CGE Commissioner deployment and concerns

Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities

19 June 2020
Chairperson: Ms C Ndaba (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

Video: Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities 19 June 2020

The Committee held a virtual meeting to deliberate on the role and deployment of Commissioners at the helm of the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE). This was a follow-up to the 26 May 2020 meeting in which it was agreed that CGE would present a detailed plan on the responsibilities of each Commissioner.

The Commissioner Deployment Plan was only made available at the meeting and it was rejected due to the lack of detailed information such as the geographical spread of the Commissioners. CGE was granted two weeks to revise the Plan.

The Committee was saddened by the lack of support to one of the Commissioners who needed assistance due to her disability. Questions were raised about the capability of CGE to execute its mandate of empowering women if it struggled to support one of its own members. CGE was granted two weeks to resolve this matter.

It was revealed that Commissioners were not working as a team and that the work was not coordinated. The Committee lamented the poor working relationship amongst CGE Commissioners. The effectiveness of CGE operations was being jeopardised by the lack of a Working Plan. CGE was requested to compile a detailed plan for Commissioners linked to the Annual Performance Plan and the human resources plan. The detailed plan needed to be submitted within two weeks.

The Committee was disappointed that Commissioners used the platform of the Portfolio Committee meeting to raise grievances about operational matters. The Commissioners were advised to convene and resolve the issues amongst themselves and to report back to the Committee.

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed the CGE Commissioners and encouraged everyone to engage in a valuable discussion that would benefit the Committee and CGE. She was in possession of only one document and trusted that all requested documents about the role of the Commissioners as well as the Strategic and Annual Performance Plans were provided to the Committee.

She firstly paid tribute to fellow Member of Parliament, Dora Dlamini, who had passed away the previous week. The MP was present in the meeting last week and although she appeared to be healthy, the sad news of her passing came the following day. The Chairperson said it was a sad day for the ANC and prayed for the soul of the deceased to rest in peace.

In her opening remarks, the Chairperson referred to a disturbing message she had received that morning about a young woman who, although badly beaten by her boyfriend or fiancé, insisted that she did not want the perpetrator to be arrested as she knew why he had beaten her. The Chairperson was distressed about this and questioned the right of a man to beat a woman for any reason. The woman was not a child and if she did not want the person who assaulted her to be arrested, then something in our society was not right.

A committee member was concerned about the Chairperson's reference to a child. He hoped she was not suggesting it was in order to beat a child. When children were violated at home, it was called chastising but when women were beaten, it was called domestic violence. Violence towards anybody was unacceptable.

The Chairperson agreed that violence in any form should be discouraged. She referred to another shocking incident of a sex video involving a teenage girl and two teenage boys, that came to her attention. The video was sent to CGE Commissioners. What she saw, shocked her. It was indicative of a serious challenge in our communities. Kids were watching pornographic videos and although parents might think that their children were innocent, the video painted a different picture. Parents needed to make time to check regularly on their children as they did not have control over what the children were watching on their gadgets via the internet. The Chairperson shared her own experience where her two older children monitored the television channels that the younger one could watch through the use of a pin code. She was unaware of virtual sex until it was recently brought to her attention and concluded that were many things of which parents were ignorant. Our society needed leadership and divine intervention.

Commissioner Octavia Ntuli-Tloubatla agreed that the case about the young woman was disturbing. She explained that such behaviour was caused by poverty which led to dependency. Another contributing factor was the phenomenon of Stockholm syndrome where the abuser was protected by the abused person who felt affection for the abuser and end up protecting the abuser at the expense of his or her own life. The Film and Publication Board (FPB) operated all over the country with good programmes to educate communities on the negative and positive aspects of media, and social media in particular. These programmes could lead to transformation and address social ills in communities.

Mr S Ngcobo (DA) said that the recent GBV incidents were indicative of the long road to address societal challenges. He proposed that the boy child should also receive attention. The horrible things that were being visited upon women were done by men. Campaigns needed to educate the boy child and young men.

Ms M Hlengwa (IFP) was worried and confused about the incidents mentioned by the Chairperson. The matters were also discussed on the iKwekwezi FM Radio station in the morning. A return to cultural values was needed and children should be taught about Ubuntu. She agreed the boy child should feature in such programmes. Parents should reconsider paying for inappropriate TV channels their children were watching.

