By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa launches a private sector-led, multi-sectoral Gender-based violence and Femicide (GBVF) fund.
Ramaphosa has hailed the private sector’s initiative to partner with the government as millions of rand have been pledged towards the newly launched Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Response Fund.
Ramaphosa gave an address at the virtually-held event on Thursday.
“The launch fulfils a promise made to women and children in our country to work together and end the violence against women and children, “Ramaphosa said.
The fund was a privately led initiative with the help of the government. It is intended to expand on the government’s work in fighting GBVF in the country.
It comes two years after the 2018 GBVF summit which saw various members of civil society discuss the issues surrounding GBV in the country.
Last year, the government launched the National Strategic Plan (NSP) in response to GBV. It seeks to deal with expanding support for GBVF survivors, broadening access to justice, driving social change and to broaden access to economic opportunities for economically marginalised women.
The president said the government’s ability to spend money on various social issues has been constrained because of the coronavirus pandemic.
He said government departments had pledged to support the fight against GBVF with R21 billion being pledged towards pillars of the NSP over a three-year period.
He promised that government departments will be held accountable for holding up pledges made towards the NSP.
The GBVF Response fund has been set up with a board which will be chaired by Wits Chancellor and businesswoman Judy Dlamini.
The fund will be administered by Alexandra Forbes and Absa had pledged to provide it with banking services to fund for 12 months.
The fund has the following objectives:
- It is a vehicle for private sector contributions;
- Resources for the implementation of the NSP;
- Provide the necessary programming and financial infrastructure;
- Robust accountability and governance for private sector funds;
- Facilitate operational and strategic cohesion between donors and government; and
- Technical support for efficient and effective delivery of programme.
During the launch, business and donor communities commended President Ramaphosa for supporting effort to end GBVF. They also pledged some millions to the fund.
These included a R30 million contribution by Anglo-American, R20 million by ABSA Bank, and a R20 million contribution by the Ford Foundation.
Livestream Video Below:
Video Courtesy of ENCA.