Minister Nkoana-Mashabane admits there’s no budget for the National Council of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide

6 October 2020

The Minister of Womxn, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, has today conceded that there is no budget to fund the establishment of the National Council of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NCGBVF) and there is no timeframe on the legislation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) to combat gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). The Minister revealed this during a meeting of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Womxn, Youth and Persons with Disabilities today.

It is concerning to the Democratic Alliance (DA) that 7 months after the adoption of the NSP, the Department of Womxn, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) has failed to secure and ring-fence the budget and additional resources needed in order to ensure implementation. Especially in light of the fact that National Treasury has already allocated R5 million to the establishment of the NCGBVF.

The NSP outlines the establishment of the NCGBVF in Chapter 5 and is also outlined in Article 4 of the Presidential Declaration Against GBVF in 2019. The role of the NCGBVF is essentially to ensure that the NSP is implemented, monitored and evaluated.

The need to address the scourge of GBVF cannot simply be a talk shop or a tick-box exercise. There must be a clear plan on implementation of strategies, a clear timeframe attached to the implementation plan and a concise monitoring and evaluation plan, in order to hold key Departments accountable.

It is unacceptable that womxn and members of the LGBTQIA+ community continue to be left alone in the cold, murdered and abused, while the government drags its feet.

It is worth noting that the legislating of the NCGBVF has not even started. It would seem as though between the DWYPD and the Department of Justice, this process of legislation is not a priority. The lack of legislation will make it very difficult to ensure the implementation of the NSP, that Departments are held accountable and to fight the scourge of GBVF on the ground. It is one thing to have a policy on paper, it is another thing to have this policy legislated.

The DA urges Minister Nkoana-Mashabane to ensure that there is adequate budget given to the implementation of the NSP and the establishment of the NCGBVF as well as ensuring that the legislation related to all GBVF issues be done speedily and brought to Parliament without delay.

Issued by Nazley Sharif, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, 6 October 2020