Celebrating women through economic empowerment

Despite our record of achievements in addressing women-related issues, women still face greater vulnerabilities in society.

This is mostly due to their lack of education and training, the tendency to channel women into certain occupations, the continuous heavy burdens of unpaid domestic work, child-bearing and child care, which restrict the time and energy available for income earning activities.

Gauteng Department of Social Development continues to advocate for the rights of the vulnerable groups, including women. As part of the Women’s Month programme, the department celebrated awarding of contracts to women-owned co-operatives that will produce school uniforms to meet objectives of the Gauteng government’s Bana Pele Programme.

Of course such a celebration draws strength from the heroism of women who marched on 9 August 1956 to raise a consciousness that ultimately birthed our emancipation and empowerment that we witness through this occasion.

The School Uniform Project is one of the elements of the Bana Pele Programme that was announced by the Gauteng government in February 2005.

The programme seeks to provide a basket of services such as free school nutrition, free scholar transport for those living more than 5km from school, free basic health care, and free psychosocial support to vulnerable children in Gauteng.

Through the School Uniform Project, the department is able to ensure that children from poor and vulnerable families acquire uniforms in order to facilitate and encourage access to education. The pack includes a tunic, skirt, shirt, trouser, jersey, dungaree, a pair of socks, a pair of shoes and underwear which is in line with the uniform-type of the specific school and gender of the beneficiary.

The School Uniform Programme is also expected to ensure that co-operatives, mainly women sewing, and shoes co-operatives become preferred suppliers of the school uniform.

To date, the programme has recorded milestones such as:

• Supplying more than 800 schools with uniforms since inception.

• Targeted an annual average of more than 130 000 learners.

• Creating on an annual basis, temporal job opportunities for more than 3 800 people.

• Creating permanent employment for 2 240 people who are in the co-operatives of which 1 904 are women.

With schools reporting evidence of improved attendance and academic performance, and creating a wealth of a shared identity amongst the learner beneficiaries, the School Uniform Project has undoubtedly and positively impacted our education system overall. The programme has eased the burden of expenses in families and communities in response to creating sustainable and socially cohesive communities.

In line with the Annual Performance Plan of the 2016/17 financial year, about 135 600 school uniform packs will be manufactured, further reaffirming the continued use of co-operatives as part of a development agenda and empowerment of our communities.

Anchored by a capital injection of R103 740 000, about 306 approved co-operatives will carry the mandate. Through the project, the GDSD is contracting 306 co-operatives which will create more than 2 273 jobs of which 1 916 will be for women.

In so doing, Gauteng Social Development will be further contributing towards the re-industrialisation pillar of the TMR Programme envisaged by the Provincial Government as the purchasing of uniforms from co-operatives will boost the dwindling clothing, textile and footwear industry in the province.

Furthermore, majority of these co-operatives are located across the townships of Gauteng therefore by providing a market, the department is contributing towards the Township Economy Revitalisation Programme which seeks to revive township enterprises.

Busi Kheswa, Gauteng Department of Social Development

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