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RESOLUTIONS
The National Conference of the
IFP Women's Brigade met in Umlazi on January 28, 2006 and unanimously
adopted the following Resolutions:
RESOLUTION
1:Conference:
- Welcomes the forthcoming Local Government
Elections on March 1,2006 as yet another milestone in the
democratization of our country;
- Urges all registered voters to exercise their
right to freely vote for the candidates and parties of their choice;
- Requires all IFP Party Agents to protect
voters' rights and to exercise vigilance in ensuring that voters are
not hindered in any way as they cast their votes and that every vote
is properly recorded;
- Emphasizes the critical importance of local
government in the lives of our people and the need to elect
candidates of calibre who will work hard and serve citizens with
honesty and integrity;
- Thanks the women and men of the IFP who have,
to date, diligently served as Councillors in the best interests of
their communities and who have fully and fairly utilized all the
resources available to them;
- Salutes the work of numerous community action
groups who positively mobilize around issues which concern them;
- Acknowledges the ongoing reality and tragedy
of the non-delivery of basic and other services to many of our
citizens and the now desperate need for appropriate funding and
effective programmes of action.
RESOLUTION 2:
Conference:
- Supports the honest contention of the IFP
that all local governments need to get the basics right first by
delivering essential services such as water, electricity, roads,
sanitation and the efficient provision of grants and must not
promise what they cannot deliver;
- Believes that these elections do indeed
provide an opportunity for the people of South Africa to make a
fresh start and to elect a new breed of political leaders who really
care about their communities.
RESOLUTION 3:
Conference:
- Commits the women of the IFP to ensuring that
all IFP Local Government Councillors will remain faithful to their
Pledge of Service and Delivery in all communities;
- Instructs the leadership of the Women's
Brigade to establish a permanent Monitoring Committee to ensure that
IFP Councillors abide by their Pledge and specifically that they
consider and incorporate, when appropriate, gender perspectives in
all community planning initiatives;
- Requests this Committee to act as a vehicle
for the women of the IFP and all other concerned citizens to
identify and communicate all relevant issues and suggestions
relating to Local Government delivery to appropriate Councillors;
- Notes that it is envisaged that when
allegations of corruption are levelled against Councillors to
members of the Women's Brigade and if they are reported to them in
writing, this Committee will immediately report all communication in
this regard to the IFPs Political Oversight Committee,
P O Box 4432, Durban 4000. All written allegations of corruption
should
addressed directly to the Political Oversight Committee;
- Recommends that reports of the Monitoring
Committee are submitted on a monthly basis to the executive
leadership of the Party.
RESOLUTION 4:
Conference:
- Once again notes the inextricable link
between the developmental needs of women and good governance;
- Reiterates that the promotion of gender
equality and the empowerment of women is critical to the future
positive growth and stability of South Africa;
- Applauds the leadership of the IFP for its
long-held understanding that by including women in positions of
leadership, their rightful participation in the development of the
country is enhanced;
- Congratulates the women and men of the IFP
who have made themselves available and who have been selected to
serve as Councillors in our communities;
- Calls for direct community involvement in the
planning and delivery of all programmes in all areas and that the
views of women be actively canvassed at all times and as a matter of
IFP policy.
RESOLUTION 5:
Conference:
- Believes that the leadership of the IFP has an
obligation to fully support and, where necessary, constructively assist
and guide the women and men elected as Local Government Councillors on
our behalf;
- Requests that special attention be given by
leadership to the ongoing performance of all IFP Councillors and that
problems of any kind which may be affecting their work be swiftly
addressed;
- Accepts that the legacy of apartheid has ensured
that not all Councillors soon to be elected or re-elected have, in some
instances, the ability to fully cope, from time to time, with certain of
their complex responsibilities;
- Calls on all Parties to reinforce their
Councillors by whatever means necessary and required and to ensure
ongoing capacity-building throughout Local Government structures;
- Requests the women of the IFP to encourage their
sisters in office and to do all they can to assist them perform their
duties to the best of their ability and with the knowledge that they can
depend on our love and positive assistance at all times.
RESOLUTION
6:
Conference:
- Continues to motivate for the establishment of resourced nation-wide
networks to enable women from all walks of life to be elected to public
office and to participate equally alongside their male counterparts;
- Recognises the need for ongoing leadership-oriented training in
support of women's political participation and women candidates;
- Observes that the print and electronic media do not sufficiently
highlight the work of women in public office at all levels and the
barriers they face.
RESOLUTION
7:
Conference:
- Regrets that women's organizations, religious
bodies, NGOs, trade unions and other groupings in general have
failed of late to come together in common cause and, as one, address
critical issues affecting the lives and women and their children
throughout South Africa;
- Believes it is time that like-minded
citizens, irrespective of party-political affiliation or bias, if
relevant, mobilize around these issues and work together to attempt
to effectively address and alleviate the appalling and ongoing
suffering of families and communities to which we are all currently
witness;
- Urges members and supporters of such groups
and any other congregation wishing to participate to consider such a
national initiative;
- Encourages the leadership of the Women's
Brigade to attempt to assist in the establishment of such an
issue-based movement and to identify obstacles, if any, to the
accomplishment of this endeavour;
- Applauds the outstanding work being done by
many individual activists and groups in attempting to address, in
multi-faceted ways, the sickening rape and violent abuse of huge
numbers of women and children, complex matters relating to the
tragedy of the HIV / AIDS pandemic, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic
violence and all manner of other social abnormalities and
poverty-related realities affecting our homes and communities;
- Particularly highlights the need, too, for
national consensus, problem-solving initiatives and action relating
to the urgent assistance required for the growing numbers of
child-headed households throughout the country.
RESOLUTION
8:
Conference:
- Makes special reference to the plight of
rural and elderly women and specifically urges that the needs of
these women be more fully prioritized by Local Governments;
- Recognises that the majority of rural women
and the aged are the ongoing victims of the cruelty and injustice
wreaked by apartheid;
- Instructs IFP Councillors to report to the
leadership of the Women 's Brigade as to how they intend to include
these women in all decision-making affecting the areas in which they
live and to specify if they need assistance in this regard so as to
avoid any delays in establishing avenues of communication with these
women.
RESOLUTION
9:
Conference:
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Requests its Members of
Parliament in the National Assembly to call for a comprehensive
national review and evaluation of all laws and policies relating to
women and children and further;
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To constantly demand that the
Minister of Safety and Security provide all available and recent
data relating to the rape of women and children and criminal
activity throughout South Africa in general;
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Condemns attempts by the ANC
Government to hide statistics of this
nature from the citizens of this country.
RESOLUTION
10:
Conference:
- Again records its gratitude for the continued
contribution the President of the IFP, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi,
makes in assisting the women of South Africa in their struggle
against gender bias;
- Cherishes his tireless efforts as a champion
of the rights of women in opposing all forms of discrimination and
supporting the liberation of women from the burdens of poverty,
ill-health and lack of access to educational opportunities;
- Thanks him for the hope and encouragement he
gives us all and for his message of "self-help and self-reliance"
which has been a means of survival for so many of us and which is as
relevant today as it was many decades ago;
- Calls on all Party structures to honour his
example by continuing to support initiatives which uphold his credo
of "self-help and self-reliance" while promoting a culture of gender
equality.
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