women empowerment

The premier said though social grants made a difference in the lives of women and children, they were inadequate in drastically changing their lives.

Makhura, who believes that social grants should be confined to orphans, old people and those with physical disabilities, added that the culture of teenage pregnancy should be eradicated.

He said parents should teach boys and girls about risks of falling pregnant at a young age.

“More often, some of these [grant] recipients do not use the money for its purpose.

“We put some of these women into permanent jobs while we assisted others to set up their companies. They can now take charge of their own lives,” Makhura said.

He commended young women who were taking their destiny into their own hands by being independent and doing things for themselves.

“The successes of these young women represent the general spirit of the women of Gauteng. They don’t give up. They want to live independent and fulfilling lives. We too will not give up the fight for gender equality and women empowerment,” he said.

He feels this fight to empower the youth, women and township entrepreneurs must be taken to the mainstream economy so that it reflects the diverse character of the province.

“One of the key objectives of our programme for Transformation, Modernisation and Re-industrialisation is to bring women into the mainstream economy of our province.

“Currently, the provincial government spends 23% [of its budget] procuring goods and services from businesses owned by women.

“More than 7,000 womenowned co-operatives have received financial and non-financial support from government.”

He said women made up more than 60% of the beneficiaries of the agri-enterprise programme, 55% of the bursary programme, 60% of Tshepo 1 Million and 65% of beneficiaries of housing delivered.

Over 7,000 women-owned co-operatives have received financial and non-financial support from Gauteng