Celebrating the inroads made by eThekwini women – Featured Durban Blog

As efforts to rebuild communities, families, businesses, and the City get underway, it is evident that the women of 1956 have multiplied. EThekwini women from all walks of life have shown similar resolve to those of yesteryear, to get eThekwini back on track. They have initiated or joined initiatives to clean-up, feed the hungry and continue to play a pivotal role in rebuilding the City.

GRANT-IN-AID

Women in eThekwini have been in the forefront of building communities for a long time. When the Municipality launched Grant-In-Aid (GIA) in 2002-an initiative that provides support to organisations that improve the standard of living and quality of life in local communities-women dominated the number of community building initiatives that applied for funding.

In the past financial year (2019/2020), the Municipality, through its GIA programme funded non-profit organisations (NPOs) to the tune of R5.6 million. Interestingly, out of the 111 wards up for consideration, 60 of the beneficiaries were organisations run by women. 

The sectors that are supported are: early childhood development, social welfare, economic development, skills development, sports, arts and culture as well as faith-based organisations.  

Measures put in place for organisations to qualify ensure accountability, fairness and that communities really benefit.

Applications are advertised in newspapers, radio stations and social media platforms in March. The partnership between eThekwini and NPOs is crucial as these organisations are considered the ears and eyes of the Municipality.

AGRI-BUSINESS 

The difficulties presented to communities by the  Covid-19 pandemic and the unrest have given some women an opportunity to start businesses to fill in gaps presented by the lockdown and closure of most shops. We have witnessed emerging farmers, some supported by the Municipality through its Agri-business Unit, step up in the quest for food security.

The Municipality’s Agri-business initiative seeks to grow the economy by improving the productivity of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in the agriculture business value chain. It has over seven percent of female farmers registered with it. The sector plays a huge part in food security, especially in the aftermath of the July unrest and the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, Council approved and adopted the eThekwini Agribusiness Master Plan which proposed five key commodities which the Municipality will focus on for the next 10 years. These are vegetables, sheep, broilers, cannabis and piggery.