Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga: Women, Youth and Children with Disabilities Dept Budget Vote 2024/25

Budget Vote Speech – Main address by Hounourable Ms. Sindisiwe Chikunga, Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Delivered on 12 July 2024, at 14h00

Honourable House Chairperson,
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee
Honourable Members,

I am honoured to present the 2024 Budget Vote 20 of the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities as the country marks the 70th Year of the Women’s Charter. This pioneering Charter was drafted by the founding members of The Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW), who included women activists such as Helen Joseph, Lilian Ngoyiand Dora Tamana, the pioneers of the struggle for women’s rights whose contribution will be venerated during the forthcoming August Women’s month.

Our democracy, which is now thirty years old, was born out of struggles waged with dedication and willingness by these pioneers. In doing so, they established the precedence and the tradition of fighting for justice and equal rights for all, which we continue to honour and follow. Indeed, 1994 marked a decisive break from the shackles of apartheid and ushered in a new South Africa, a South Africa founded on democratic values of humanrights, human dignity, non-racialism, non-sexism and freedom for all.

As I present our 2024 Budget Vote 20, I draw further courage from the words of Mme Gertrude Shope when she posed the 
question, "Every generation has a responsibility to know what its mission is. Mine was to liberate the country; what is yours?" unquote. 

Chairperson, I believe that the answer to this question must be to ensure that the fruits of liberation and freedom are enjoyed by all.

On Youth
Honourable Chairperson, the youth of this country represent our biggest endowment. Hence, this financial year, we are accelerating efforts to advance the socio-economic empowerment of young people.The empowerment of young people is at the heart of our department’s strategic objective. 

The department has developed the South African Youth Development Act – a framework legislation for youth development in the country. The allocated R2.9 million will be used to continue monitoring the implementation of the National Youth Policy across the three spheres of government.

It is worth noting that the department also amended the founding legislation of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) – the NYDA Act No.54 of 2008, to enhance the agency’s operational efficiency and good governance. 

In our 2023/24 budget vote, we made a commitment to Parliament to move beyond advocacy and rally all-of government and all-of-society behind our nation’s ongoing war on Youth Unemployment, low growth prospects and a visible sense of hopelessness amongst the marginalised. 

To this end, on n the 21st of May 2024, the Deputy President, Honourable Paul Mashatile, officially launched the South African 
National Service Institute (SANSI), an institute that will be responsible for implementing an SANDF-led National Youth Service for South Africa.

The SANDF-led National Youth Service will rally all of government and all of society behind a de-siloed and nationally coordinated effort to reinforce our ongoing war on Youth Unemployment through value-chain-driven and sector-specific skills development, enterprise development, production brigades, and infant industries to power up South Africa’s reindustrialisation targets.

SANSI will also equip programme participants with characterbuilding and leadership skills as well as technical skills in priority 
sectors of the economy, with high absorption capacity.

In addition, the Department working with various partners is implementing the 4IR Youth Employment Initiative, which trains 
youth in the 4th Industrial Revolution areas such as coding, robotics, cybersecurity, and cell phone repair. This will enable young people to fully participate, shape, and reap the benefits of the digital economy.

Economic Empowerment of women, youth and persons with disabilities

Honourable Members,
Economics is about the power, access and ownership of resources. Therefore, the relationship of women, youth, and persons with disabilities to economic resources and their ability to secure them will be at the centre of our empowerment and equality agenda.
To this end, some of the department’s priority projects will be in the following sectors of the economy:

1. In the Agricultural Sector 
At the top of our Agenda is ensuring that Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities have access to productive land. Beyond agriculture, land is crucial for property development, access to credit, manufacturing, etc. To this end, the DWYPD signed an MOU with the then Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) to collaborate to unlock economic opportunities for WYPD in land and the agricultural sectors.

2. Our Second Priority project is Green Economy
The department is developing skills in renewable energy and sustainable agriculture, supporting green technology entrepreneurship, and promoting market opportunities in environmentally friendly products. Recently, the department has placed women who are being trained under the Solar Mama Project in India on solar installation and they will use this valuable skill to contribute to their communities.
3. As a Third priority the department will enhance participation in national and international trade by promoting market access for women-owned business, youth, and persons with disabilities, and leveraging intraAfrican trade agreements for increased market share.
4. The Fourth priority project central to our empowerment agenda is mainstreaming Financial inclusion through Cooperative Finance Institutions (CFIs). To ensure financial inclusion, the Department facilitated the establishment of women-owned Cooperative Finance Institutions (CFI) which are currently before the Prudential Authority. This will ensure financial inclusion, self-reliance, and free women from emotional, economic and physically abusive environments in line with pillar 5 of the National Strategic Plan (NSP).

Economic empowerment R 3.6 million.
In addition to our department’s economic empowerment strategy, we have developed a socio-economic empowerment index, through which, we will be able to track empowerment and participation across socio-economic sectors, thus promoting a deeper analysis of systemic factors affecting empowerment and how spatial dimensions influence these determinants.

Honourable Chairperson, 
The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) as a national public entity reporting to our Department is responsible for 
intensifying service provision for the young people. The Agency, will, with its allocation of R704.3 million, continue to implement 
the revitalized National Youth Service (NYS) Programme. 

The Presidential Employment Stimulus programme remains crucial for creating jobs and strengthening the livelihoods of young people while the labour market recovers from COVID-19 and other challenges. In its first three phases, the employment stimulus has created over 1 million opportunities since its launch in 2020. Over 80% of the beneficiaries and participants were young people and 60% were young women. 

