Government Institutions Summit Pack
CONCEPT PAPER: THE SADC GENDER PROTOCOL SUMMIT 2014
50/50 by 2015: Demanding a strong post 2015 agenda!
2014 SADC GENDER PROTOCOL SUMMIT AND AWARDS
WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND THE POST 2015 SADC AGENDA
This award recognises evidence of the SADC Protocol@work in any one of the following theme areas of the Protocol – Constitutional and legal rights; Education and Training; Economic Justice; Health; HIV and AIDS; Peace Building and Conflict Resolution; Sexual and Reproductive Rights. The award also recognises forward thinking on the post- 2015 agenda.
When you see an arrow at the end of a box it means there is a drop down menu, please click on the arrow to select the correct option.
Fields marked with a red asterisk (*) are compulsory.
Name of good practice*
EG: Empowering women inorder to achieve economic Justice- ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
DATE
*03 / 4 / 2014
Surname / Mosojane
Designation / Principal Economic Planner
Organisation/media house/council / City of Francistown Council
Education level / Primary School / Secondary School / Tertiary
/ Vocational
/ Adult literacy
Age Group (please tick) / 18 - 30 / 31- 40 / 41 - 50 / 51 - 60 / 60 +
Email /
Tel e.g. 00 27 11 622 2877 / 2411050 or 2411927
Fax e.g. 00 27 11 622 4732 / 2412427
Cell
e.g. 00 27 82 665 1742 / 74200999 or 71972587
City / Francistown
Country / Botswana
Website
Sex / Female / Male
Photo
- EVIDENCE TABLE: Please upload documentary evidence of your good practise. Please upload the evidence or provide a url. If the evidence has been sent to a GL office, please state this: *
Policy
Law
Letters
Media coverage / Government and Private Media houses (Mmegi Monitor, BTV, Daily News, COFC Newsletter - COFC Scope)
Papers pesented or written / Report to Council structures, (As attached)
Brochures
Pamhplets / As per attached
Other / Stickers and Business cards attached with this document
- PRESENTATION OF GOOD PRACTICE
Synopsis*
Brief description of the good practice and motivation as to why it is a good practice? (150 words)
The project is about production of Jam, under the brand name ‘ Changu Jam’ using a melon specie called Lerotse and undertaken by a local woman within the District of Francistown
This project is a deliberate attempt to empower local women and enable them to participate in economic generation and business decision making. As we are aware that for a very long time the economic arrangement of our patriarchal society had concentrated economic privileges on men which sometimes led to instances of domestic abuse and GB related violence. The project is an attempt to make more women in control of the economic pie and ultimately create a society where both men and women have equal say on economic activities and thereby achieving economic justice.
Key objectives *
One of the objectives of the project is to achieve economic empowerment. The success of the project means that the owner will not rely on Government subsidies or on men for livelihood and other economic challenges.
The Project also intends to develop the women in terms of leadership and management capacity. As a business grows both in terms of staff compliment, challenges and output, the project owner will benefit more in terms of experience of running a company, leading employees and making the project profitable and sustainable.
When the Woman has been empowered, the project will also have achieved the objective of reducing over reliance of women on men for economic needs and thereby reduce possible chances of domestic violence and abuse.
The other objective of the project is also to achieve the pillars of the President of Dignity as when someone has economic means, his or her dignity in the society will be restored as he/she will be able to support family and contribute in societal development.
We are also hopeful that the project will achieve the objective of create employment opportunities for other women and the society as large particularly if it continues to grow in output and size
Background*
The social and Community Development Department has a mandate of facilitating the provision of socio economic development and skills development to disadvantaged groups such as women and young person. The S &CD identified the client who had the skills to produce a Jam, though at domestic level using Melons (Lerotse) and facilitated her skills development on commercial Jam production and also help in terms of acquisition of production line for manufacturing of jam as well as nutrition and standard tests with relevant organizations such as BOBS, NFTEC
The project was meant to improve the economic situation of the beneficiaries as when she begins to commercial exploit Jam production, the financial position of the family will improve and ultimately achieve the goal of her economic empowerment.
Key activities *
What were the different steps/ activities in the implementation? (300 words)
The key activities below summarises steps taken in implementation of the project
1. Assessment of the beneficiaries
2. Project Identification
3. Training on commercial Jam production, Business Management
4. Market research
5. Project Funding – Procurement of Jam Production machinery and inventory
6. Registration of the Company with Registrar of Companies
7. Product standard tests and Nutritional analysis tests
8. Acquisition of Bar Codes
9. Company Profile development (Logos and brand development)
10. Health Certificate provision by Ministry of Health
11. Licensing of the project
12. Acquisition of Production line (Machinery)
13. Marketing and Sourcing of the market
14. Opening of Company account
15. Production and supply of Choppies stores
Partnerships and coalition building*
The project implementation has partnered with the Government organizations such as MLG, Ministry of State President and Gender Affairs. The project was funded through poverty eradication budget under the office of the president.
