1. Members, Hon.MEC
2. I will focus on the ‘Violence against Women conditional grant’
3. The sum of R19, 549 million, and its incremental rise in the next 2 years is a small amount for such a huge social ill, therefore HON.Members it has to be used judiciously, in a targeted manner.
4. On reading the business plan of the project manager, I was satisfied that as a province, we are now able to implement a few national polices to care for and protect women against violence, which also speaks to International obligations of CEDAW.
5. To Treasury, who accepted the business plan and to the portfolio committee, I believe that regular evaluation of the methodology is critical to success (CSF).
6. Members, the justification for victim empowerment given the high levels of crime reported against women and girls means that, in the business plan there should be a well-illustrated communication strategy, to reach all corners of KZN, given the limited conditional grant.
7.  A priority Key Result Areas should be social support for safer workplaces because many women work today HON. MEC and the former Department for Women reported that, there is a direct cost to violence through reduced productivity which perpetuates poverty. A part of the budget should be used to promote best practise in all departments and the business sector to formulate a workplace policy on prevention of violence against women.
8. Finally, what is either overlooked or clumped with general VAW, is VAWIP. With the upcoming 2019 elections, HON.MEC, we should encourage all political parties to have a party policy on violence against women.
9. This conditional grant can be creatively used to change mind-sets, create partnerships and allow women to network, so that, there is social cohesion impetus on another level, given competing priorities hence, so that, we can use this conditional grant to change cultural norms and eradicate Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
10. With these words the Minority Front supports the Social Development Budget.

Thank you

HON.S. Thakur- Rajbansi