New chapter in local government: Representativity and gender equality at senior management level

The Department of Local Government in the Western Cape as part of our mandate to strengthen, monitor and capacitate local government with a focus on developmental local government, has now embarked on an exciting new venture to level the playing fields at middle to senior management level at municipalities.

The next couple of months will see extensive training aimed at management of municipalities. The target groups for these training courses have been identified as, female middle/senior level municipal officials, municipal management trainees and potential municipal management trainees aimed at demographic representativity in the commitment to the transformation of local government.

In an attempt to foster the necessary skills, the first of a series of training sessions, in conjunction with the University of Stellenbosch will commence today - Monday 2 February at Bellville aimed at female middle and senior level municipal officials. The course content will include Management and policy making, Diversity management, Administrative law for local government, Performance management, Management functions, Techniques and skills and Municipal Financial Management Legislation. A repeat of the 5 day training course will be done in May in George.

In order to ensure representativity at senior management level a training intervention for municipal management trainees will commence on 16 February 2004 and will be a 3 month course. Yet another course which will commence towards the end of May will focus on potential municipal management trainees. Course attendees have been nominated by municipalities as they require the skills of suitably qualified personnel to address this new era in local government.

To ensure that the business approaches, structures, systems and practises as demanded by developmental local government are achieved we need to acknowledge and foster the power residing within women to create opportunities for change. As such, we hope that through these training courses more women will ultimately become senior managers and ultimately executive municipal managers. There are challenging times ahead which will change the agenda of local government. It is in our common interest that we achieve representativity and gender equality at senior management level. With these training interventions the Western Cape has taken the responsibility to ensure that this goal is achieved.

Enquiries: Jan Bosman
Cell: 083 775 5312