South Africa marks 20th anniversary of Durban Declaration

investment that has just been made in factory infrastructure. I have an abiding faith in the management team I found here,” Phakathi said. Phakathi said his immediate focus was to make sure that all business directorates such as Business Development, the Human Resources and Finance are strategically aligned towards a common objective. “Once we drive all those strategic imperatives, our plea is to have government departments and agencies spend at least 10 percent of their revenue procuring from us. Yes, we want to deal with in-house problems. The investment made in new machinery, delivery trucks has laid a solid foundation to drive efficiencies,” Phakathi said. SEE currently has a budget of R153 million, a grant from National Treasury. Its budget has in recent years been reduced due to austerity measures. The factories employ about 1050 people and a further 159 that have been seconded by the Department of Employment and Labour to assist in administrative work. Phakathi said that SEE’s Vision 2025 seeks to create at least 400 employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The SEE formerly known as the Supported Employment Factories (SEF) was established in 1949 as a government post-Second World War intervention to alleviate the plight of returned soldiers and the disabled people in general to play an active role in the labour market. The SEE has 13 factories in South Africa operating in eight provinces, except Mpumalanga. The factories are located in Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, East London, Johannesburg, Kimberley, Pietermaritzburg, Port Elizabeth, Potchefstroom, Pretoria and Polokwane. In 1994, the department assumed responsibility of the factories and had to continue to provide a subsidy to the factories through the National Treasury for the payment of salaries and the procurement of raw materials to manufacture finished goods. The factories manufacture furniture, textiles, hospital linen, metal work; leather work, book binding; and screen printing among a catalogue of goods. Recently, they added the manufacturing of protective personal equipment (PPEs). – SAnews

President Cyril Ramaphosa will this afternoon deliver a pre-recorded video statement at the Opening Plenary Meeting of the High-Level Meeting on the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA). The theme for this session, which is scheduled for 3pm – 5pm South African time, is ‘Reparations, racial justice and equality for people of African descent’. It has been 20 years since South Africa hosted the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. At this conference held in Durban, UN Member States adopted a landmark plan for combatting these scourges. The 2001 declaration embodies the commitments of the international community to address the legacy of the past, as well as contemporary forms and manifestations of racism and racial discrimination, including the acknowledgement that slavery and the slave trade were a crime against humanity. The Programme of Action recommends how Member States and other stakeholders should implement these commitments. As an outcome of this week’s high-level meeting, Member States will adopt a political declaration aimed at mobilising political will at the national, regional, and international levels for the full and effective implementation of the Durban

Declaration and Programme of Action and its follow-up processes. The President’s address will be accessible to media on all PresidencyZA digital platforms from 3pm today. – SAnews