WRITTEN QUESTION No. 541/96 by Martina GREDLER to the Commission. Helen Joseph Women's Development Centre
Date: 1996-03-11
Institutions: European Parliament, GREDLER
Subjects: EU aid, South Africa, adult education, development aid, female unemployment, financial aid, non-governmental organisation, position of women, vocational training













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91996E0541

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 541/96 by Martina GREDLER to the Commission. Helen Joseph Women's Development Centre  


Official Journal C 297 , 08/10/1996 P. 0007 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-0541/96 by Martina Gredler (ELDR) to the Commission (11 March 1996)Subject: Helen Joseph Women's Development CentreAs part of a development programme to raise the standard of living of women in South Africa's Northern Cape region the Helen Joseph Women's Development Centre concentrates its activities on training courses for unemployed women. The centre is in Galeshewe township, Kimberley.In 1995 the European Union refused to support the centre on the grounds that South Africa is not a developing country.Is there any other possibility for providing funding for the Helen Joseph Women's Development Centre?Is there an appropriate budget heading for such support?If so, which budget heading is it?What are the time limits for applying for funding for 1996 or 1997?What conditions would be attached to such funding?Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission (10 May 1996)From January 1st, 1996 South Africa is in the Organization for economic cooperation and development development assistance committee list of aid recipients as a low-middle income country, like Ivory Coast and Cameroon.The small budget line B7-611 (women in development) is normally used to promote the mobilisation of mainstream funds rather than for funding direct interventions in the field. In fact, funding for development activities which include attention to gender issues or focus specifically on women is the responsibility of mainstream development funding, as stressed in the recent Council Resolution of 20 December 1995 on integrating gender issues in development cooperation.The European programme for reconstruction and development (EPRD) in South Africa is financed through the Commission's budget line B7-3200, which funds programmes to improve the situation of the most disadvantaged groups of South African society. One of the projects approved by the Commission for the EPRD is a non governmental organization's (NGO) support programme, (Transitional national development trust) which should act as a clearing house for NGO projects.Project proposals within agreed sectors (education, health, rural development, urban development, private sector support and good governance) are discussed and prepared in cooperation between the Commission and the South African government. For specific proposals, like Helen Joseph women's development centre, it is best to contact the Commission delegation in South Africa.As a matter of fact, initial project appraisal is carried out in South Africa by the Commission delegation which assesses, in close collaboration with the NGOs involved, if a proposal reflects the priorities agreed upon by the Commission and the South African government and the way the proposal can be dealt with in the framework of the European Programme for reconstruction and development in South Africa.