Pretoria: Government aims to launch the Presidential Index for Gender Inclusive Supply Chains, a tool that will track South Africa’s progress in integrating women into every layer of the economic landscape, says Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga. “This index will not only allow us to measure tangible change but also serve as an accountability mechanism, reminding us of the commitments we must honour,” Chikunga said.

According to South African Government News Agency, the Minister was addressing members of the Women Economic Assembly (WECONA) on Gender Transformation and Supply Chain on Thursday. The WECONA webinar aimed to seek and explore effective strategies to facilitate supply-chain opportunities for women-owned businesses. It also sought to facilitate gender transformation and market access in key industries.

It offered an opportunity to demonstrate progress made to achieve the National Strategic Plan of 40% preferential procurement towards wom
en-owned enterprises in South Africa, further showcasing capacity building and the supply-chain value chain to facilitate initiatives in both public and private sectors. Chikunga commended WECONA for building on decades of women’s struggle for their voice to be heard in every space where power is exercised, and decisions are made.

She said the assembly carries the potential to be a transformative force in sectors where women’s interests have received lip-service or outright exclusion, from manufacturing and technology to advanced agriculture. “The work done by WECONA has proven that gender-responsive supply chains are not only achievable but essential to achieving truly inclusive and resilient economic growth and job creation. The challenge before us, however, is how we can deepen these efforts,” Chikunga said.

The Minister reiterated that the use of public procurement to achieve fair and equitable socio-economic relations is a constitutional imperative and not a debate, noting Section 217 of the Constituti
on, which states that “public procurement should be underpinned by the principles of fairness, equity, transparency, competitiveness and cost-effectiveness.”

The Minister commended President Cyril Ramaphosa for signing the Public Procurement Act into law, a legislation that will regulate public procurement, including preferential procurement, by all organs of state. The act was assented by the President in July. She challenged the community to carefully study the act and bring forward tangible interventions and concrete measures through which “this law will serve to end the longstanding and ongoing socio-economic exclusion of women, youth, and persons with disabilities.”

“How do we get to a point where 40% of the expenditure on goods and services goes to women-owned businesses? First, we urgently need to study the anatomy of government expenditure, as well as supply chain patterns of every product and every service that has and continues to be procured. We have to break free from monopolies that entrench ba
rriers to market entry and reimagine a women-led industrial and productive revolution. No sector should be beyond our reach,” Chikunga said.

The Minister argued that women do not need feel-good policies but need enforcement powers that come with the ability to monitor, evaluate and ensure accountability. She emphasised a need to modernise and build the capacity of women-owned businesses to make sure they produce, supply, and distribute the best quality of goods and services.

“This means access to the latest manufacturing technologies and production equipment. In highly regulated sectors, we need to find ways to simplify the certification process and provide assistance with obtaining certifications needed to bid for public contracts. We need to rethink financial support and incentives [and] without dedicated and tailor-made financial support, we will be setting up women for failure. We need to work with both established and emerging financial institutions to provide women-owned businesses with access to cred
it, grants, and low-interest loans.”

Chikunga further emphasised that women don’t just need contracts. “They need the means to honour those contracts and maintain sustainable businesses.”