Anc Today Voice of the African National Congress
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ANC TODAY VOICE OF THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS 12–18 March 2021 Conversations with the President INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY – 8 MARCH 2021 We pay tribute to all the women of South Africa n By President Cyril Ramaphosa March 2021 is Internation- the heart of women’s marginali- tional’ professions, occupations or al Women’s Day. For more sation in South Africa are the at- roles, while it is mainly men who than a century, this day has titudes and practices that “confine sit on decision-making structures. been celebrated across the women to the domestic arena, 8world as part of the struggle to and reserve for men the arena Fittingly, the theme of this year’s In- realise women’s rights in the so- where political power and author- ternational Women’s Day is wom- cial, political, legal, reproductive, ity reside”. en’s leadership and achieving an health and other spheres. equal future in a COVID-19 world. There can be no meaningful prog- The Women’s Charter, which was ress for women if our society con- Since the coronavirus pandemic drawn up in 1994, notes that at tinues to relegate women to ‘tradi- reached South Africa a year ago, Dear Mr President THE DISEASE OF THE 6 101 YEARS OF REPOSITORIES OF NEW 4 USE OF MONEY IN ROBERT RESHA: KNOWLEDGE: SUPPORT ANC CONFERENCES A TRIBUTE FOR FURTHER EDUCATION 9 2 ANC Today CONVERSATIONS WITH THE PRESIDENT INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 8 MARCH 2021 the women of South Africa have educators has ensured that our We salute women like Nandi played a pivotal role in the coun- young people were able to receive Msezane, who helped raise funds try’s response. an education despite the disrup- for food support in affected com- tion caused by the pandemic. munities, and helped to provide We salute the resilience and brav- We owe a debt of gratitude to the access to mental health sup- ery of women frontline workers, many women who have worked port for the LGBTQI+ community who worked to fight the pandem- as teachers, principals, lecturers during the lockdown. ic as nurses, doctors, emergency and as administrators at institu- personnel, police and soldiers. tions of higher learning. Vulnerable women and children affected by violence during the These include the tragic stories We thank the women leading civil lockdown were helped thanks to of women like Nurse Petronella society organisations who worked the efforts of numerous non-gov- Benjamin from Eerste River in the and continue to work with the ernmental organisations (NGOs) Western Cape, who lost her life to Ministerial Advisory Committee in led by and staffed by women. COVID-19 just days before she driving a holistic approach to man- was due to retire after 25 years as aging the pandemic. This includes women like Fazila a nurse. Gany, a longstanding member of the National Shelter Movement Our efforts to contain the pandem- Our experience of this who also sadly passed away from ic have been greatly boosted by COVID-19. The Movement has the thousands of fieldworkers like pandemic has once more been critical in ensuring women Azalet Dube from Doctors without and children at risk received sup- Borders, who went into commu- demonstrated women’s port and access to services during nities to raise awareness about the pandemic. the disease, who worked in health capacity to organise, facilities as contract tracers, and Women doctors, researchers and ‘ who provided psycho-social sup- collaborate‘ , lead scientists have played and con- port to families and individuals in tinue to play an important role in distress. and achieve. our epidemiological response. One of the COVID-19 vaccine The dedication of the nation’s clinical trials conducted last year, 3 ANC Today CONVERSATIONS WITH THE PRESIDENT the Ensemble trial, was led by two Economic Reconstruction and collaborate, lead and achieve. female scientists, Prof Glenda Recovery Plan. Through their actions, they have Gray of the South African Medical demonstrated there is no such Research Council and Prof Lin- No such tribute on this day would thing as ‘a woman’s place’. da-Gail Bekker of the Desmond be complete without recognising Tutu HIV Centre. the role of the women of this ad- The women of our country still ministration, whose efforts often face many challenges. Research performed by academ- go unacknowledged. It is women ics on economic vulnerability and who lead the many government They are still under-represented poverty trends in South Africa departments at the forefront of the in the boardrooms and corridors helped drive an informed relief re- national relief response. of power. They are still more likely sponse. Last year we lost one of to be poor and unemployed than the country’s foremost experts on I wish all the women of South Afri- their male counterparts. They are rural poverty, Dr Vuyo Mahlati. At