Gauteng Provincial Legislature Private Bag X52 Johannesburg, PDF Free Download

Gauteng Provincial Legislature Private Bag X52 Johannesburg, 2000 Tel: +27(0) 11 498 5555 Fax: +27(0) 11 498 5999 www.gpl.gov.za Gauteng Legislature condemns violence against Women & Children Gauteng Provincial Legislature Private Bag X52 Johannesburg, 2000 Tel: +27(0) 11 498 5555 Fax: +27(0) 11 498 5999 www.gpl.gov.za Gauteng Legislature condemns violence against Women & Children

GAUTENG LEGISLATURE MULTI-PARTY WOMEN S CAUCUS CONSTITUTION Socio-Economic Exclusion of Vulnerable Groups NOT ON OUR WATCH

CONTENTS 1. PREAMBLE 2 2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 2 3. GOVERNANCE 3 4. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 4 5. MODE OF OPERATION 4 6. ACCOUNTABILITY 5 7. CAUCUS MEMBERSHIP 6 8. TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP 6 9. QUORUM 6 10. DISSOLUTION OF THE CAUCUS 6 11. AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION 7 12. REVOCATION OF THE PREVIOUS CONSTITUTION AND ITS EFFECTS 7

1. PREAMBLE The Constitution of the Gauteng Legislature Multi-Party Women s Caucus is the foundation for the establishment of the Caucus and it contains broad principles that frame the existence of the Caucus and guide its operations. This Constitution is binding to the leaders and members of the Gauteng Legislature Multi-Party Women s Caucus. This Constitution forms part of the governance instruments for the Gauteng Legislature women parliamentarians who, irrespective of gender, race, religion, culture, class and political affiliation, are united by community of interest, respect for the rule of law and individual rights and freedoms, and by pursuit of the positive ideals of parliamentary democracy. 2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The Gauteng Legislature Multi-Party Women s Caucus aims to be an advisory, consultative and influencing entity in the Gauteng Legislature, through: 2.1. Advocacy for the interests and concerns of women Members of the Legislature. 2.2. Championing discussions of women s issues in the Legislature. 2.3. Making submissions on women s issues to relevant Committees. 2.4. Championing the mainstreaming of gender and human rights in the business of the Legislature. 2.5. Promoting gender perspectives in the programming of debates. 2.6. Getting involved in debates on developmental and women empowerment issues in political structures across spheres of government, institutions supporting democracy, non-governmental organisations and other civil society organisations. 2.7. Bench-marking the work of the Caucus through national and international bestpractice standards. 2.8. Promoting knowledge of the constitutional, legislative, economic, social and cultural aspects of parliamentary democracy, with particular reference to the mainstreaming of gender and human rights in legislative processes. 2.9. Organising/hosting and attending conferences, seminars and other fora to share knowledge in relation to gender and human rights mainstreaming in the legislative sector, including encouraging exchange visits between Legislatures nationally and internationally. 2.10. Encourage compliance to national and international gender and human rights mainstreaming instruments, as well as reporting to the relevant authorities in this regard. 2 Constitution Of The Gauteng Legislature Multi-Party Women s Caucus: June 2016

2.11. Championing research and publishing of gender and human rights mainstreaming material, relevant to the work of the Caucus. 2.12. Promoting training and development for women parliamentarians, including young women and persons with disabilities. 2.13. Facilitate and assist Local Government legislators to establish similar structures in line with the vision of the Gauteng Legislature Multi-Party Women s Caucus. 3. GOVERNANCE The Gauteng Legislature Multi-Party Women s Caucus; on acceptance by the prospective appointees of an invitation to hold office, will be governed through the Executive Committee, constituted by: 3.1. The Chairperson who will be the Deputy Chief Whip of the Majority Party in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. 3.2. The Deputy Chairperson. 3.3. Two members from the Opposition parties within the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. 3.4. A Representatives of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Gauteng Legislature Branch (CWP). 3.5. The Secretary of the Gauteng Legislature Multi-Party Women s Caucus who will be a senior female official in the office of the Speaker with a legal background. The Secretariat will be a team of implementers working with the Secretary of the Gauteng Legislature Multi-Party Women s Caucus responsible to facilitate, implement, compile reports and assist the Chairperson to table such reports to the Oversight Committees and the House. The team shall be comprised of the following officials: 3.6. A Senior Official in the Office of the Speaker with a legal background to guide and advise on legal matters as well as champion implementation. 3.7 The Transversal Mainstreaming Focal Point in the Office of the Secretary to provide technical support to the Caucus. 3.8 The Parliamentary Exchange Programme Manager to facilitate cooperative governance of the caucus. 3.9. Any other resource that the chairperson deems necessary to assist the Secretariat. 3

4. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 4.1. Management and control of the operations and processes of the Caucus shall be vested in the Executive Committee and the Committee shall be competent to exercise all powers in the interest of the Caucus, including allocating roles and responsibilities, enforcing compliance to Caucus rules and governance instruments, determining budget projections as informed by the Caucus performance plan, determining terms and conditions for Caucus operations, assessing the performance of the Caucus and enforcing the necessary reporting requirements. 4.2. The Chairperson holds a key role of ensuring that the GPL Multi-Party Women s Caucus functions in a manner that supports the achievement of the overall goals of the Caucus, including promoting the full participation of Caucus members to the activities of the forum, ensuring all relevant matters are discussed and that effective decisions are taken and accounted for. The Chairperson will represent the Caucus as its figurehead in both internal and external fora and acts as a link between the Caucus and various stakeholders. 4.3. The Deputy Chairperson provides support to and assists the Chairperson in undertaking her role, and will from time to time; in the absence of the Chairperson, assume the role of the Chairperson as required. The Deputy Chairperson will also undertake other responsibilities as delegated by the Chairperson or requested by the Caucus. 4.4. The Secretary is responsible for executing the Caucus tasks, as identified by the Caucus, including the production of strategic documents, performance reports, research reports/papers, proposals and other relevant tasks of the Caucus. 4.5. The secretariat will provide secretarial and administrative support to the GPL Multi-Party Women s Caucus, including managing the calendar of the Caucus, meeting logistics, taking meeting minutes and distribution of documents, amongst other administrative duties. 4.6. The Caucus will work closely with the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP). 5. MODE OF OPERATION The GPL Multi-Party Women s Caucus will base its operations on well organised and standardised processes, including: 5.1. A strategy document that provides direction in relation to how the Caucus will conduct its business in order to achieve its goals. 4 Constitution Of The Gauteng Legislature Multi-Party Women s Caucus: June 2016

