Address by the MEC for the Public Works and Roads, Oageng Gaoage Molapisi, during the ``Women in Construction Interactive Session ‘’held at the Rustenburg Civic Centre, Bojanala...

 

Good afternoon! Dumelang!

It is indeed with a heavy heart, that today I have to rise and join a chorus that continues to reverberate within the construction sector, and the whole country, in conveying our deepest condolences to the family, business associates friends and the comrades of the late Dr Thandi Ndlovu.
South Africa has lost one of its brightest stars.

A compassionate patriot and highly impactful leader whose work positively influenced many sectors of society.

It is a very sad week for the built environment industry in general and the construction industry in particular. The construction industry has lost a heroine, a dedicated businesswoman, and a selfless leader

On that note, may I kindly request, through your Programme Director, that house rise and observe a moment of silence in honour of Dr Ndlovu. I will talk briefly about her, because todays gathering and its purpose is just about what she stood for and what she so courageously fought for.

(…Moment of silence…Thank you!).

It is so ironic, that the precious life of Dr Ndlovu ended in the North West province, in this town, not very far from this venue on Saturday following a car accident she was involved in earlier.

She led an impeccable life as a political activist and a champion for women empowerment. It is indeed a sad time for our nation to lose such a phenomenal woman and leader of the people

Understand and read me correctly.
I do not claim to be her an associate and neither do I even attempt or suggest to use this podium to come across as a person who knew her better or worked with her.

But nothing prevents me or anyone to talk about how her, her sterling work and the immense contribution she made to the struggle for the liberation of this country, especially on issues that talk to women of our country.

None of us here in this venue can claim to have met and worked with Nelson Mandela, Steven Bantu Biko, Albertina Sisulu or even Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

We talk about them so authoritatively because they are part of us, and we are what we are today because of the documented work about them at our disposal.

In our time, Dr Ndlovu, a medical practitioner by profession, ran the fulcrum of the struggle for the liberation, sacrificing her education to join the African National Congress and its military wing Umkhonto weSizwe at an early age.

Upon her return from exile, she ran a private medical practice and delivered medical services in informal settlements, before she established Motheo Construction in 1999– one of South Africa’s first leading black female-owned construction companies and leading provider of social housing in the country.

She has been at the forefront of almost all our women empowerment initiatives, wherein she pioneered the black economic empowerment and was foremost in the peace and reconstruction efforts of our country and continent.

Before one gets carried away, Programme Director, let us come back to the purpose of why we are here today and doing so:

Begin to ask ourselves tough questions, whether we have indeed the passion and energy to emulate or even raise the bar, as women with an appetite for construction, to keep Dr Ndlovu legacy ever shining.

This is the time for professionals and leaders in the built environment sector and elsewhere in the country to begin to emulate the exemplary life and service of Dr Ndlovu by doing "impactful transformative work" that empower women and youth.

Programme Director:

We will be making an unforgivable mistake if the impression created by this gathering was:

In coming here, your presence brings you in a pole position to getting a tender from government or my department in particular.

No! No! No! If that was what you thought, sorry you are at a wrong meeting.

That is not the reason for this interactive session. It is not, and has never been a briefing session on how to cut corners to give women government tenders.

If we do that, we will be breaking the laws of the country and also setting you up for failure in future, and the likes of Dr Ndlovu would not have forgiven us for deliberately failing the women of North West.

She paved a way for a lot of women in the industry you are so passionate about and she was on a mission to unlock more opportunities for others through engagements similar to the one you are attending today.

Dr Ndlovu was one of the shining stars in the construction industry with her 20 years’ experience in the sector, The Company acquired a grade 9 certificate level from the Construction Industry Development Board.

We know very well and are the first to have acknowledged, that there can be no true liberation of women, unless they are economically empowered.

We know, because we are from there, for generations black women in particular have carried the greatest burden of apartheid dispossession and deliberate underdevelopment and today, that legacy continues but it is worsened by the dire economic situation in the country.

Empowerment of women remains an important part of government’s equity and Broad –Based Black Empowerment policies.

Working together with partners in business and labour, in communities and across civil society, government is taking measures to restore our economy and create economic opportunities especially for women and youth.

As President Cyril Ramaphosa told women who had gathered in Vryburg for the National Women’s Day Celebration on August 9 that:

Cabinet recently approved the Gender-Responsive Planning, Budgeting, Monitoring Evaluation and Auditing Framework.

This is expected to also respond to the fact that women are disproportionately affected by unemployment and are in the lowest earning categories making them vulnerable to poverty.

Under this new framework, all government plans and budgets will be expected to include gender specific delivery targets.

That commitment is not just empty talk.
That commitment will be written into the performance agreements of Ministers, Premiers Director Generals and all senior managers in the public service.

 Dr Ndlovu paved a way for a lot of women in the industry you are so passionate about and she was on a mission to unlock more opportunities for others.

How can you, as women gathered in this hall assist government achieve precisely what you hope to achieve and also believe can be a process of levelling the playing fields for women meaningful participation in this technical sector of the built environment.

Begin today, by fearlessly blowing the whistle on all acts of corruption, dishonesty and fraud. That also includes refusing to allow yourselves as women your companies to be used as fronts in order to secure lucrative state contracts.
The worst form of dishonesty and self-inflicted damage to your aspirations is a temptation to be used as a front.

It is only a short lived pleasure for a quick bug, and that cannot be called empowerment.

We will not be talking so glowingly about Dr Ndlovu and her company Motheo Construction if she played the fashionable game of fronting for others in the name of women empowerment.

No one expects you to become another Dr Ndlovu. It was a gift of life God gave to South African and its people, especially women to emulate in order to unleash their potential and achieve more.

Therefore the precious lessons to take home is, hard work and a commitment to ride the crest of wave must also impact positively on the lives of others.

In conclusion Programme Director:

My department is more than willing and committed to support all government programmes in place aimed at empowering women in the infrastructure sector

We will do everything lawful as enshrined in our Constitution to make it happen.
I personally would prefer to lead a campaign to turn the tide on corruption, fraud and also deal harshly with acts of dishonesty where ever these are reported in my department.

That approach will ensure that tax payers’ money goes also into supporting the empowerment programmes of women rather that going to pocket of dishonest individuals masquerading as public servants.

May the life of Dr Ndlovu inspire all of you in your quest to conquer the infrastructure sector.

Ke a leboga! Thank You!

ENDS

Issued by Communication Directorate
Contact Person: Matshube Mfoloe
Contact Number: 018 388 4451
E-mail:mmfoloe@nwpg.gov.za