The Chairperson said to Commissioner Ntuli-Tloubatla that as an MP she was unaware of the FPB programmes and their impact. She questioned how ordinary citizens should know about these FPB programmes if lawmakers were not aware of their existence. The programmes might be good but the effectiveness thereof was unknown. She found it problematic that MPs were not informed about the FPB programmes and requested CGE to assist the Committee with this. Children should be encouraged to join youth structures in the community or at schools.

Commissioner Ntuli-Tloubatla replied that she joined the FPB on a road show in Mpumalanga where they visited two or three different areas. The programmes, which targeted vulnerable women, dealt with social media and cyber-crime. The mention of the school youth programmes reminded her of the Girls Education Movement that Commissioner Botha was involved in. At the time, the gap of involving boys was identified and subsequently, the Boys Education Movement was initiated. An annual combined G&B week-long event was suggested. Such programmes could assist with the challenges facing the youth and the Department should consider resuscitating it.

The Chairperson proposed that Commissioner Botha, together with the other Commissioners, resuscitate the programmes. Due to time constraints in the previous meeting, it was agreed that this meeting be scheduled to deal with the deployment of Commissioners. The Committee wanted to know in detail about the work of the Commissioners. The geographical spread of Commissioners was considered during the interview process as all the provinces needed to be covered. As most of the Commissioners were from Gauteng, it was expected that a compromise had been reached to second officials to provinces without Commissioners.

The Chairperson noted that she still did not have the document detailing the deployment of Commissioners. The Committee needed to know about the programmes in the different provinces to guide CGE on areas that needed to be covered. In a request sent the previous week, it was made clear that CGE was expected to inform the Committee about how matters were being handled during the lockdown period, how payments of part-time and full-time commissioners were being dealt with and how commissioners with disabilities were accommodated. A complaint was received from Commissioner Mazibuko that she did not get this assistance to fulfil her duties. The Committee wanted to know which programmes were implemented, where and what the results were and the reasons that programmes  were not implemented.

The CGE Strategic and Annual Performance Plans listed the practice of Ukuthwala as one of its programmes but that programme dated back from previous terms and was not a current initiative. So too the one-woman-one-hectare programme was not a current initiative. She needed CGE to show what new programmes were on their Working Plan and which ones were implemented. She asked if Commissioners with part-time jobs made declarations as CGE needed to grant permission if Commissioners had responsibilities elsewhere.

The Interim Steering Committee (ISC) on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) recently launched the National Strategic Plan and was proposing the establishment of a Gender Council. The Chairperson asked the CGE to share what their expectations were about such a Gender Council.

She said it was disturbing to hear about the broken working relationship at CGE and that Commissioners who need help due to their disability were not assisted. The Commissioners were expected to work as a collective and not in silos. She had not received any feedback on cases that were forwarded to CGE in 2019 and asked about the status was of the Northern Cape case in which two girls were raped by their father. If she was unable to get a response on a year-old case, she questioned the level of support offered to citizens who reported cases to CGE on a daily basis. The Committee still had confidence in the Commissioners and expected the institution to turn things around and deliver results. The Chairperson pleaded with the Commissioners not to disappoint the Committee as they had been doing in this meeting and invited them to be open and frank about issues.

Ms T Masondo (ANC) said that the role of Commissioners was outlined in the CGE five-year Strategic Plan.

The Chairperson replied that there was a difference between the role and deployment of Commissioners. Sending the CGE documents on the day before the meeting was an injustice. It did not allow the researchers adequate time to do an analysis and the MPs were unable to make valuable contributions due to the limited time to read the documents. Documents were expected to be delivered seven days before a meeting. The CGE Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson were committing a disservice to the Committee and were not providing leadership. This situation could not continue and the matter should be discussed in this meeting.

Discussion
Ms B Maluleke (ANC) shared the concerns raised by the Chairperson. She asked that the Commissioners be given an opportunity to explain why the documents were submitted late and why they wanted to withdraw the documents after submission.

Ms T Mgweba (ANC) suggested that the CGE Chairperson be given a chance to deliver the presentation so that questions could be asked afterwards.

Mr Ngcobo agreed that CGE should be allowed time to deliver the presentation. He was interested in the specifics about the deployment of full-time and part-time Commissioners.

