaders for availing themselves to participate in today’s discussions. Traditional leaders are a vital cog in our democratic governance system across all spheres of government.
 
They remain central to the tasks of building safe and cohesive communities, and ensuring that our history, culture, languages, and heritage are celebrated and preserved for generations to come.
 
In the face of social ills confronting our communities, traditional leaders have an essential leadership role to play in working with government to deepen a culture of human rights for all. As leaders, you have a critical role to play in reversing the scourge of crime, gender-based violence and substance abuse within communities.
 
Working together with traditional leadership institutions, government is able to develop programmes that are responsive to challenges of unemployment, poverty and lack of key services in rural communities.
 
We must address underdevelopment and infrastructure deficits in rural communities. This requires deliberate and targeted investments in rural infrastructure networks to provide access to water and sanitation, electricity and roads that connect communities to workplaces, schools and health facilities.
 
It is common knowledge that traditional leaders have, over time, raised issues for consideration by government across a number of developmental aspects, including financial resources to build capacity of traditional leadership institutions and structures to execute their mandates. Some of the issues are currently being implemented by government, whereas others remain in the pipeline for resolution and action.
 
At the highest level of government, there is a commitment to act with a sense of urgency in resolving a number of issues that traditional leaders have raised. As part of this commitment, the President established the Inter-Ministerial Task Team chaired by the Deputy President to oversee government’s coordinated approach and response to issues affecting traditional leaders throughout the country.
 
The dialogue held with traditional leaders after the opening of the National House early this year laid an important foundation for our ongoing engagements with traditional leaders in all provinces.
 
Today’s reports and inputs will reflect on progress made on the composite list of priority issues that were raised with government. We will provide updates on progress made by various work streams established to pursue and resolve some of the sector-specific issues.
 
More importantly, we need to isolate some of the province-specific issues and map out a way to foster communication and collaboration between traditional leaders and government, including improved working relations between municipalities and institutions of traditional leadership at local levels.  
 
Among many other issues, land reform remains a critical national intervention to reverse the legacy of land dispossession, and advance restorative justice. We are committed to working with traditional leaders to expand land access beyond what is currently available, and make sure that our land reform programmes achieve the desired transformative goals in an orderly and Constitutionally-defined manner.
 
Today’s engagement occurs just two months after we held the Summit on Communal Land Administration and Tenure Reform.
 
We will reflect on the broad outcomes of this Summit in terms of how it proposes some of the key actions around communal land administration and tenure reforms. Our task today is to make inputs and enrich reports so that lasting solutions are carefully crafted.
 
We are here to engage and take your views on board to shape the future development of our traditional communities. Traditional leaders must see themselves as agents of change.
 
We look forward to your active participation and engagement as we seek solutions to prevailing challenges that confront our rural communities.  
 
I thank you.

Programme Director,
Premier of the Free State Province, Ms Sisi Ntombela,
Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform, Ms Thoko Didiza, 
Members of the Free State Executive Council,
Director-General, Mr Kopung Ralikontsane and other Senior Officials,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dumelang.  

The role of women in society

We thank you Premier Ntombela for the invitation to us to join the people of the Free State province on this launch of the provincial women’s month. This month gives us an opportunity to honestly reflect on progress we have made in the struggle for the total emancipation of women, and deepening gender equality.

It also allows us to envision and shape new solutions to resolve social challenges confronting society, and women in particular, so that we ensure gender equality is achieved.

We take pride in being part of this dialogue, which is meant to create an opportunity of sharing insights, ideas, and experiences on the issues that are critical for the development of our society, especially women. 

We also take time to celebrate the leadership contribution of women in the struggle for liberation to build a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous society. 

It was during this month 66 years ago, at the height of apartheid rule, when the powerful voices of 20 000 women reverberated through the streets of Pretoria marching in defiance against a brutal regime that sought to use discriminatory pass laws to undermine their dignity.

Their efforts took our country a step further towards building an equal society. Their chant “Wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo” symbolised the courage, strength, and resilience of these brave women in the fight for freedom and the emancipation of all women.

Because of their bravery, we have moved from a history where women suffered oppression based on their gender to one where gender equality is a constitutional imperative. 

Today women enjoy the same rights as their male counterparts. We shall always be indebted to them and remain inspired in the fight to make our nation better.

It is now in the hands of women of our generation to carry their legacy and strive to overcome our challenges. That is why we condemn in strongest terms, any acts of violence and abuse against women. 

