The Legislature’s Roads and Transport Portfolio Committee was out in Ratanda Heidelberg yesterday, empowering women from across Gauteng on opportunities accessible to women formations in the Transport and Construction Sectors. This forms part of Women’s Month programme of the Legislature.

The initiative was birthed out of the Legislature’s concern regarding the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport’s failure to achieve set targets for women employment and empowerment, which emerged out of questions raised with the department and its entities.

Various interventions have been explored by the Department but yielded very slow progress in set targets for women.

Taking into consideration the Budget Vote for 2017/18 Financial Year, the Committee noted that the Gauteng Provincial Government had adopted an approach to achieve set targets for Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (HDI) as planned in line with the Preferential Procurement Regulations of 2017. The regulations allow government to legally discriminate in its procurement activities by enabling all organs of State to give preference to designated groups such as women.

The workshop conducted by the Committee focused on inducting women on applicable legislation to SMMEs and Cooperatives. This is particularly aimed at equipping women with information on access to financial resources and management, the tendering processes and grooming in their respective industries.

The workshop further empowered women on:

  • Planned construction and transport projects in their regions as well as across the province for the 2017/18 financial year; including those from the department’s entities, i.e. Gautrain Management Agency and PRASA.
  • Encouraging women to participate in the construction and transport industries as per the commitments by the Gauteng Provincial Government; to increase women participation numbers in these sectors.

Chairperson of Roads and Transport Committee, Jacob Khawe, urged all women present to actively knock on the Department’s doors for assistance, and ensure that they are part of the skills development programmes planned by the department and its entities in their quest to empower women in these sectors.

ISSUED BY GPL’S MEDIA SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON ROADS AND TRANSPORT, HONOURABLE JACOB KHAWE

For more information and interview requests with the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee please contact: Ms Thabisile Nzuke on 082 619 4411 email: TNzuke@gpl.gov.za