DA has rejected the president’s proposition that plans to give 40% of government procurement contracts to businesses owned by women.
President Cyril Ramaphosa made his decision official while delivering his Women’s Day message on Sunday.
The president said they were committed to a new social wave that will concentrate on gender equality.
In order to get this done, the first action was to expand the access of women to economic opportunity.
“We will do this, among other things, by setting aside 40% of public procurement for women-owned businesses.
The official opposition rejected this on Monday.
The DA chief whip Natasha Mazzone has condemned this new decision the government publicised.
“This is not a sincere effort to empower women, but rather yet another cynical attempt by the ANC to loot the State coffers even further,” she said.
“South Africans must not be fooled. It is not ordinary women who will benefit from this announcement – only ANC cadres and those connected to them will get the contracts and kickbacks”.
“The ANC does not care about women’s empowerment, they only care about their own pockets,” Mazzone said.
But, Mazzone admonished the government to allow procurement contracts be awarded on merit, and merit alone.
“At a time of severe economic hardship and record unemployment, poor people need contracts to be awarded to those who deserve to get them, and not because one is connected to the corrupt ANC.”