The freedoms we attained in 1994, are for every South African irrespective of race, gender and ethnicity.  It is unacceptable that one in five women have experienced violence at the hands of their partners, and that women are raped and killed at the hands of men.

We are saddened by the recently reported acts of rape and criminality perpetrated against women and young girls in many parts of our country. Gender-based violence has no place in our society.

As communities, we should stand and work together to get rid of this moral decay in our society. 

We celebrate every woman who has had to grab the sharpest end of the knife to make sacrifices, endure hardships, raise children, and make a contribution to the development of our society.

Without doubt, women have always been the backbone of our society.


A Dialogue for solutions 

For any society to thrive, it must empower women across all facets of development, and ensure that women and girl children have access to quality education, health and economic opportunities for self-advancement.

We are delighted that our dialogue today will centre around how we create an enabling environment for the meaningful participation of women in agriculture to contribute to economic growth, employment and food security. 

It behoves us to address artificial barriers that engender the exclusion of women from the agricultural sector across the entire value chain. 

We must enhance our practical measures and interventions to provide holistic support to women farmers in order increase agricultural production and impact on economic growth, food security and employment. 

Our integrated support to women in this sector must unlock land availability, mechanisation support, funding, training, access to markets and the introduction of new technologies for modern farming. 

As government, we will continue to make resources available to support women farmers. 

We must therefore invest more in providing training, research and technological innovation to support those wanting to enter the agricultural sector. 

We must encourage young people to enrol in agriculture colleges and universities to acquire necessary skills. We must do more to support black women farmers and young girls in order to capacitate them to unleash their potential. 

We are aware that access to funding poses a major challenge. For those women looking to start a business in the agricultural sector, it is even more of a challenge, with many struggling to gain access to financial assistance to start their enterprises because they often have no assets to put up as necessary surety. 

We need to ensure that we work with the private sector to develop, and make available innovative financing instruments to support farmers. In this dialogue, government will be able to share some of the funding opportunities available to support women farmers.

In terms of key infrastructure required for successful agriculture, government will continue to assist with the provision of bulk water and irrigation infrastructure, as well as logistics and storage infrastructure. 


Accelerating Land Reform to Benefit Women

As we celebrate this women’s month, we must also be cognisant of challenges such as food insecurity. The main threat to food security are increasing food prices, increasing demand for food, and limitations of farming land availability. 

Access to land for current and prospective women farmers remains one of the key priorities of government’s land reform programme. Government has introduced proactive measures to ensure that beneficiary selection criteria focus on enhancing women ownership of land

When women own the land, they make it productive; families tend to be better fed, better educated, and healthier.

We have already commenced with the allocation of state owned land to beneficiaries in need of agricultural land. Through our Land Reform Programme, we are re-allocating the land to the landless, labour tenants, farm workers, and emerging farmers for productive uses to improve their livelihoods and quality of life.

As government, we will continue to collaborate across the three spheres to coordinate our support better, and ensure that all post-settlement programmes are well coordinated, integrated and effective.

We do this because we know that the productive utilisation of land in communal areas is key to effective rural development. In the main, agriculture sustains economic activities and livelihoods in rural communities. We must find ways to support agricultural enterprises to drive the agenda of rural development

It is for this reason that we must have dialogues such as this, in order to chart a way forward on how we can increase agricultural productivity by broadening the participation of more women in farming.

We must all come together and follow the example of African Farmers Association of South Africa to accelerate agrarian reform and to bring the marginalised poor into the economic mainstream.

While guaranteeing the long-term viability of the agricultural sector in South Africa, AFASA has achieved noteworthy strides in commercializing the nation's emerging agricultural sector and facilitating the meaningful engagement of black people in mainstream commercial agribusiness. 

We need to develop strategies on how we can ensure a better legal framework that will ensure access and equity in the distribution of land for farming. 

On our part as government, we will continue to accelerate land reform to drive socio-economic transformation and redress past imbalances in land ownership.

By working together, through dialogue and collaboration, we will be able to transform this sector and our communities for the better. 

As we grow agriculture and promote rural development, we have enjoined partnerships with traditional leaders to find ways of investing in rural infrastructure and service delivery. We will work with traditional leaders to ensure that women farmers are adequately supported.

We promise that, as part of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Traditional Leadership, we will visit the Province again to engage with traditional leaders on various matters of concern. 


Integrated Support to Small Scale Farmers and Cooperatives

To address the challenges of hunger, unemployment, poverty and inequality, we need to support small scale farms, particularly women-owned farms. 

