Southern Africa: Comments from the region

Johannesburg, 17 April: Read some of the vox pop highlights from participants and delegates from the SADC Gender Protocol@Work summits that took place in Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe this past  week.

Zimbabwe: “I am impressed by the Kadoma City Council, their large numbers should encourage other organisations’ representatives to come in numbers. I am particularly impressed that the Mayor of Kadoma was also a participant, he presented a good practice. He didn’t come to make the numbers, he came to achieve one of the Protocol targets. That is a sign of good leadership.”- Sifiso Dube, the Alliance and Partnerships Manager, Gender Links.

Namibia: “I feel really honoured to attend this Summit and to be representing our Berseba Village not just as a man, but a man against gender-based violence. As a peaceful man who wants peace and good governance among all sexes, I applaud the Summit. I’m not here merely as a participant; this is very educational for me.”- Pastor Stefanus Motinga

Botswana: “This win came as a surprise to me as I had honestly expected to come as a runner up. It was surprising how only three young people were part of this competition and the rest were elders. I would like to give courage to the youngsters out there to stand up and take this into their hands to help combat gender based violence. This was just an amateur entry for me in this competition as i took it lightly but now since I am making it to the next round I will be going all out for research and extra work. I want to influence change not only in my country but world wide with my writing because I discovered there is power in my word.” Tebogo Baker, Media Print Winner

Swaziland: “I also want to thank my wife for the support and assistance because this would not be possible without her. Huge gratitude to SWADE for introducing me to the world of bee-keeping.”- Boy Boy Mamba, a two time winner who got the award for emerging entrepreneurs and was also a runner-up in climate change, said he was ecstatic about how the night went. He thanked God for seeing him through the whole process and for opening up opportunities for him.

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These vox pops are part of the GL News Service special coverage of the SADC Gender Protocol Summits underway across the region, offering fresh views on everyday news.