Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane has called on everyone in the province to take a stand against gender-based violence (GBV).
Members of the provincial government’s new steering committee on GBV and femicide attended a workshop at a beachfront hotel on Tuesday in East London to plot the way forward.
Speaking on the sidelines of the workshop, Mabuyane said men should be front and centre of the struggle as the “most of the dreadful things are done by them”.
“Women should also be vigilant and not get used to funny things in the name of love,” he said.
The committee, comprising representatives from the departments of transport, safety & liaison, justice and police, as well as religious and civic groups and traditional leaders, was formed last year.
“We ask everyone to be vigilant and to work together. We are working hard to have our own DNA laboratory in the province and special courts to speed up GBV cases,” Mabuyane said.
Mabuyane says fighting GBV is a task for everyone
Image: Randell Roskruge
Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane has called on everyone in the province to take a stand against gender-based violence (GBV).
Members of the provincial government’s new steering committee on GBV and femicide attended a workshop at a beachfront hotel on Tuesday in East London to plot the way forward.
Speaking on the sidelines of the workshop, Mabuyane said men should be front and centre of the struggle as the “most of the dreadful things are done by them”.
“Women should also be vigilant and not get used to funny things in the name of love,” he said.
The committee, comprising representatives from the departments of transport, safety & liaison, justice and police, as well as religious and civic groups and traditional leaders, was formed last year.
“We ask everyone to be vigilant and to work together. We are working hard to have our own DNA laboratory in the province and special courts to speed up GBV cases,” Mabuyane said.
Ramaphosa calls gender-based violence a national shame in New Year message to SA
The committee chair, social development MEC Siphokazi Mani-Lusithi, said they wanted to come up with a plan that would fit both urban and rural areas for fighting GBV.
Said Mani-Lusithi: “We also want to improve and extend Thuthuzela centres (places of safety) and reinforce the resources and tools of trade in those centres. We want to launch more centres.”
“The support victims receive leaves a lot to be desired. We are going to launch a pilot project in OR Tambo as part of the national plan. We want districts and wards to work with organisations that already exist [to curb GBV].”
Mani-Lusithi wants the time it takes for police investigations to be completed drastically reduced.
“We are looking at reasons why most GBV cases are struck off the court roll.”
Nkosi Ngangomhlaba Matanzima, chair of the Moral Regeneration Movement, said: “We must find time and be sober in the mind to find solutions to the scourge. We need to sit down as equals and take responsibility because the scourge, for me, is at the root of the nation.”
ziyandaz@dispatch.co.za
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