There is much evidence in the economic literature that small-scale farms play a crucial role in the functioning of any economy as creators of jobs.

Our nation's history is full of instances when the support given to white-owned small businesses by the previous administration helped a number of businesses grow into well-known enterprises. In the same category, we have agricultural cooperatives that have developed into well-known companies both domestically and abroad.

This indicates that the people are not simply disinterested in improving their lot in life and raising themselves up by their own bootstraps. Instead, it indicates that they require assistance in order to give life to their ideas and so contribute to the growth of our economy and the creation of jobs for the unemployed.

We need young women farmers to receive necessary training and support to become commercial farmers. It is possible. It can be done.

When more women use available land productively, our country produces more for both domestic and international export markets. Government has programmes to support farmers with the necessary production capacity to supply external markets. We will continue to open channels for local farmers to supply international markets

Equally, our domestic market has opportunities for increased participation by all farmers, and women farmers in particular.

Unlocking economic opportunities through government nutrition programs in schools, hospitals, and correctional centres is one of the important initiatives to increase the participation of women. This will allow the agriculture sector to expand and support cooperatives and small-scale farming enterprises.

This will motivate these agricultural women to take the lead in producing and supplying the government with fresh produce and related commodities. More prospects for job creation result from the expansion of such support, which gives individuals looking for work hope.

We commend the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development that through conditional Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme have prioritised women-targeted projects and funded them for the financial year 2022/23. 

The handover of agricultural support packages to women farmers today is a hope we need to give to women. 

It is a hope that our society needs to prosper. 

It is what we all need to do to support and empower women. 

Through this programme we are increasing the creation of wealth in the communal and farming communities. We are reducing poverty and hunger.

We are committed to walking this journey with you by ensuring that the work you do is effectively supported. 

I thank you.

The Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Ms. Thembi Siweya, will lead a Food Parcel Donation Drive and a campaign against Gender-Based Violence at Phokoane Community Hall in Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality and Moses Mabotha Hall, Apel in Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality, Sekhukhune District Municipality in the Limpopo Province. The Food Parcel Drive and campaign against Gender-Based Violence are part of commemorating Women’s Month. 
 
South Africa commemorates Women’s Month in August as a tribute to the more than 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 in protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women. The Government of South Africa declared August Women’s Month and 9 August is celebrated annually as Women’s Day. This year’s Women Month will be celebrated under the theme: “Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights for an Equal Future”.  The concept of Generation Equality is a global campaign and links South Africa to global efforts to achieve gender equality by 2030. 
 
During the Drive and campaign against Gender-Based Violence, Deputy Minster Siweya will engage with citizen on dialogue about Gender-Based Violence. Women’s Month allows us to measure how far we have come in transforming society, mainly the transformation of unequal power relations between women and men. While also focusing on and addressing gender oppression, patriarchy, sexism, racism, ageism, structural oppression, and creating a conducive environment which enables women to take control of their lives.
 
Members of the media are invited as follows:
 
Day 1: 19 August 2022
Venue: Phokoane Community Hall, Ward 3, Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality, Sekhukhune District Municipality, Limpopo Province
Time: 10H00
 
Day 2: 22 August 2022
Venue: Seokodibeng Community Hall, Fetakgomo-Tubatseh Local Municipality, Sekhukhune District Municipality in the Limpopo Province
Time: 10h00
 
For confirmation, kindly contact Mr Pfumelani Mayimele at 065 660 3839 or email Pfumelani@dpme.gov.za.
 
Follow us on twitter @dpmeofficial / @ThembiSiweya/ Facebook: Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation


Enquiries: Mr Phetole Rampedi at 082 890 8366 or email Phetole@dpme.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency 
Pretoria 

Newly crowned Miss South Africa, Ndavi Nokeri, will be welcomed officially as an ambassador of Brand South Africa by the Deputy Minister in The Presidency, Ms Thembi Siweya. The Ministry in The Presidency has oversight responsibility over the Brand South Africa. 

Deputy Minister Siweya will be joined by representatives of the Brand South Africa Board, management and several stakeholders who are contributing in the promotion of South Africa’s brand. 

Ms Nokeri joins over 200 distinguished South Africans who have been recognised and endorsed as ambassadors in the promotion of the nation brand. The Brand South Africa Ambassador concept is part of the broader Play Your Part programme which seeks to encourage active citizenry and mobilise South Africans to conduct themselves in a manner that enhance the country’s brand. 

