Byline: Refeloe Letsoisa

08 August 2024

The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) kicked off #WomensMonth by hosting the 2024 Women Commission (SWC) Lekgotla on Thursday, 01 August 2024 and Friday, 02 August 2024 at the Graceland Hotel Casino and Country Club in Secunda. 

The aim of the 2-day event was to take stock of women’s representation in local government and capacitate municipalities on the functions of women’s causes and their relationship with SWC.

It also aimed to draft the Plan of Action for the Mpumalanga SWC and report on the implementation of the 2023–24 financial year resolutions.

“Today it has been ten years since the hosting of the Provincial SALGA Women Commission Lekgotla in the province. There have also been 30 years of democracy since 1994. Today I stand before you to address a critical issue that affects us all: the acceleration of economic empowerment for women and women living with disabilities.

At the same time, we fight the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide. We need to activate the local economic development (LED) programs in local government to give effect to supporting women’s initiatives,” said Clir. Sibongile Makushe-Mazibuko, Mpumalanga SWC Commissioner.

The SALGA Women’s Commission reflects the SALGA mandate and is thus established to coordinate, promote, and advocate for gender-appropriate strategies and practices within member municipalities and feed into national, regional, and global agendas and processes.

The strategic objective of the Women’s Commission is to increase the representation and participation of women in local government to parity. Statistics show that 59% of Executive Mayors, Speakers, and Chief Whips in Mpumalanga are male and 41% are female.

There is still more work that the SWC needs to do across the country to balance these numbers.

Also attending was the Honorable Speaker of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature, Hon. Masina emphasized that “we are still not far from winning the battle against gender-based violence, which is destroying the very fabric of our society. 

As a legislature, we have held various awareness campaigns and workshops and convened women’s parliaments to draw from experiences of violence perpetrated against women.

We need to re-educate men, boys, and even women, schooled and socialised in the art of patriarchal thinking, which seeks to build an identity on a foundation that sees the will to dominate as an essential way of asserting oneself.”.

The 2021 local government elections saw some reversal of the past gains made in the overall representation of women at the local government level since 2011. Women’s representation was 38% in 2011, 41% in 2016, and declined by 4% in 2021 to 37%. While women’s representation remains higher than it was at the first local government elections in 1995 at 19%, the drop to 37% in 2021 should be cause for concern.

Another scary statistic that talks to the theme of the Lekgotla is that almost 11 women are murdered every day in South Africa, according to the SA Police Service.

Women need to be at the table where key decisions are taken and make the desired impact as agents to influence and inspire the change we desire to see as they take their rightful places in an environment to lead effectively.