Rights groups irked by attacks on mayor

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu and his wife Thembeka. File photo: Siyanda Mayeza

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu and his wife Thembeka. File photo: Siyanda Mayeza

Published Oct 24, 2014

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Durban - Career limiting, unfair and reversing the gains made on gender equality – that was how calls for the wife of the KwaZulu-Natal premier to be removed as mayor and be re-deployed to a less critical office have been viewed by activists for gender equality.

Gender activists and the ANC Women’s League have slammed calls by the IFP for the resignation of uThungulu District mayor, Thembeka Mchunu.

She was asked to step down as mayor to focus on the spousal office within the Premier’s Office – a ceremonial position with no salary.

Thembeka was deployed to the mayorship in 2012, a year before Senzo Mchunu was promoted to acting premier.

Mbuyiselo Botha, a spokesman for the gender lobbyists group, Sonke Gender Justice, said the calls were “unfair” and defended Thembeka – saying she was “independent” and had a right to fulfil her own talents.

Botha said women had their own skills and talents that they should be judged on before they were wives of politicians. He said if roles were reversed – nobody would demand Mchunu be moved to a spousal office.

“She should not be denigrated to be known as just the wife of so and so,” he said.

Thembeka was the ANC’s deputy secretary in the Musa Dladla region, but was taken out of a regional executive position earlier this month at a conference held at the University of Zululand. Her term as mayor expires in 2016.

Political analyst, Somadoda Fikeni, said being a wife of a premier should not be “career limiting”.

“Politics within the party may have some contribution, because she may not be as strong internally as she was before and we know the contests ahead of conferences is not a smooth process, factions emerge and this may play a part,” he said.

ANC Women’s League provincial secretary, Weziwe Thusi, said the mayor was an activist and had led in the ANC with aplomb.

“We support all women … especially when they are given responsibility, comrade Thembeka is a capable leader who has won multiple awards in her municipality for the good work she has done, if there are shortcomings let us help her and speak about this internally. For other political parties to use this as an opportunity is not fair,” she said.

Thusi said the mayor was not compelled to be active in the spousal office, but would contribute when she had time and said she was not required to accompany the premier everywhere.

The IFP’s Women’s Brigade chairwoman, Thembeni kaMadlopha-Mthethwa, said the mayor had to pick between the two offices as she was “conflicted” as to where she would help women, people with disabilities and children – as was her role within the spousal office.

“There is a conflict of interest because if provinces want to go to regions, she will choose programmes in uThungulu … she must choose one office to concentrate on, so she can excel,” she said.

Ndabezinhle Sibiya, Mchunu’s spokesman, said there was no incentive for running the spousal office apart from a vehicle for performing spousal duties.

He added that Mchunu was not responsible for the appointment of mayors.

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