women-politicians-in-south-africa

"South Africa's collective memory is an integral part of its living heritage"

"Poetry is part of the struggle. You use the armed struggle; you use political methods… You recite a poem. It’s better than a three-hour speech. It gets to the heart of the matter. It moves people"

"On behalf of my mother, Lindiwe Mabuza we thank Rhodes University for this prestigious award. As a family, we are both humbled and honoured at the recognition of her contribution and commitment to the struggle and her beloved country, South Africa. It is most heartening that she was aware of this accolade as she received the letter from Rhodes shortly before her death. Indeed, I am convinced she is smiling down from the heavens"

"Thus the celebration of our poetry resonates with the initiative by the department to reclaim and revitalise our indigenous languages and literature, in both the oral and written forms"

"Our nation owes her an enormous debt of gratitude and appreciation for all the sacrifices she has made throughout her life as a committed freedom fighter, a determined cultural and literary activist and a champion for women’s emancipation. She was a phenomenal woman; a woman of grace; a woman of elegance; an embodiment of humility; and courage and dedication personified. Her use of poetry and other writings as a weapon against the brutal and iniquitous system of apartheid created hope for many who could not return to the place of their birth"

"Poetry plays a significant role in the restoration of the memory of a nation"

"people without an awareness of where came from cannot be in a position to reclaim their history"

"People without a memory cannot chart their past to the future"

"Where roads are closed, let us not force our way through. Let us understand that these measures are in the best interest of our country and our people. This event is important – it contributes to our economy and strengthens the standing of our nation"

"Her passing robs the country of a devoted public representative, a champion for social justice and equality as well as a longstanding campaigner for women's rights. We mourn with the country and celebrate this extraordinary and remarkable woman who devoted her life to the freedom of many"

"As a daughter of Soweto, I stand shoulder to shoulder with community leaders in condemning this senseless act. As Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, and Co-Chair of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster, I cannot remain silent when our people’s constitutional rights are trampled upon"

"The lives of innocent people were put in danger when bullets flew around Maponya Mall. This is not only a matter of criminality but an affront to our democratic values"

"Our traditional taxi industry is an integral part of our economy and must remain so. However, it should adapt, modernise, and embrace healthy competition to ensure sustainability and service excellence"

"These events were held across the country, and the analysis and reports we received confirm that all engagements, working rooms and meetings proceeded without incident. This is because of your hard work and dedication, and we thank you for ensuring that South Africa remains a place our guests can trust"

"With that, I want to wish all law enforcement agencies the very best. We know you will do us proud, because you have consistently demonstrated your capability. [We] rely on you to distinguish between right and wrong and to act strictly within the laws and the Constitution of our country"

"What stands between our current state of the arrested development and a prosperous South Africa that we want to build as it is espoused in the National Development Plan 2030, is the quality of public service to accomplish that objective"

"The work to rebuild and restore the credibility of the agency is underway in line with the recommendations of the High Level Review Panel and I cannot be the one to circumvent such efforts as some seem to suggest"

"[I]f my colleagues did not get updates from their own departments, I can hardly be held accountable and responsible [for that]"

"With the glaring unemployment, this shameful act of unkindness towards the poorest of the poor should be arrested without delay if we are to work in unison for the common good of our citizens"

"I need to record that the intelligence reports and alerts that I refer to in my submission are not in my possession and they are classified. I do not have the authority to declassify any documents as they are in the possession and under direct control of the acting director-general of SSA"

"It would have been just and honourable for the authors to contact me to hear my side of the story than to rubbish my name in this manner"

"I am guilty of being at the same place, at the same time with the former COO [Hlaudi Motsoeneng] when I showed up to support the former president in court in Durban, which I don't know where they get a mandate to investigate my personal life"

"We are angered by the arrogance of perpetrators who decide to destroy the lives of women within the month when we make a clarion call to gender equality and women’s rights as human rights"

"but a deviation from norms and standards, and that impedes very negatively on the government to function optimally"

"This visit is a great example of the strong bonds between our countries"

"This visit is a great opportunity to strengthen our ties and promote cultural exchange between our nations"

"We will work tirelessly with all relevant stakeholders to ensure justice is served and that this challenge is addressed decisively"

"Competition, when healthy, can strengthen industries rather than weaken them. Informal traders at taxi ranks, selling similar goods, compete without violence by improving their products and services. This spirit of coexistence must be embraced by our transport sector"