5.2. A 5 Year Strategic Plan that documents decisions that the Caucus will carry out in a political term. 5.3. An annual performance plan that breaks down annual milestones that must be achieved by the Caucus, with SMART performance measures and budget aligned to the activities of the annual performance plan. 5.4. Terms of Reference (ToRs) that provide procedures for the day-to-day operations of the Caucus, including meeting schedules, reporting lines, roles and responsibilities, standard practices and performance standards amongst others. 5.5. Reporting to relevant authorities locally, nationally and internationally, in compliance to national and international gender and human rights instruments, to which South Africa is a signatory. 5.6. A partnership/collaborative framework to guide engagements with stakeholders with common goals, for resource-sharing and collaborative interventions. 5.7. The financial year of the Caucus will be that of the Gauteng Legislature and the Gauteng Legislature planning and budgeting processes will also apply to the Caucus. 6. ACCOUNTABILITY The Gauteng Legislature Multi-Party Women s Caucus will be funded through the Legislature budget vote and will be accountable to the Legislature as prescribed by the Financial Management of Parliament Amendment Act, 2014. The Caucus will also account to the Oversight Committee on the Premier s Office and the Legislature (OCPOL), in terms of its financial and non-financial performance. Reports of the Caucus will be table in the House by OCPOL. The conduct of members of the Gauteng Legislature Multi-Party Women s Caucus will be bound by the prescripts of the Gauteng Legislature Code of Conduct for Members and the House Rules. Contravention of the afore-mentioned Code of Conduct for Members and the House Rules will result in remedial actions as prescribed in the Gauteng Legislature Code of Conduct for Members and the House Rules. The Chairperson of the Caucus will have the prerogative to apply the Gauteng Legislature Code of Conduct for Members and the House Rules, as required and in consultation with the Executive Committee. 5

7. CAUCUS MEMBERSHIP Membership to the GPL Multi-Party Women s Caucus will consist of: 7.1. Women Presiding Officers. 7.2. All Women Members of the Gauteng Legislature. 7.3. Representatives of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP). 8. TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP A member of the Caucus may terminate her membership by written notice to the Chairperson. The Chairperson will have the ultimate authority to approve or reject the termination, as informed by the circumstances of the termination. Membership to the Caucus will also be terminated if a member has reached her end of political term and no longer meets the requirements of the Legislature in terms of the House Rules. The death of a member will similarly lead to the termination of membership. 9. QUORUM The quorum for a meeting of the GPL Multi-Party Women s Caucus will be a simple majority of representatives of the members of the Caucus. If the meeting remains inquorate for a period of 30 minutes after the time appointed for the meeting, it shall stand adjourned to the same place at such date and time as the majority of the delegates then present shall determine. The quorum for such an adjourned meeting shall again be a simple majority of representatives of members of the Caucus. 10. DISSOLUTION OF THE CAUCUS The Gauteng Legislature Multi-Party Women s Caucus will dissolve at the end of each political term, at with stage the Caucus general elections will be conducted to elect the Executive Committee, the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson. The Secretary shall before dissolution facilitate and assist the Chairperson to prepare a handover report to be tabled to the relevant oversight committee. 6 Constitution Of The Gauteng Legislature Multi-Party Women s Caucus: June 2016

11. AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION By its nature, the Constitution is a long-term document that should not be amended frequently. Therefore, this Constitution shall only be amended by a valid proposed amendment adopted by the Executive Committee. A proposed amendment shall be considered valid under the following circumstances: 11.1. If it does not render the GPL Multi-Party Women s Caucus to be in contravention with national or international laws. 11.2. If it is submitted in writing to the Secretary fourteen days prior to the next meeting of the Caucus. 11.3. If it is proposed by a member of the Executive Committee or members of the Caucus. Upon receipt of a valid proposed amendment, the amendment shall be circulated to all members of the Caucus for their preparation prior to the next Caucus meeting where the amendment will be discussed. A valid proposed amendment shall be placed on the agenda of the next meeting of the Caucus, following receipt of the proposed amendment, for discussion by the Caucus and it shall be adopted if it is supported by a simple majority vote of the Caucus members present and voting at the Caucus meeting. 12. REVOCATION OF THE PREVIOUS CONSTITUTION AND ITS EFFECTS As from the date at which this Constitution is amended as per valid proposed amendments, the previous Constitution is revoked without affecting action taken under it. Persons appointed under the provisions of the previous Constitution who are still in office on the date that this Constitution is amended shall; unless it is otherwise provided, continue in office until such time as is provided in the amended Constitution for the expiry of their term of office. 7

NKOSI SIKELEL IAFRICA SIGNATURE: 8 Constitution Of The Gauteng Legislature Multi-Party Women s Caucus: June 2016