Committee plans to scrutinise funding set aside to respond to GBV - EWN

Parliament's Standing Committee on Appropriations plans to scrutinise the funding set aside to respond to Gender-Based Violence. Committee chairperson Mmusi Maimane says he will formally invite the Minister of Social Development, Dina Pule, to appear before it to determine whether the funding is enough. It follows the recent discovery of the bodies of several women in Ekurhuleni in Gauteng. Maimane said the committee's intervention is particularly important following last year's declaration by the President of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide as a national disaster.

Maimane said the committee will engage with acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia on the planning and funding required to deal with the gender-based violence crisis. Maimane said despite a police budget of approximately R127 billion for the 2026/27 financial year, the police-to-population ratio remains a concern, with one officer for every 427 residents. He says the police must assure the public that effective preventive measures are being implemented to curb GBV, and South Africa must begin to realise tangible results from the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, adopted in 2020.