The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Ms Liesl van der Merwe, has extended the committee’s heartfelt condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the tragedy in Ekurhuleni.
Ms van der Merwe said: “As the tragedy in Ekurhuleni unfolded and deepened on Thursday, I felt that this portfolio committee could not remain a passive bystander to the crisis. I therefore decided that we should bring forward the discussion on gender-based violence and femicide that had been planned for November.
“We have lost mothers, daughters, sisters, wives and friends. Although the committee shares in the grief and extends its condolences, words of sympathy cannot restore the lives lost. Nor can we allow commitments to action to fade once the headlines disappear. As parliamentarians and elected representatives, we must come together to reflect on the key issues over which this committee is expected to exercise oversight.”
The Chairperson noted that, during the second term, the committee had engaged with the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in a joint meeting on the national state of disaster relating to gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) declared by the President in November last year. She said the committee must ask whether the declaration has helped the country respond effectively to the GBVF crisis. It must also examine the National Strategic Plan and assess whether it is receiving sufficient attention and support.
She asked whether the plan is adequately supported and resourced, and whether any additional funding has been allocated following the disaster declaration. Addressing GBVF requires an all-hands-on-deck approach: stakeholders must work together to achieve meaningful progress.
On Tuesday, 22 September, the committee received presentations from the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, the Department of Social Development, the National Council on GBVF (NCGBVF) and the Commission for Gender Equality. The briefings addressed the declaration of a national state of disaster, progress in implementing the National Strategic Plan on GBVF, and matters concerning the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide.
Ms Steve Letsike, the Deputy Minister of Women Youth and Persons with Disabilities, said the National Strategic Plan provides a common direction for South Africa’s response to GBVF, while the National Council is intended to strengthen collective leadership and coordination.
The presentation described progress across departments, provinces and municipalities in achieving elements of the plan. It also identified uneven municipal capacity, inadequate victim-support services, weaknesses in referral pathways and shortcomings in the information used to monitor implementation. The plan’s six pillars require immediate responses to violence to be linked with efforts to address the conditions that allow it to persist. Effective policing and prosecution must therefore be accompanied by prevention, survivor support and women’s economic empowerment.
The Deputy Minister informed the committee that the Council’s presentation addresses its composition, mandate, work completed since its establishment, funding, expenditure and proposed programme for the remainder of the financial year. It would also cover the outstanding arrangements required for the Council to become fully operational, including its Schedule 3A listing, executive leadership and transitional support from the department.
Responding to the presentations, committee member Ms Samantha Graham-Maré expressed concern that the Department of Social Development had effectively turned social workers into project managers responsible for overseeing programmes that should be delivered by the department. She questioned whether people receiving only a small monthly stipend were adequately equipped to provide the psychosocial support communities require.
She also asked what internal budget shifts the department had made to fund the NCGBVF secretariat and what framework or tracking tool was being used to monitor allocations by line departments. She stressed the need for central coordination of the National Strategic Plan so that the department can identify the funding allocated, track its use and take corrective action where departments such as SAPS, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Social Development fail to fulfil their obligations under the declaration.
Ms van der Merwe said the declaration of GBVF as a national disaster was not accompanied by dedicated funding. Without additional financial and human resources, departments are expected to carry out new and expanded responsibilities within their existing budgets. She said it remains unclear whether departments are implementing the National Strategic Plan on GBVF and allocating identifiable resources to its implementation.
“Ring-fenced funding for GBVF is therefore non-negotiable. The country cannot continue to depend on general departmental budgets without clearly identifying how much has been allocated to GBVF, where those funds are held and how they are spent” said Ms van der Merwe.
On the matter regarding the appointing an interim CEO for the NCGBVF, Dr Kgosi Letlape said: “My concern is the impact of appointing an interim CEO without staff. This matter should be discussed thoroughly with the department.” Dr Letlape suggested that the department provide a dedicated official to support the Council until it completes the proper processes for appointing a permanent CEO and establishing its own staff complement.
He said, “We must avoid informal appointments or processes that do not comply with proper governance requirements. The department should continue supporting the Council until it is ready to appoint a permanent CEO through a transparent process”.
The committee expressed concern about the overlap between the Council's work and that of the Commission for Gender Equality. Members of the committee said they would like to see a report explaining how duplication will be avoided and how the two structures will cooperate.
The committee said that both entities, the Commission for Gender Equality as a constitutionally mandated institution and the NCGBVF, must be properly funded. Members reiterated that there should be no duplication.
Yoliswa Landu
23 September 2026
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