The majority of senior positions in eThekwini Municipality are held by men and this has raised concerns from opposition parties that the municipality is in violation of the country’s employment equity regulations.
The gender parity observation was made based on the municipality’s latest organogram, which “The Mercury” has seen, detailing the number of positions in the council, those who occupy the positions and those that are vacant.
The municipal organogram painted a concerning picture of gender parity and shows that men predominantly occupy the positions of influence, from deputy city manager to heads, deputy heads of the different units and the general staff complement was skewed in favour of men in different management units.
It also exposed the City’s failure to advance women representation in the workplace by ensuring that women are represented in strategic positions of the municipality.
While the City acknowledged that it had not been able to find suitably qualified candidates for some posts, it stated that there was fair gender representation in some units. The municipality also said the situation was made worse by some of the women employees being head-hunted.
At executive level, there are only two positions that are listed as having been filled by women.
The post of deputy city manager (DCM) for Economic Development and Planning, which had been vacant for almost a year, is to be filled. The municipality said Mr Lihle Phewa has been recommended for the post.
In the cluster of deputy city manager for finance, the organogram lists all the positions in this unit except one, that of the personal assistant, as having been occupied by men.
In the cleansing and solid waste department, the position of head is vacant, although a woman was acting in the post.
In the Office of the DCM: Corporate and Human Capital there are two women, the DCM is also a woman. Two posts are vacant.
The office of head of human capital reflects better when it comes to gender representation. While the head is a man, there are 7 posts of deputy heads, and 6 of these are occupied by women.
In the office of the head of eThekwini Municipal Academy, while the head is a man, there are 6 senior posts listed, two are vacant and 4 are listed as occupied by women.
Councillors expressed concerns about gender representation while others said the appointments must be primarily on merit.
ActionSA councillor Alan Beesley said it was totally unacceptable that there is such little women representation in senior positions within the municipality.
“The fault for this lies with the mayor and the ANC-led municipality who talk about gender equality but do little about it. In a city whose female population is more than males it is only right that females have a better representation,” said Beesley.
DA councillor Mzamo Billy said that while the DA appreciates the importance of women representation in key strategic positions of power, this acknowledgement did not supersede its fundamental belief of appointing men and women based mainly on their qualifications and merit.
“Our view is that there are many highly qualified women who have not been given a fair opportunity because of failed ANC policies and the obsession to manipulate processes.
“The ANC must be held accountable for interfering in the appointment of people in these key positions, using its policies and ignoring qualified and competent men and women,” Billy said.
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said there were three vacant posts, which are section 56 positions whose appointments are regulated by the Municipal Systems Act as amended.
She said Phewa has been recommended for the post of DCM for Economic Development and Planning.
“Preference will always be given to females in accordance with the Employment Equity Act. Suitable candidates are assessed against the essential requirements of posts,” Sisilana said.
She detailed the women representation within the municipality.
“There are 4 females appointed in the office of the DCM: Trading Services.
This accounts for approximately 50% of the staff establishment of this office inclusive of the DCM post.”
She said of the 11 posts in the electricity unit, five vacancies were identified and could potentially be filled by women. However, all appointments in the municipality are based on merit, she said.
“In the office of the DCM: Finance there were no suitable female candidates in the recent appointments. The deputy head positions at an executive level are mainly occupied by females. Through normal attrition, female candidates can be considered,” she said.
Sisilana said the Employment Equity Act compelled the organisation to consider women to ensure parity. This is done on the provision that they are suitably qualified for the post.
“Female candidates at executive levels are well sought after in the market.
The municipality is not a profit-generating organisation which makes it impossible in some instances to pay salaries that are beyond the remuneration strategy utilised by the organisation.
“The talent management strategy of developing female employees for executive levels has proven to be successful, but there are challenges of the candidates being head-hunted by the private sector, particularly candidates from certain demographic groups,” said the municipal spokesperson.
The Mercury