Members of the media are invited to attend the official welcoming of Ms Ndavi Nokeri as the Brand SA ambassador as follows: 

Date: Monday, 15 August 2022
Time: 08h00
Venue: East Wing, Union Buildings, Pretoria

Members of the media are advised to send confirmations in advance together with their ID numbers for access to the Union Buildings.

For confirmation, kindly contact Mr Pfumelani Mayimele at 065 660 3839 or email Pfumelani@dpme.gov.za 


Media enquiries: Mr Phetole Rampedi at 082 890 8366 or email Phetole@dpme.gov.za  

Follow us on twitter @dpmeofficial / @ThembiSiweya/ Facebook: Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation

Issued by: The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
Pretoria

The Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Thembi Siweya, will lead a Gender-Based Violence and Food Parcel Donation Drive at Lulekani Community Hall in Lulekani Village, Phalaborwa, Limpopo Province on 08 August 2022. The drive  is part of commemorating Women’s Month. 
 
South Africa commemorates Women’s Month in August as a tribute to the more than 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 in protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women. The Government of South Africa declared August Women’s Month and 9 August is celebrated annually as Women’s Day. This year’s Women Month will be celebrated under the theme: “Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights for an Equal Future”.  The concept of Generation Equality is a global campaign and links South Africa to global efforts to achieve gender equality by 2030. 
 
During the drive, Deputy Minster Siweya will engage with citizen on dialogue about Gender-Based Violence. Women’s Month allows us to measure how far we have come in transforming society, mainly the transformation of unequal power relations between women and men. While also focusing on and addressing gender oppression, patriarchy, sexism, racism, ageism, structural oppression, and creating a conducive environment which enables women to take control of their lives. 
 
Members of the media are invited as follows:
Date: 08 August 2022
Venue: Lulekani Community Hall in Lulekani Village, Phalaborwa, Limpopo Province
Time: 10h00 
 
For confirmation, kindly contact Mr Pfumelani Mayimele at 065 660 3839 or email Pfumelani@dpme.gov.za.
 
Follow us on twitter @dpmeofficial / @ThembiSiweya/ Facebook: Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
 

Enquiries: Mr Phetole Rampedi at 082 890 8366 or email Phetole@dpme.gov.za
 
Issued by: The Presidency 
Presidency 

The Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Thembi Siweya, will lead a Gender-Based Violence and Food Parcel Donation Drive at Jabulani Old Age Home and Care Givers in Pretoria North, Gauteng Province on 04 August 2022. The drive  is part of commemorating Women’s Month. 
 
South Africa commemorates Women’s Month in August as a tribute to the more than 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 in protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women. The Government of South Africa declared August Women’s Month and 9 August is celebrated annually as Women’s Day. This year’s Women Month will be celebrated under the theme: “Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights for an Equal Future”.  The concept of Generation Equality is a global campaign and links South Africa to global efforts to achieve gender equality by 2030.
 
During the drive, Deputy Minster Siweya will engage with citizen on dialogue about Gender-Based Violence. Women’s Month allows us to measure how far we have come in transforming society, mainly the transformation of unequal power relations between women and men. While also focusing on and addressing gender oppression, patriarchy, sexism, racism, ageism, structural oppression, and creating a conducive environment which enables women to take control of their lives.
 
Members of the media are invited as follows:
Date: 04 August 2022
Venue: Jabulani Old Age Home and Care Givers, Pretoria North, Gauteng Province
Time: 10h00 
 
For confirmation, kindly contact Mr Pfumelani Mayimele at 065 660 3839 or email Pfumelani@dpme.gov.za
 
Follow us on twitter @dpmeofficial / @ThembiSiweya/ Facebook: Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
 
 
Enquiries: Mr Phetole Rampedi at 082 890 8366 or email Phetole@dpme.gov.za
 
Issued by: The Presidency 
Presidency 

The Minister in The Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, tabled the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation’s (DPME) Annual Report for the financial year 2021/2022 to Parliament on 27 September 2022. This Annual Report is a testament of the strength of the Department’s governance system and commitment to build a capable, developmental and ethical state as envisaged in the National Development Plan Vision 2030 and Medium-Term Strategic Framework 2019 – 2024. 

For the tenth time in succession, the Department achieved a clean audit outcome as affirmed by the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) and backed it with an 80% performance achievement against the Annual Performance Plan (APP). 