The beneficiary has participated in number of Trade shows such as National trade fairs, Regional Exhibition shows organized by Gender affairs, Mini Shows by Council, BOCCIM trade shows and market days to promote products and services developed by women.
The project has also achieved partnerships with the private sector evidenced by market contract with corporations such as Choppies. This has also been extended to other parastatals such as NFTEC, BOBS, Ministry of Health who helped in terms of business inspection, product tests and other critical components of the business
Evidence *
Signed contracts with Choppies
The project has a signed commercial arrangement with Choppies to supply Jams. This extends to product promotions in Choppies outlets
Invitation to participate on Trade Shows
The beneficiary has been invited to participate in regional trade shows to showcase her products and promote it to the general public and she was awarded a cheque of P10, 000
BOBS and NAFTEC Partnerships
BOBS has helped the project in terms of testing whether the product conforms to approved standards on Jam production while NFTEC helped on nutritional tests analysis.
Resource allocations *
Amount local currency (specify) / Amount in RandGender specific allocation
Gender in mainstream projects (please specify)
Amount contributed in cash or in kind by partner organisations (City of Francistown Council)
-Acquisition of Bar Codes
-BOBS Tests
-NAFTEC tests
-Ministry of Local Government Grant / P1850.00 (Mmabesi Multi products Coop - Serowe
P2578.00
P3645.00
P10, 000.00
Poverty eradication Package / P30,000.00
Total / P48, 073.00
Beneficiaries (in numbers)*
Category / Women / Men / Total / % WomenDirect beneficiaries e.g. number of beneficiaries trained / 1 / 0 / 1 / 100
Indirect beneficiaries (e.g. through other networks) / N/A
Online beneficiaries (e.g. website access, mailing lists, scholarly articles) / N/A
Total / 1 / 1 / 100
Challenges*
There are many challenges on implementation of the project such as delays in signing of contracts as most of the commercial retail shops have centralized procurement arrangement and it takes time to conclude agreements with superiors in South Africa and Gaborone.
The other challenge is of capacity as the contract demands she supply all Choppies shops in Botswana with the Jam but at the moment the production capacity cannot meet the demand expectations of retail shops.
The procurement process of acquiring the necessary items for the project took long therefore delayed the project to start.
One other impediment in the project is lack of marketing budget so that the General public can be aware of the product and where it can be sourced. New products in the market need intensive marketing and the funds are not there to achieve that objective.
There is also a challenge of Bar codes as some were not programmed well which delayed their movement in the shelves
Monitoring and evaluation*
There project has a monitoring tool to measure the commercial movement of the Jam from when the project started and its progress within its lifecycle.
The beneficiary has a simple cash flow management system to monitor sales and performance of the product in the market
The Social and Community development division of Home economics is working closely with the beneficiary to make sure that the project becomes successful and grows in output and capacity. Regular reports are generated to stakeholders such as Council committees so that they can also help in monitoring the impact of Council assistance for the project and possible areas to intervene so that the project can fulfil ultimate objective of economic empowerment.
Results *
Implementation *
The project has also started delivering results as products have been delivered to choppies stores in Francistown with process in place to start delivering to other Choppies stores across the Country.
The project has also filled the gap on employment creation as the beneficiary is now self employed and has started to make money for support of her family
Training provided has also increased his management and leadership skills and also help her in achieving her economic rights and potential.
Evidence *
Photos Attached
Women’s empowerment *
The beneficiary of the project is a woman and we are confident that more women will be encouraged to also come forward and commercialize skills or products they have been developing at domestic level
Evidence *
Photos Attached
Men for change *
Most of the businesses which support the beneficiary in terms of procuring goods are male owned or dominated in terms of management. This is a clear testimony that men have trust in products are services which are rendered by women.
Evidence *
Find attached news paper articles
Changes at household level*
The success of the project means that the household economy has improved and the beneficiary will be able to take care of her family and to some extent the community.
Production of the Jam is steadily improving and consignments have been delivered and sold at choppies stores in Francistown. Since the contract demands supply of choppies stores across the country, we are expecting improvements on sales
Evidence *
Honourable Councillor Masego Pule - Specially Elected – City of Francistown Council‘
Public participation*
The project is intended to act as an inspiration to many women who have skills which can be commercialized and improve their livelihood that they too can be successful. The person will be used as a peer educator to other women undertaking projects on how to commercialize traditional skills they have for a profit.
Evidence *
‘Throughout history women have been thought of as the ‘weaker sex,’ and whilst this might be true in an arm wrestling contest, the fact is women have gained power that far exceeds issues of physical strength’ Quote by MARGARET MOSOJANE on September 27, 2013, The Voice Newspaper Column, Mma Mosojane’s traditional wisdom.
