BWASA Limpopo calls on ANC to diversify provincial advisory boards

POLOKWANE – The ANC’s promise of equal representation in provincial advisory boards in state entities or at management level, has been playing like a broken record for some time.

This view by Business Women Association of South Africa (BWASA) Limpopo chairperson, Khomotso Motshekga comes in line with the ANC’s recently announced deliberate efforts to diversify appointments on state entity boards to include members of all races, genders and youths, among other population groups.

The province’s boards have not been reflective of democratic prescripts, according to ANC secretary Reuben Madadzhe, at a media briefing held at the ANC headquarters, Frans Mohlala House last Wednesday.

In the next batch of appointments, deployees would be mandated to balanced groups, where the number of men will equal that of women, traditional leaders, youths and races other than Africans, who are already well-represented on most boards, he said.

“We often see a number of 40% or less women representation, and roughly 60% male representation, and this needs to change,” he alluded.

This was among other resolutions made by the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) in a meeting held the previous day.

Among other matters that were discussed, was the “embarrassment the province suffered in the last financial year at the hands of entities that returned their portions of financial allocations to the National Treasury” due to their failure to spend the funds timeously.

While Motshekga echoed his equity stance sentiments of the province’s boards mainly represented by “matured old boys clubs”, she also said other population groups have been sidelined for far too long even in political elections or administrative work in government.

“Therefore, for BWASA, the proof would need to be in the pudding. It is only the implementation of a true democracy in this province that would make the qualified women of BWASA buy into that resolution. As it stands in Limpopo, unless an office is designated for the work of a certain group, the minority is generally marginalised. There is just no effort by government to include them. We will have to wait and see,” she said.

Meanwhile, the idea of equal representation is a good one on paper, but one that requires actual political and administrative work, according to TUT Polokwane public affairs associate, Prof Ricky Mukonza.

If not carefully orchestrated, the effort to exercise democracy may inhibit the merits of prospective qualifying candidates.

“What then if more women than men perform better in an interview? Will some of the women suffer a fate so that other appointees meet the standards of equity?” he asked rhetorically.

He said for the envisioned effect, the party needs to invest largely in equal education, for all groups in society to reach a form of evenness, although impossible to achieve entirely, he added.

“Only after you have invested in your people and trust their capabilities, can you talk about equality. Unfortunately, it cannot only be talked about at the tail end and say it will achieved in the next round of appointments. What have they been doing to reach that goal in the meantime?” he concluded.