“We are proud that the Department has registered such a remarkable achievement and milestone. Governance and financial controls are critical elements of a functioning institution and should always be strengthened for consistency in the delivery of services,” said Minister Gungubele.

In its performance, the Department, working together with the National Planning Commission (NPC), continued to implement its commitment to institutionalise planning in Government, monitor outcomes and evaluate Government programmes. 

In advancing the institutionalisation of planning in Government, the Department conceptualised and developed the National Annual Strategic Plan (NASP) to facilitate alignment and prioritisation of medium-term plans and priorities within a particular year; developed guidelines on the institutionalisation of the MTSF to support the integration of its priorities and targets across the planning system; produced the Policy Framework for Integrated Planning to strengthen coherence and harmonisation across the planning system; assessed all national and provincial draft Strategic and Annual Performance Plans to improve the quality of institutional plans and alignment with the MTSF and NASP. 

In addition, the Department produced the Budget Prioritisation Framework to facilitate alignment of the 2022 national budget process with short-, medium- and long-term priorities of government and ensure that key plans are adequately resourced to support development outcomes. 

In order to foster accountability in the implementation of key programmes and determine progress in the realization of envisaged outcomes, the Department continued to deploy its monitoring and evaluation capability in all spheres of Government. 

Subsequently the Department produced two bi-annual reports and catalysed critical policy shifts which include the migration of Early Childhood Development programme from the Department of Social Development (DSD) to the Department of Basic Education (DBE), the development and implementation of the food nutrition plans, the implementation of National Strategic Plan (NSP) on Gender Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) and the conversion of several clinics into Ideal clinic through intervention support to ensure better health services for South Africans.

The DPME also continued to generate useful evidence on Government performance against its set priorities. As a result, four evaluation reports were produced and three of which were intended to support the management of the pandemic and to generate evidence on the vaccination drive. These reports include the Trust in Government Report; Vaccine Hesitancy and Acceptance Report; and Technical Evidence report. In addition, over 3000 evidence reports were sourced and curated to inform research and knowledge needs across the 4 priorities, Capable Ethical and Developmental state; Health Systems; Land Reform and Gender Based Violence and Femicide.

In the next financial year, the Department will continue to serve as the leader and catalyst in achieving national development outcomes and impact in society. The appointment of the third NPC has added the much need impetus in long term planning, mobilisation of key stakeholders and generation of critical evidence through in-depth research on key priorities. Efforts are being made to strengthen and usher in an enhanced and synergized planning, monitoring and evaluation systems across all spheres of Government. 

“As the chair of the Presidency Steering Committee on the District Development Model (DDM), the DPME will ensure that this enhanced planning paradigm finds expression across all spheres of Government through the District Development Model. The DPME will conduct rapid evaluations on programmes that are aimed at achieving our annual apex priorities as detailed in the NASP,” said Minister Gungubele. 

In addition, the DPME will continue to build a large-scale tertiary knowledge hub that will host all this evidence and link us to research outputs in various sectors. A real-time data centre that is geographically referenced will be established to enable the President to have a line of sight of Government interventions and their impact in society. As it stands the DPME is at the advance stage in the development of the Centralised Data Management System (CDMAS) which will enable data users to access, retrieve, analyse and visualise data.

“Our resolve is to ensure that the voices of the citizens form a bigger part of evidence that is collected by the Department. Together with the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), we have reintroduced the SONA Presidential Izimbizos, to create a platform for citizens to directly engage with Government. We want to turnaround the experience of citizens who are reaching us through the Presidential Hotline by introducing new channels of communication. Our Plans are enriched by the feedback we receive from the communities,” said Minister Gungubele.

In this tenth anniversary of the NDP, the Department calls upon all sectors of our society to contribute in in reducing poverty, unemployment and inequality. South Africa will grow if all citizens draw from their diverse expertise and experience to build an inclusive economy, a capable, ethical and developmental state. 


Media enquiries: Ms Nonceba Mhlauli on 0726233462 or email Nonceba@dpme.gov.za. 

Issued by: The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
Pretoria

The Minister in the Presidency, Mr Mondli Gungubele will from today, 19 September 2022 embark on a working visit to the United States of America as part of the South African delegation to the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The South African delegation is led by Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor. 
 
The 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA77) takes place at the United Nations headquarters in New York City from 20-26 September 2022, under the theme: “A watershed moment: Unlocking transformative solutions to interlocking challenges.”
 
