DECLARATION OF GENDER BASED VIOLENCE AND FEMICIDE AS A NATIONAL CRISIS AT THE G20 SOCIAL SUMMIT

ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA

DECLARATION OF GENDER BASED VIOLENCE AND FEMICIDE AS A NATIONAL CRISIS AT THE G20 SOCIAL SUMMIT 

The ANC Women’s League has been consistent in advancing the struggle against the scourge of Gender Based Violence and Femicide, which has ravaged our country with a series of attacks on innocent women and children in unprecedented levels.  

We have since intensified the struggle to end the merciless killing of women through protest marches, mass prayers and petitions to lobby society for collaboration against this scourge. 

In November last year we organised a march to the executive seat of our government in Tshwane, and unambiguously demanded a Declaration of the National State of Disaster.

Notwithstanding a series of other campaigns which followed from our structures in various provinces, including a march to the National Assembly in Cape Town in April 2025, where we also submitted a list of demands for expeditious interventions and to firm up our call for the Declaration of the State of Disaster. 

We have since taken our campaign to relevant authorities through round-table engagements with the Office of the State President, and met with the Honourable Deputy President Comrade Paul Mashatile, and a commitment was made to expedite radical interventions to combat the scourge. 

After lengthy bureaucratic processes, delegated by the President to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, as directed by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the ANC Women’s League is proud to inform the nation that we have a breakthrough, the President has indeed Declared GBVF a National Crisis at the G20 Social Summit today at Birchwood, and this is informed by the regulatory framework of our country. 

The Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs will in the next few days proceed with due processes for the coordination of the different elements of activities, in order to realise the full implementation of the course of action. 

We therefore want to applaud all our structures, the progressive women’s formations, faith-based organisations, and civil society organisations who came together in a collaborative alliance of the motive forces in defence of women and children. 

This declaration is a victory for all South African women and vulnerable groups who continue to fall prey to vicious men, and we believe this shall be the beginning of the end to the most atrocious onslaught to be experienced in this country, since the dawn of freedom. 

The ANC Women’s League will closely monitor the progress as the developments unfold in the process of implementation as per the guidelines of the Disaster Management Act, and we await the decision on the categorisation thereof, by the end of November. 

We once again commend our President and the government for finally ceding to our call, for this shall never be about triumphalism on the part of the ANC Women’s League but our revolutionary duty to realise the total emancipation of women in our lifetime. 

The ANC Women’s League remains steadfast in our resolve to be the voice of the voiceless and defend women and all vulnerable groups. 

MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA

Mangaung cash flow as Treasury threatens to withhold equitable share

ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA 

Mangaung Cash Flow as Treasury threatens to withhold equitable share

The Democratic Alliance confirmed that the National Treasury has issued a formal notice to Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality under section 216(2) of the Constitution, warning that the Metro’s December equitable-share allocation may be withheld due to severe and persistent breaches of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).

This is one of the most serious financial enforcement measures available to the Treasury and signals a Metro on the brink of fiscal failure and service delivery collapse.

Despite the gravity of this threat, the Executive Mayor has failed to table the Treasury letter and its implications before Council, keeping both councillors and residents in the dark. This is not in compliance with legislation.
In terms of MFMA section 52(d), the Mayor must report to Council on “the implementation of the budget and the financial state of the municipality.”

A threatened stoppage of the equitable share is unquestionably a material financial event and must be disclosed immediately.

Furthermore, MFMA section 60(1)(c) requires the Accounting Officer to report “any impending financial problems” to the Mayor, and Council must be allowed to consider the City’s response as needed for the constitutional process under section 216(2).

Meanwhile, Mangaung’s finances are collapsing. Diesel shortages and non-payment to contractors have already led to a failure to provide basic service delivery in the City in November.

MPAC, the key oversight body mandated to deal with UIFW, is itself dysfunctional. As set out in a DA letter to the Speaker on 6 November, MPAC has not followed its approved work plan.

In a last-ditch attempt to address the Treasury and DA letters, on 18 November, a last-minute MPAC meeting was held without prior access to the documentation, contrary to the Standing Rules and MPAC Terms of Reference.

A day later, more than R7 million in UIFW expenditure was presented under the same procedural defects. This breakdown undermines lawful oversight at a time when Mangaung needs it most.

Treasury requires Mangaung to show a 75% reduction in its UIFW balances, implement consequence management, and demonstrate tangible action. The Metro is nowhere near compliance, placing its equitable share and service delivery at immediate risk.

We will therefore request an urgent Council meeting at which the Mayor must table the complete Treasury correspondence and provide a full account of Mangaung’s financial position and plans to rescue the City’s finances.

The residents of Mangaung deserve transparency, not secrecy, while their City stands on the edge of collapse.

MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA