Government committed to moving Women forward
By Zona Mpendulo
Saving the best for last could easily be how one defines the Department of Social Development’s women’s month commemoration approach. A beacon of hope to many and overall African daughter on a mission, African Union(AU) chairperson Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma graced the department’s commemoration of women’s month.
Chairperson of the AU , Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and MEC for Social Development Mrs Nancy Sihlwayi
at the Accountability on Africa for Africa Women's Conference Gala Dinner in Lusikisiki
Dlamini-Zuma ditched glamorous venues to attend the department’s Accountability on Africa for Africa Women’s Conference gala dinner in the rural Eastern Cape Town, Lusikisiki. Having dedicated her whole life to changing stereotypes about women’s capabilities, it was fitting to rope her in to spread the word about the development of women in the province and continent at large. The gala dinner was meant to follow up on the deliberations of the Social Development’s inaugural Africa for Africa Women’s conference held in March 2015. Making her keynote address Dlamini-Zuma said very few women on the African continent have land rights and that is a major concern. “About 75% of people who work in agriculture are women but do not have land rights, It means that if we really want to empower women on the continent we must look at agriculture, among other things,” remarked Dlamini-Zuma.
The AU chair said a campaign would be started on the continent to empower women more. Standing in for Premier Phumulo Masualle, Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane said more government resources should be directed to the development of women, with more attention paid to rural women. “A large portion of our financial and resource injections should go into the empowerment of rural women, that would be a successful move in the eradication of poverty,” said Qoboshiyane.
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The launch of the Provincial Women Development Resource Centre took place the following day of the gala at Palmerton, Lusikisiki. Social Development MEC Nancy Sihlwayi alluded to the fact that the establishment of the centre represents yet another important milestone in the struggle of rural women to achieve social justice, equality and to actively participate in the economic mainstream of our society. “As we design our intervention programmes as government, we must be mindful of the need to establish knowledge gateway which will assist in widening the horizon for women, access to information helps to bridge the gap between women enterprises and markets,” said Sihlwayi. “When ordinary women in rural communities and townships take the first risk and bold step of starting an initiative/ enterprise, information should be at their fingertips to be able to navigate the world of any venture,” she added.
The department has prioritised the establishment of a Provincial Women Development Resource Centre to fast track women’s participation in mainstream economy through various empowerment opportunities. The Provincial Women Development Resource Centre will serve as a centre for socio-economic empowerment of women focusing mainly on skills development programmes. The center also serves as a provincial hub for marketing products produced by women cooperative and provide micro-finance/funding linkages. Moreover it will give support to Small Enterprise individual/family ventures.
Useful information about the center
WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM THE CENTER?
The Women Development Resource Centre will also serve as a Community Development Centre to enable access to skills development by all community members in the Eastern Cape Province.
Below are the main target groups who will be given preference in line with the mandate of the department:
• All poor and vulnerable women from ages 18 and upwards(However, priority will be given to economically active group of
women)
• Women from anti-poverty sites are prioritized
• Youth
• People with disabilities
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES OFFERED AT THE CENTER
• Learner driver’s license
• Computer skills
• Sewing, knitting, beading and jewelry skills
• Pottery skills
• Animal and Crop Farming skills
• Brick Making
• Psycho social support(Counseling and material aid)
INFORMATION SHARING SESSION
• Human and legal rights issues
• Reproductive health issues
• Financial management issues
• Work opportunities
• Marketing opportunities
• Dialogue on development and environmental issues
• Learning opportunities
• Best practice models and learning networks
• Mentorship programmes
PROVINCIAL HUB
• Exhibition Centre for marketing of products
• Factory shop
• Resource directly
HOW TO APPLY FOR TRAINING AT THE CENTER
Any individual or group that falls on the social category mentioned above can apply at the nearest Department of Social Development offices. In a case of an individual application, a successful applicant will be put on a waiting list until a number of other applicants interested in the same field is reached then training will be facilitated. For successful group applicants training will be facilitated as soon as all the planning logistics have been completed.
Contact: 24 Hour Call Centre
Toll-Free Number: 080-0032-364