The National Pathway Management Network, which is led by the Department of Employment and Labour, is now supporting over 3 million young people, an increase of more than a million young people in the past twelve months. Moreover, 1.3 million young people have been placed in earning opportunities on SA Youth since its inception. Young women secured over 60% of the placements. More than 80% of the 557 opportunity holders listed on SA Youth are in the private sector, highlighting their crucial role in creating jobs.

Honourable Chairperson,
South Africa is one of the most unequal societies in the world. As a result, the department has taken a bold position to close this chasm by ensuring that there will not be any mega project in the country, which excludes women, youth and persons with disabilities in its inception. Every mega project will have to submit the environmental assessment plan that includes WYPD.
Honourable Chairperson,

GBVF is a national crisis, with our country's femicide rate being one of the highest globally. It is proper that we deal with GBVF 
as a national crisis. We therefore need to move beyond slogans and speeches and implement practical interventions, which 
require substantial investment in human and financial resources.

His Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa assented the National Council on Gender Based Violence and Femicide (NCGBVF) Bill, 
making it an Act of Parliament, The National Council on GBVF Act 9 of 2024. There is now an urgent need to set up the Board 
for the Council. The setting up of this Council is critical for enhancing accountability and strong leadership in government and society at large. 

However, the reality is that we have no funds for the execution of this important work. Only R5 million was set aside for three 
financial years. We intend to engage the National Treasury for the funding of this important project. 

The department developed a Comprehensive National Gender Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) Prevention Strategy. 
Through it, we will drive a paradigm shift in how we deal with GBVF as if it is a pandemic and ensure that our strategic posture 
is more proactive through evidence-based prevention interventions. To institutionalise the National Strategic Plan (NSP), the Department will ensure that the NSP serves on the agenda of the Presidential Coordinating Committee (NSP), as a standing agenda item.
The Department in dealing with GBVF will focus on the following:
• Localising the implementation of the NSP as Gender Based Violence takes place at a local level, through setting up institutional arrangements for dealing with GBVF. 
• Prioritising training and Capacity Building in the Provincial and Local Government Spheres and civil society organisations to change societal attitudes, challenge harmful norms and promote gender equality.

Gender Responsive Planning Budgeting Monitoring Evaluation Auditing Framework (GRPBMEAF): R 2.2 million 
Since 2019, National Departments and Provinces have been submitting reports on the implementation of the Gender Responsive Planning Budgeting Monitoring Evaluation Auditing Framework (GRPBMEAF).

This reporting demonstrates a growing commitment across various levels of government to uphold and advance gender-
responsive and inclusive planning and budgeting. In 2023/24, the DWYPD extended its reach to SOEs, and several have intentionally included Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (WYPD) priorities.

On International Relations
Honourable Chairperson.
We draw our strength from the belief that the fruits from our liberation and freedom are enjoyed by all. 

Our minuscule budget notwithstanding, South Africa met all its international obligations relating to women, youth and persons 
with disabilities. Under South Africa’s Chairship of BRICS, in 2023, the department successfully hosted the BRICS Youth 
Summit and Ministerial Meeting; and the BRICS Women Ministers Meetings where Declarations were adopted. 

I am proud to inform the House, that for the very first time a BRICS Women Ministers meeting was held as initiated by South 
Africa, and the current chair in 2024, Russia is taking up this initiative and will be hosting the second meeting of women ministers in Russia this year. 

South Africa will also be taking over the chair of the G20 from November this year and we will be continuing the initiative started by India and taken forward by Brazil as its current chair, on the establishment of a Women’s Working Group. 

The department is currently developing the National Review Report on the progress made in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action, and this national review will undertake wide consultation with the women of the country. We will be launching the country’s B+30 Report in August this year. 

The Budget of the WYPD
Honourable Chairperson.
The total appropriation of the department for the 2024/25 financial year remains unchanged at R1 billion. Included in this minuscule appropriation is an amount of R797.8 million, which is earmarked for transfer to the two entities, namely the 
Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) and the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). The remaining amount of R209.8 
million is the operational appropriation that remains in the department.

This appropriation includes a baseline decrease amounting to R8.6 million of the operational budget, whilst the appropriation 
for CGE and NYDA was reduced by R4.8 million and R50.5 million. The final appropriation for CGE and NYDA is R93.6 million and R704.3 million respectively.

Chairperson, I hold the view that if nothing is done about the budget appropriation of the Department of Women, Youth and 
Persons with Disabilities, then we must all accept that we will be doing nothing more than paying lip-service to the betterment of 
women, the youth and people with disabilities. R209 million will not enable us to execute our huge mandate. We are committed 
to doing our best to achieve our mandate. 

Honourable Chairperson,
I wish to acknowledge the contributions and support made by the Chairperson Honourable Lindelwa Dunjwa and members of 
the Portfolio Committee. Furthermore, I also want to thank the Presidential Working Group on Disability, the Disability Rights 
Machinery, the Youth Machinery and Women’s Machinery for their continued support.

I also want to thank the Development Partners for their continued support of the Department. In addition, I want to thank the Deputy Minister Ms Mapaseka Steve Letsike, who is no stranger on the matters we are dealing with, I also would like to thank the entire Ministry Office staff for their support, our Director-General and her team for their hard work.

Honourable Chairperson and Members.
Let’s all commit to the responsibility and mission that the fruits of liberation and freedom will continue to be enjoyed by all. 

Malibongwe!