SPEAKER OF THE KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE CALLS FOR INCREASED FEMALE REPRESENTATION IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
SPEAKER OF THE KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE CALLS FOR INCREASED FEMALE REPRESENTATION IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Speaker, Nontembeko Boyce, has urged the province’s women to actively advocate for increased female representation in key leadership positions as political parties prepare for the municipal elections on November 4.
She was addressing women from all around KwaZulu-Natal who gathered in Ixopo today for the annual provincial Women’s Parliament. It was held under the theme: “Honouring our legacy, empowering our future: Women leading equality, justice, and inclusive growth”.
The Speaker acknowledged the strides that South Africa had made in addressing gender imbalances but emphasised that significant work remains to be done.
“The representation of women in strategic local government posts has decreased. I am urging you delegates to advocate for women’s representation in crucial local government positions. Boyce said.
“It is a fact that the largest number of people who participate in the elections are women and the highest number of members in all political parties are also women.”
The Commission on Gender Equality (CGE) recently reported that women’s representation in local government had declined from 41% in 2016
to 37% in 2021, reversing previous gains. The CGE recommended amendments to electoral legislation, stronger accountability for political parties, and greater support for women participating in politics.
Honourable Boyce’s call comes at a time when political parties are actively gathering candidate lists to represent them in the elections. Mayoral hopefuls are included.
The provincial Executive Council, headed by Premier Honourable Thami Ntuli, also attended today’s session, and gave an update on the progress made in putting into practice the resolutions of last year’s Women’s Parliament.
According to Ntuli, the province was committed to and had a definite plan for seeing that women were in positions of authority.
“Yesterday, we announced the appointment of Dr. Fikile Qwabe as the new HOD of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Ms. Nokuthula Khanyile was recently named the provincial Director General. This demonstrates our sincere dedication to this cause.”
ISSUED BY THE KWAZULU-NATAL COMMUNICATION
