Women talk of activism

At the launch, the Speaker of the council, Constance Bapela, outlined the extensive activities planned for Governance Week. Key was to enhance effective decision-making, improve oversight and accountability and to continue to build an inclusive governance process.

“This launch marks the beginning of a journey together beyond the GDS outreach process. It will be a seasonal dialogue series, using storytelling as an enabling platform for changing and reshaping our lives as women leaders,” said Bapela.

The discussions on governance will continue until Saturday, 3 September. A series of events will create a platform for conversation and dialogue on a range of sub-themes. Ways in which good governance can be strengthened to improve accountability, and mechanisms for ensuring that that the City’s financial position is sustainable in the long term, will be on the table.

Fight for rights
Mally Mokoena, the member of the mayoral committee for corporate and shared services, spoke about her years as an activist in the 1980s, when she was detained in the Women’s Jail. “We were young that time and had a future ahead of us, and we were determined to fight for our rights.”

Despite the difficulties she faced during the apartheid struggle, Makoena said she did not hold any grudges.

Every participant at the dialogue was given a pouch of dry maize seeds, symbolising the meal that Mokoena was given every lunch hour by the prison officials while she was in detention. After her release, she worked for Steve Biko’s Thusanang project, established to provide assistance to former detainees.

Rita Ndzanga, another former detainee of the Women’s Jail, also spoke about her life and the struggle for freedom in South Africa, which led to her frequent arrest. Ndzanga appealed to the gathering not to take their freedom for granted. “Many people died in detentions while fighting for this freedom,” she said.

Rehana Moosajee, the member of the mayoral committee for transportation, lamented that Women’s Day had been reduced to a commercial venture. “The trivialising of the women’s march to the Union Buildings in 1956 into commercial venture is something that we should condemn,” Moosajee said.

Everyone in Johannesburg is urged to take part in the GDS2040 outreach. They can get involved by attending the discussions and sharing their views through a variety of channels. For this week, governance is in the spotlight.

GDS programme
Local governance for improved service delivery will form the focus of discussions today. A select group of stakeholders will discuss ways in which local government can be strengthened to ensure improved service delivery.

On 31 August, the member of the mayoral committee for finance, Geoffrey Makhubu, will convene three closed sessions around local government and the basics of public service ethics and financial sustainability in local government.
The City’s communicators, together with their peers from the private sector and academic institutions, will meet on Thursday, 1 September to define the role of communication in local government. On 2 September, the City will host a “Governance Townhall Debate” anchored by Mcebisi Ndletyana which is aimed at pulling together the essence of the Governance Week discussions.

It will be opened by Executive Mayor Parks Tau; the keynote address will be delivered by the chief executive officer of the Public Protector’s Office, Themba Mthethwa. Mthethwa will speak about corruption in local government, as well as its challenges and responses to it.

Discussions
Several facilitated panel discussions will be held throughout the day. These discussions will revolve around anti-corruption measures and the Batho Pele principles, oversight structures, and accountability. Student council discussions will look at citizenry, with about 200 Grade 10 pupils from various schools meeting on 3 September at the council chambers.

Also to get schoolchildren involved in GDS2040, there is a competition with essays, art and a building modelling project. Winners will be announced at the Growth and Development Strategy launch on 20 October.

In the GDS2040 outreach, there have already been weeks focusing on liveable cities, resource sustainability, and health and poverty. This week the focus is on governance, from 29 August to 4 September.

The other five themes that are still to be covered are transportation; community safety; environment; economic growth; and smart cities.

To find out more about the events and activities, as well as about upcoming themed weeks and the GDS, visit the Facebook page, or follow @GDS2040 on Twitter. The GDS also has a website.