As South Africa commemorates Women’s Month, National Treasury Head of Communications, Cleo Mosana, has emphasized the importance of women supporting and elevating each other in the work place.

“You must be able to spot talent and be intentional about what you do. When you go up, take somebody with you. In my team, I throw people in the deep end of the sea because I want them to build that confidence,” Mosana said on Monday.

She was addressing a virtual panel discussion for women in media and communications about lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, which was hosted by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS).

“I am a leader because of the people that are below me, the sisterhood that I bring in, the heart that I bring in, the opportunities and the training and development that I ensure is there for my people,” Mosana said.

This year’s Women’s Month celebrations are taking place under the theme ‘The Year of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke: Realising Women’s Rights’, in recognition of the 150th birthday anniversary of Mme Charlotte Makgomo Mannya Maxeke.

“This year, we are honouring and recognising the work of a woman’s struggle, who set the tone for us to enjoy our freedom – Mme Charlotte Maxeke,” GCIS Policy and Research Chief Director, Tasneem Carrim, said.

Carrim emphasized the importance of government working with the media sector to inform citizens about the pandemic.

“Government communication works hand-in-hand with the media to keep the nation informed. Our work is ensuring that the media sector remains our partner and continues to play a critical role in the pandemic… We want to strengthen this partnership.

“We also want to make sure that South Africans are empowered and women need to be an equal part of this empowerment so that everybody is able to make educated choices, especially around the important phase of vaccination,” Carrim said.

Government has ramped up the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, with vaccination opened for people older than 35, while the 18 to 34-year-olds will start getting vaccinated on 1 September.

South Africa has to date administered a total of 9 387 129 vaccinations.

Source: South African Government News Agency