Minister Chikunga
By Mpho Moloi
Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, has issued a powerful call for inclusive economic transformation, placing women at the centre of energy, agriculture, logistics, and tourism – the key sectors that define Mpumalanga’s economic landscape. Speaking at the Third Technical Meeting of the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group (EWWG), held at the Skukuza Conference Centre in the Kruger National Park, the Minister outlined South Africa’s bold vision for advancing gender equity and economic justice on both national and global fronts.
Mpumalanga: A Province of Untapped Potential
Minister Chikunga described Mpumalanga as the province that “powers, feeds, and connects South Africa”, highlighting its coal-fired power stations in Kusile and Kendal, the citrus farms of Nkomazi, and the tourism powerhouse of the Kruger National Park. She emphasised that while these sectors drive national prosperity, they have yet to deliver full and fair participation for women – particularly those whose invisible labour underpins the province’s productivity.
“Our task is to ensure that the energy transition, the tourism boom and the manufacturing spine you see here translate into real ownership, decent jobs and fair returns for the women who already carry this province’s invisible labour on their shoulders,” said Chikunga.
Elevating Women in Value Chains
The Minister’s keynote address called for immediate structural reforms to ensure women are integrated meaningfully into Mpumalanga’s economic value chains. She challenged stakeholders to convert gender equality ambitions into tangible economic outcomes, particularly in sectors like renewable energy, agro-processing, and transport corridors such as the Maputo-Gauteng development zone.
“Mpumalanga sits at the intersection of energy, agriculture, logistics and tourism, the very value chains in which women must now claim their full, equitable share,” she stated.
A G20 Platform Rooted in African Realities
Although South Africa chairs the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group in 2025, Minister Chikunga underscored the African character of the initiative.
“South Africa may chair the process, but we view this moment as Africa’s G20 and the People’s G20,” she said.
She reaffirmed the importance of bringing grassroots voices into global policy frameworks, highlighting recent community dialogues in Mkhondo as a model for inclusive engagement.
“Our conversations here mean little if they do not reflect the voices we heard in Mkhondo and those of citizens across all G20 nations and if they do not translate into real improvements in their daily lives,” she said.
Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability: A Vision for Change
Minister Chikunga detailed the three key focus areas of the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group under South Africa’s leadership:
1. Valuing the care economy – both paid and unpaid;
2. Unlocking genuine financial inclusion for women;
3. Eradicating gender-based violence and femicide.
She announced progress made since taking the reins, including:
• A global conference on financial inclusion advocating gender-responsive land and credit policies;
• A C-suite dialogue with African banks, piloting inclusive financial products and tying executive bonuses to gender-inclusion targets;
• Provincial legacy projects such as solar-powered childcare centres and women-led agro-processing hubs.
“These milestones confirm that our agenda is no longer a set of good ideas; it is a living programme of action poised for global scale,” she declared.
Care Economy: The Hidden Engine of Growth
Central to the Minister’s message was the care economy, which she called the “hidden engine” sustaining global productivity. She urged G20 nations to treat care work as critical infrastructure, estimating that if fully accounted for, care work would equate to 40% of global GDP and support over 380 million jobs.
Her three-part call to action included:
• Public investment in care infrastructure;
• Regular time-use surveys to quantify unpaid care;
• Legal reform for parental leave, living wages for carers, and gender-equitable workplace policies.
“Treating care as peripheral is not a statistical error; it is an act of economic self-harm rooted in patriarchal thinking,” she warned.
From Policy Consensus to Action
As the G20 Working Group progresses toward finalising its Ministerial Declaration, Minister Chikunga challenged delegates to translate consensus into costed, timeline-driven policy options that would uplift women meaningfully.
“Our work will be measured by practical outcomes: a woman whose unpaid care burden is lighter; a girl who stays in school because a community crèche opened; a survivor who receives timely support and justice. These are the tests that matter,” she said.
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