Much of the focus of the high-level and side-meetings to be held at UNGA will focus on development matters, specifically health, education and the broader implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
 
On Monday, 19 September 2022, Minister Gungubele will participate in the Third Sustainable Development Goals Moment 2022: High Level Meeting prior to the opening of the 77th UN General Assembly's General Debate on Tuesday, 20 September 2022. 
 
The annual SDG Moment aims to provide a snapshot of progress, highlight actions taken by member states, and advance the transformations needed to achieve the 2030 Agenda. It was created by the political declaration adopted at the first SDG Summit in 2019, which mandated the Secretary-General to convene the event as part of every high-level week of the UNGA from 2020 to 2030.
 
Minister Gungubele will also attend the opening of the Transformation Education Summit where Minister of Basic Education, Ms Angie Motshekga will deliver the country statement. 
 
On Wednesday, 21 September 2022, Minister Gungubele will in his capacity as Minister of State Security participate in the Twelfth Global Counter Terrorism Forum (GCTF’s) Ministerial Plenary Meeting (MM12). 
 
The Global Counter-Terrorism Forum (GCTF) was launched in New York on 22 September 2011 as an informal platform to address critical counter-terrorism challenges facing the world. Consisting of 29 countries (including South Africa), the GCTF aims to make a practical contribution to addressing counter-terrorism issues by engaging at the practitioner and technical expert level. 
 
The MM12 meeting will focus particularly on implementing the GCTF’s initiatives at national and regional level. It will also take stock of the GCTF’s efforts and achievements, discuss its priorities and highlight future initiatives. 
 
Minister Gungubele will also deliver the country statement on Wednesday during the High-Level Meeting to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. 
 
The High-Level meeting will reflect on the implementation of the declaration whilst also identifying the gaps. This is particularly relevant as it has been noted that Minorities, globally, are facing renewed barriers in the promotion and protection of their rights, various forms of discrimination, including hate speech and violence. 
 
The various engagements at UNGA will provide South Africa with an opportunity to highlight issues of national, regional and international importance. South Africa’s participation in the General Debate of the UNGA77 is a strategic opportunity for the promotion of our national and foreign policy objectives as espoused in Chapter 7 of the NDP, Positioning South Africa in the World.
 
 
Media Enquiries: Nonceba Mhlauli, Ministry Spokesperson - 0726233462
 
Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

The Media Development & Diversity Agency (MDDA), led by the Minister in the Presidency, Mr Mondli Gungubele, (MP), will unveil the brand-new state-of-the-art broadcast studios at Engcobo FM 96.6 MHz, on Friday 09 September 2022, in Engcobo Local Municipality, Chris Hani District in the Eastern Cape.
 
The event will be graced by the Honourable Premier of Eastern Cape Province, Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane, Executive Mayor of Chris Hani District Municipality, Cllr Wongama Gela and Mayor of Engcobo Local Municipality, Cllr Siyabulela Zangqa.
Engcobo FM is a community radio station based in the Chris Hani District. It was awarded an FM radio frequency Community Broadcast license from ICASA in 2017 and only went on-air in June 2021. The station is owned by the community of Engcobo, which identified the need to have a platform to capture and broadcast local news.
Engcobo FM’s slogan is befittingly: Ikhaya Lakho, your home. The broadcast language split is 95% isiXhosa and 5% English, 24 hour 7 days a week, and the news content is 60% local news and 40% international news.
The new state-of-the-art studios will enhance Engcobo FM Community Radio station to audio streaming and other 4IR opportunities, which will elevate the quality of broadcasting, opening more areas to the programmes and content that carries information about community activities and inspire young people to be the best at whatever career they choose to follow.
 
The unveiling of State-of-the-Art Studios is scheduled as follows:
Date: Friday, 09 September 2022
Time: 09h00-13h00
Venue: Engcobo Indoor Sport Centre
 
Ends 
For more information, contact the MDDA Senior Manager: Communications and Strategy, Rudzani Tshigemane, e-mail: Rudzani@mdda.org.za /068 104 0984 or  Nonceba Mhlauli, Ministry Spokesperson, 072 623 3462 / Nonceba@dpme.gov.za
For more updates regarding MDDA related news and information, follow us on our website and social media platforms: 
 
Facebook: MDDA 
Twitter: @MDDA_Media 
Instagram: @MDDA_Media 
WhatsApp:0635094934
 
For media releases, speeches and news visit the MDDA portal at
www.mdda.org.za
Issued by the Media Development and Diversity Agency.