"The continent depends on us, South Africa, to showcase our capability, our commitment and what we can achieve as Africans. That responsibility now lies in your hands as law enforcement agencies, as we head into the weekend"

"We must ensure a successful and incident-free event over the coming days as Heads of State arrive"

"Integrity assessments are becoming mandatory in the South African government, and there is a need to tighten specific occupation-based competency assessments"

"Gender mainstreaming and budgeting are significant areas of focus for strategic engagements, effective monitoring and evaluation. Effective gender mainstreaming requires adequate financial and human resources to bare the envisioned results"

"Our liberation and peaceful political transition was not a stroke of luck but a product of great political and intellectual minds of the midwives of our democracy like Ms Mkhize. These are fearless and courageous activists who were prepared to lose their lives for the liberation of the oppressed and the marginalised, for a free, equal, prosperous, non-racial and non-sexist South Africa. Ms Mkhize stood for truth and throughout her life, she was steadfast in her commitment to the vision of a truly free democratic South Africa, free from all social ills and injustices"

"Public Service Commission has an invaluable role to play in any revised governance framework, including the professionalization of the public sector. It is critical to ensure the maintenance of effective and efficient public administration and high standards of professional ethics in public service"

"As we gather here, we are presented with an opportunity to engage and challenge the patriarchal standards that continue to cripple our society. Each and everyone of us will be asked “What did you do”?"

"Ms Mkhize's life was devoted to the service of the people of South Africa, and she did so with excellence, unwavering commitment and selflessness. A lifelong advocate for social justice and equality, she was instrumental in South Africa's political transition, notably through her roles as Commissioner for the Truth and the Reconciliation Commission (TRC), Chairperson of the Reparations and Rehabilitation Committee and board member of the South African Prisoner's Organisation for Human Rights"

"It also aims to empower compliance with administrative or legal necessities, elevate the status of occupation, guide the conduct of public servants, and establish and standardize roles and pathways to facilitate recruitment and maintenance by departments"

"To address these concerns, there is a need to strengthen management capacity, including the introduction of workplace orientation and induction programs, improving effective planning and performance management and appraisal systems, and managing the career progression and career incidents of public servants effectively through the institutionalization of the Head of Public Administration"

"The law enjoins me as Minister of Intelligence to exercise oversight and ultimate executive authority over all intelligence matters of the country – such oversight responsibility would be near impossible to achieve without information at my disposal - the least I am entitled to is a full disclosure of all intelligence information in the agency so that I can exercise my custodial responsibility as Minister of State Security"

"We have on a previous occasion successfully asked for indulgence from the chair in respect of the Inspector General’s testimony to the commission and so this was not malicious nor an intention to frustrate the work of the commission"

"For as long as I hold the constitutional responsibility of being a custodian of national security, I will spare no effort in safeguarding matters of national security and to put measures in place to prevent acts of corruption from happening in the system"

"These intelligence briefings and alerts were provided to the SA Police Service before and during the unrest. But I might also clarify it was not only to the SAPS but to NatJoints, which is chaired by SAPS and co-chaired by SSA and the Department of Defence"

"some red alerts, some yellow and some orange. All of these go to the structures I have mentioned here to enable them to plan. So [the SSA, when I was still there] did warn about growing instability that undermined the authority of the state"

"It is not good enough for the authors to point fingers at a cabinet minister and SABC board members and make reference to 'enforced' instructions from the top without evidence. Perhaps only a retired or tired person can do that"

"The authors draw parallels where there are none, between my political life which they show disdain at and investigations into the editorial independence of the SABC. Their hangover of former president [Jacob Zuma] clouded their judgment"

"They insinuate an unpalatable relationship which I seem to have had with the former COO, which in their minds led to this so-called interference which I seemed to have done at the SABC"

"I'm thrilled to see Kaizer Chiefs here in Türkiye, a country with which South Africa has a long history of friendship and cooperation"

"We look forward to continuing our cooperation and promoting mutual understanding through sports and culture."

"The fact of the matter is, without consequence management, we will not be leading, we will be indirectly contributing to the prevailing problems and confirming the prophesies by the prophets of doom"

"Our vision is to realize the South Africa we want, a country where all people, particularly women, children, and gender non-conforming persons are and feel safe, enjoy healthy lives, relationships and social connections, have access to humanizing quality services, and are fully able to realize and exercise their right to autonomy, and bodily integrity, and equality"