Source: The Citizen 
The failure of gender-based violence (GBV) to crack the barest hint of a nod during President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation Address last week has activists worried.

"We are extremely disappointed the president never spoke about it," said Sonto Magwaza of Sonke Gender Justice.

Shortly before the president's SONA, Sonke, together with Treatment Action Campaign, Sekwale Centre for Social Reflection, and others, called on President Zuma in a statement to "to commit to developing a multi-sectoral, fully costed national strategic plan to address GBV."

"Like last year, this year again we urge President Zuma and his cabinet to ensure meaningful follow-through to address and prevent gender-based violence," said Anele Yawa, General Secretary of the Treatment Action Campaign, "Our members in TAC branches all over the country–women and men alike–demand that our government deliver on its constitutional obligations".

Magwaza said the president failed to do justice to the issue. "Women are facing these issues on a daily basis and we cannot have a leadership which lacks vision on these issues," she said, and accused the National Council for Gender Based Violence of being completely ineffective.

"Engagement is lacking, the approach is non-consultative, and despite us trying to engage government, at our last interaction Minister Susan Shabangu said women must let men take care of them, what does that mean? Are we not regressing from women empowerment, are we saying men are the saviours of women. This is perpetrating patriarchy; we are encouraging society to look at women as the weaker vessel," fumed Magwaza.

The Department of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities – President Zuma's brainchild – has been wracked with instability and controversy since its inception. Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya was relieved of her post as its minister in 2010, followed by Lulu Xinwana, and finally Susan Shabangu was installed.

President Jacob Zuma delivers the State of the Nation Address to a joint sitting of Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, Cape Town. 12/02/2015 (Photo: DoC)

Following years of shambles, the Department on Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee in October:

The Department of Women rated below the national average in key performance areas, except in strategic management
Overall the department scored the same between 2012 and 2013 in key priority areas

There was regression in fraud prevention, internal auditing and cash flow

The department scored above the National Average in strategic plan, auditing communication, Public Servants Association of South Africa (PSA) delegates, demand management, unauthorised expenditure.

No mention is made of the more than 30% of its staff earning more than R1 million per annum in salaries, according to 2013 article on Daily Maverick.

"The department has not been doing its job; we are not given updated information on what the department is doing about the violence. Statistics and the strategy are not forthcoming," said Magwaza. "We cannot afford to be ignored by the president anymore."

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