A high-powered Buffalo City Metro delegation, appearing before parliament on Wednesday, took serious flak from MPs for gender imbalance within their team.
The city delegation, led by mayor Princess Faku, appeared before parliament’s joint sitting of the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) and co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) committees.
They were grilled on a number of governance and financial management issues faced by the metro.
These include their latest and unimproved audit outcomes, investigations done by the SIU into a number of troubled city projects and the use and payment of R18m to consultants in the year under review.
Also in the spotlight was their alleged sloppiness in disciplining officials implicated in a R21m emergency temporary housing tender, among other things.
But before they could even get to the business of the day, the city delegation was lambasted for its failure to have adequate female representation in their team, with parliamentarians saying such an arrangement was backward and unacceptable.
Of the metro’s 15-member team that touched base in Cape Town on Wednesday, Faku was the only woman.
Among those forming part of the city’s delegation were city manager Mxolisi Yawa, acting CFO Siyabulela Peter, chief operations officer Vincent Pillay, legal head advocate Mlamli Zenzile, BCMDA chief executive Ayanda Gqoboka, mayoral committee members Yomelela Tyali and Sakhumzi Caga, and water and sanitation acting head of department Mkhuseli Nongogo, among other men.
While Faku explained that the team consisted of only people who had been invited by parliament for the meeting and that the majority of department heads in the city’s administration echelons were, in fact, women, MPs did not take it kindly that, other than her, no other woman in the city’s high-powered delegates was present in the meeting.
During deliberations, member after member took time to voice displeasure about such an “unwelcomed” composition of the metro’s delegation, with one parliamentarian referring to it as a “boys choir”.
First to raise concerns was Scopa chair and Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi, who, in no uncertain terms, said the absence of women administrators or political leaders in BCM’s delegation raised eyebrows, was backward conduct and was unacceptable.
Zibi said it was a similar “unaccepted” situation when the committees met a delegation from the OR Tambo District Municipality a day earlier.
He then referred to the BCM delegation as a “boys choir”.
MK party MP Khayelihle Madlala said the lack of women representatives in delegations appearing before Scopa was a serious concern as it reflected a lack of transformation.
“This is one of the issues I am becoming uncomfortable with. Yesterday, we had the same issue but we let it slip on a lighter note.
“On Tuesday, we had a delegation with no female, and today, in a delegation of over 10 people, there is only one female.
“As progressive forces, we tend to take this thing lightly and normally laugh about it and let it go, but I do not think that should be the case, as this speaks to issues of transformation and whether we are creating a society that we say we want.
“This is a huge delegation for us to only have one female. This is a matter I would really like to see addressed,” Madlala said.
In response, Faku said she was not part of the “boys choir” as she was “a feminist to the fullest”.
She said it was unfortunate that those portfolios invited to the meeting were occupied by men, saying most senior administration posts in BCM, especially HODs, were women.
EFF councillor Veronica Mente then took the podium and said such a challenge was, in fact, prevalent across the Eastern Cape.
“This is very problematic, especially ePhondweni [Eastern Cape]. We can’t have a situation where all municipal managers, CFOs, CEOs and COOs are always men.
“The HODs are by the way. We are now talking about people that are in charge of institutions.
“All strategic positions are occupied by men and that needs to change.
“This is a problem in the Eastern Cape and maybe should be taken to political platforms, because as things stand, transformation is not coming,” Mente said.
MKP’s Jeffrey Mtolo also took a swipe at the delegation, saying it was a serious concern that needed to be looked into urgently.
“We can’t just have a male choir. The metro needs to consider the issue of the composition of their management structure,” Mtolo said.
The meeting was still ongoing at the time of publication late on Wednesday.
Daily Dispatch
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