Changes at the community level*
There is a project in the community which supplies them with Jam
Evidence *
Elizabeth Taolo, community member
Outreach through the media *
To make sure that the project enjoys publicity, we have arranged coverage of the project from private media houses such as Mmegi Monitor, Council newsletter which is distributed widely in Francistown and other Council, Government media houses such as Daily news and BTV.
Evidence
Newspaper evidence has been attached with this document in PDF Format
Capacity building*
There are 30 economic empowerment project which are geared towards uplifting predominantly women from poverty and they have contributed a lot in terms of entrepreneurial development, productions skills, agriculture production and management and other technical skills.
There are only 3 men on the economic empowerment project
On poverty eradication 100 and 1 men have participates.
This demonstrate that many women have been capacitated in terms of business acumen and economic empowerment.
Government has also decided to outsource upholstery services to beneficiaries in upholstery as a way of empowering them and reduce unnecessary costs of engaging private companies.
Evidence *
Group Photo of beneficiaries on empowerment projects and poverty eradication has been attached
Changes in attitudes*
There are changes in the community as a result of the project success and even the business community is responding to women and other vulnerable group’s products and services as evidenced by Choppies stores giving the product a prime space in their shelves. It is always difficult for big retail stores to procure goods and services from small enterprises and these innovative products from women entrepreneurs are gradually changing the attitude of business towards small entrepreneurs.
Evidence *
Please provide at least one quote that demonstrates changes in attitudes. Please remember name, surname, organisation and designation. – 100 words
Changes at a policy level as a result of the Women Rights work
To promote efforts of small entrepreneurs operating at home, who are mainly women, Government has amended regulations on small and medium businesses to allow them to operate at home. The project is initially operating at home though in the, we are confident of its growth which will move it to factories and workshops.
Evidence
Government Small and Medium enterprises regulations
Any other changes as a result of the Women’s Rights work
Attach commitment of Council to help Elderly and Pregnant women
Evidence
Please provide evidence for any additional information you have provided.
Lesson learned and innovation *
1)One the lesson learned about the implementation of this project is that traditional skills which are endowed in most women and other vulnerable groups can be turned commercial and change life and the community. There are many women in the society who have many skills which have not been harnessed at a commercial level and it is our intent that the project will be a progenitor of many similar projects which takes advantage of skills accumulated by women.
2)The project also demonstrate that success can come at any age and the beneficiary is fairly old and is so passionate about the project and its future potential
Learning and sharing with other organisations and institutions*
The beneficiary has attended northern regional trade shows facilitated at Gender affairs and interacted with other exhibitors and stakeholders for purposes of skills and knowledge exchange. She also attended Mini Shows organised by Council
Evidence *
Please provide evidence of this engagement, for example a quote from an organisation leader or government representative in another organisation.- 100 words
Sustainability and replication *
For the project to be sustainable the beneficiary needs to be continually trained and supported on issues of business management, Leadership and product development. Arrangement will be made with different stakeholders such as BOCCIM, LEA and other business development organizations for purposes of strengthening the business and its future prospects.
Quality of the product will continually be monitored so that it always conforms to BOBS standards and nutritional component are not compromised. That will make sure that the product remains consistent with customers and retailers expectations
To build a solid brand of Changu Jam, extensive marketing and advertising should be done so that the public can be much aware of the products. Low costs promotions such as trade shows displays, advertising in Council newsletters and other promotions outside shops will be undertaken to make sure that the brand capacity of the product is enhanced.
There are similar other projects which have been undertaken under the poverty eradication exercise which are also aimed at developing skills of some beneficiaries for commercial gains. The aim is to have many more vulnerable groups being assisted to develop whatever they have or know for commercial benefit as a way of empowering them.
Attaching photographs*
- Please attach at least two high resolution photos of the presenter, one a clear and engaging head shot; the other an action shot. Please ensure that these photos are captioned: who= name, surname; what; where; when. *
- Please attach at least two photographs of the good practice *
Audio visual attachments – optional
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Please ensure the folder you submit containing your work uses this naming convention: your name_title of submission_type of media_country. Eg: Katherine Robinson_Fire Queens Soccer team kicking for equality_Audio/radio_southafrica
Insert the google drive url here:
- THE SADC GENDER PROTOCOL AND THE POST 2015 AGENDA
Please list, in order of importance the targets of the SADC Protocol that you work with most closely. After each, please state any ways you feel that these clauses can be strengthened post 2015:
- Drop down – 28 targets of the Protocol *
Article 15-19
This article provides for the equal participation of women in economic policy formulation and implementation. The article has provisions and targets on entrepreneurships, access to credit, public procurement contracts as well as stipulations on trade policies, equal access to property, resources and employment
ADD
How I would like the wording of this clause to be changed.Are there missing elements in the SADC Gender Protocol which you would like to be added post 2015? *