ca well on this day. still vulnerable to gender-based the time she was studying the im- violence and femicide. pact of the pandemic on food se- Our experience of this pandem- curity in vulnerable communities, ic has once more demonstrated But on this day, let us acknowl- especially small scale farmers. women’s capacity to organise, edge how far we have come as a society thanks to the role of wom- In the private sector, women busi- en leaders, particularly in helping ness leaders have been visible in We salute the resilience and the nation through this pandemic. mobilising financial resources to bravery of women frontline support government’s efforts. As we have struggled against this workers, who worked to fight disease, women have been pres- The Solidarity Fund, which has ent and prominent in almost every played such a key role in this re- the pandemic as nurses, arena of life. gard, is chaired by one of South Africa’s most prominent business- doctors, emergency This has set a standard for the ‘ women, Gloria Serobe. Women ‘ kind of society we continue to CEOs, board members and fund personnel, police, build. managers continue to play a lead- ing role in pushing for their com- soldiers etc. It has inspired and encouraged us panies to support government’s to build an equal future. 4 ANC Today COMMENT & ANALYSIS Repositories of new knowledge: Support for further education Dear Mr President ple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality. The govern- OUTH Africa is home to 26 ment heard and responded to the public universities and many pleas of the students and through private institutions which ca- the NSFAS, hundreds of thousands ter for the demand for higher of students with limited means con- Seducation. tinue to enjoy free access to tertiary The democratic government of the institutions. African National Congress added Taking into account that institutions two more public universities in the of higher learning remain viable, the provinces where none existed. The issue of affordability for deserving universities of Mpumalanga and Sol students and their parents is taken Plaatje University in Mpumalanga into account. and the Northern Cape have grown in leaps and bounds since they The government has consistently were launched in 2013. appealed to students and student Comrade Pule Mabe leaders in particular to arrange their Our country has nearly one million concerns appropriately and accord- university students while 700 000 ing to the prescripts of the constitu- students are registered at more a game of numbers but a story of tion, which guides all South Africans. than expected 50 higher education transformation and increased ac- training colleges (TVET colleges cess to higher education for the Unfortunately, all too often we have – Technical vocational education previously marginalised. seen protests marred by violence, training). An additional 90 000 stu- vandalism, destruction of property dents can be found at various pri- This democratic government has such as the burning of libraries and vate institutions. always shown commitment to the laboratories. upliftment of our people, hence ed- By contrast, on the eve of democra- ucation remains one of the priorities This culture is at odds with the cy in 1994, the gross participation in with one of the biggest slices of the ethos of responsible citizenry that higher education was 17% and was national budget. This allocation of ought to be inculcated at tertiary in- highly skewed by race, with 9% for resources sees Higher Education stitutions. Africans, 13% for Coloureds, 40% and Training remaining one of the for Indians and 79% for Whites. Over the last 800 years of modern biggest beneficiaries of the national university, there have been com- budget despite economic difficul- This is despite the fact that in 1993, peting narratives about what the ties. This is a clear demonstration 89% of the South African population institution is designed to achieve. of our support to broaden access to was comprised of Africans. Universities have been seen as higher education and education in communities dedicated to the The ANC government made a com- general. learning and personal development mitment to change this dynamic of their members. They have been to reflect the demographics of our The government is fully aware that sources of expertise and vocational country and that mission has since an investment in the education of identity and creators of new knowl- been achieved. our children will contribute to a high- er trajectory of economic growth edge. They are important contrib- Mr President, this is not merely which is needed to address the tri- utors to society and nations. The 5 ANC Today COMMENT & ANALYSIS role of universities as repositories and generators of knowledge and Prof. Puleng LenkaBula the obligation to equip graduates with crucial skills as citizens and Vice Chancellor and Principal tomorrow’s leaders cannot be over- of UNISA emphasised.