Johannesburg - The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has slammed the DA for regressing on female representation in its metros following the watershed municipal elections in August.
The DA-run metros of Cape Town, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay faired poorly on gender equality compared to the five other metros ruled by the ANC, but none of the eight metros achieved the 50/50 gender quota.
And of the 1 477 proportional representation (PR) and ward councillors in the eight metros, only 569 (38.6 percent) were female, with the remaining 908 (61 percent) males.
This was revealed by the CGE leadership during a media briefing at Constitution Hill in Joburg on Monday.
The female councillors in the DA councils of Cape Town accounted for 40.3 percent, Joburg 39.4 percent, Tshwane 36.5 percent and 33.3 percent in Nelson Mandela Bay.
The ANC, on the other hand, achieved a 46 percent representation in Buffalo City, 38.5 percent in eThekwini, Ekurhuleni 37.5 percent and Mangaung 37 percent.
At 52.8 percent, eThekwini was the only metro with more female PR councillors. DA mayor Solly Msimanga’s Tshwane was at the bottom of the list with 38.3 percent.
CGE chairperson Mfanozelwe Shozi said the DA should be blamed for regressing on gender equality in its councils.
“They should go back to the drawing board. When we engaged with them they said they look at merits and not quotas,” he said.
Shozi was echoed by his colleague, commissioner Dr Nondumiso Maphazi, who stated that they had written several letters to the DA in the build-up to the elections, but they allegedly refused to present themselves before the commission.
“At face value the majority of DA-governed metros reflect that gender equality is not prioritised by the political party,” she said.
Another commissioner and gender activist, Mbuyiselo Botha, chipped in, saying they were not in the business of “bashing the DA” and pointed out that “the elephant in the room is patriarchy”. He said while women campaigned prominently for their political parties, they were overlooked for influential positions.
The CGE report stated that both the Ekurhuleni and Tshwane councils were currently led by female speakers, a precedent set during the 2011 municipal elections.
The metros of Cape Town and Nelson Mandela Bay had female chief whips in 2011, but they have since been replaced by males. This compared to eThekwini, which had appointed a female in the position previously held by a male.
Cape Town was the only DA metro led by a female mayor, Patricia de Lille, compared to eThekwini and Mangaung, led by Zandile Gumede and Olly Mlamleli respectively.
The CGE’s head of research, Dr Thabo Rapoo, said with the ANC’s electoral disaster “the quest for gender equality suffered a blow”.
This, he said, was due to the notion that the ANC was the only party which had committed itself to the 50/50 gender representation.
Western Cape Premier and former DA leader Helen Zille came under fire from the ANC when she appointed an all-male cabinet in 2011.
@luyolomkentane
The Star