Ms A Hlongo (ANC) agreed that CGE should be given a chance to explain themselves.

CGE Chairperson, Ms Tamara Mathebula, apologised for the late submission of the documents. She explained that in its internal process all the Commissioners were consulted. Due to this the submission of the documents was delayed. CGE would in future submit documents on time. Based on the newly approved GBVF National Strategic Plan, the Emergency Response Action Plan was rolled out by the President. The lifespan of the existing plan ended therefore it was withdrawn, as it was sent in error.

The Chairperson requested that the Deployment Plan in the meantime be obtained from CGE staff.

The CGE Chairperson advised that it was being distributed.

Ms Maluleke reiterated her request for a response about the late submission of documents.

The CGE Chairperson explained that time was spent on preparing responses to the questionnaire that emanated from the previous meeting. The responses were forwarded on 8 June 2020. The past weekend was spent on the preparation of the Deployment Plan which was finalised the day before yesterday. There was an effort to send the document on time but due to miscommunication, this did not happen.

Ms Maluleke replied that the reasons provided were not convincing as it was not a new request and the roles of Commissioners were not unknown. She questioned why it was taking so long to prepare. The document was needed earlier to give Members enough time to prepare for the discussion.

The Chairperson said that there was no plan and questioned how CGE, with highly educated and smart people in its midst, was operating without a plan.

Commissioner Adv Nthabiseng Mogale agreed that the team consisted of highly educated and skilled individuals but said that their skills were not being used optimally. They operated as individuals and not as a team. The matter was identified as a challenge that needed to be addressed. However, unfortunately, the scheduling of a meeting in April did not materialise. Attempts to coordinate functions were spearheaded by Commissioner Moleko but suggestions fell apart as the leadership was not strong. Commissioners were all supposed to work on the documents that were sent to the Committee.

Commissioner Mbuyiselo Botha agreed that there were differences in the team but stated that the CGE Chairperson was doing an admirable job. The problem appeared to be with the Secretariat who were not putting their shoulder to the wheel. He refused to accept that the Commissioners did not know what they were supposed to do as the Annual Performance Plan provided a clear roadmap. He was able to share that he worked with traditional leaders in Limpopo with the support of the Premier and the MEC.

The Chairperson replied that she still needed a detailed Deployment Plan about what exactly each Commissioner was doing. CGE should not operate as two divided groups but as a team to prevent failure in administration and implementation of decisions. She was sceptical of Commissioner Botha’s response and said that cover-ups were not welcomed. The Committee needed to see the plan so it could provide guidance and assistance if things were falling apart.

Commissioner O’hara Ngoma-Diseko said that CGE had a huge task to fulfil and needed to be a strong entity. CGE did not have the space and time to develop a plan but was in the process of developing a programme. She suggested that Commissioners schedule time after this meeting to concretise a plan. She agreed that Ukuthwala was part of the old Plan but that it was continued and modified under the new Plan. CGE had been in existence for 20 years and this should be used as a catalyst to concretise the new Plan. The CGE mandate was ground-breaking in terms of striving for a non-racial, non-sexist as well as a violence- and femicide-free society. Working as a team had been identified as a problem but due to COVID-19, the plan to have a team-building event was jeopardised. CGE needed assistance to build a strong institution and asked if Section 6 committees could be solicited to help with the costing of the Plan.

The Chairperson responded that the Deployment Plan needed to be updated to accommodate the geographical spread. If CGE was serious about service delivery, it needed to negotiate with Commissioners to be redeployed to provinces where the individual was better placed to be of service. Commissioner Deyi had never attended a parliamentary meeting and she needed to account to Parliament.

Commissioner Mogale replied that Commissioner Deyi was aware of the meetings. She tendered an apology for the 26 May 2020 meeting due to bereavement in her family. However, no apology was received from her for this present meeting.

CGE Deputy Chairperson, Dr Nthabiseng Moleko, asked the Chairperson to guide the discussion to ensure that all the points raised by Members were responded to. The Emergency Response Action Plan was approved in 2019. It covered five thematic areas on improving GBV matters including specific measures about men. CGE had done a lot of work on this but it was not implemented. CGE needed to go back to the drawing board about the non-implementation of the Emergency Plan. She acknowledged that CGE failed in its duties and took full responsibility for her part in the failure.

The CGE Chairperson agreed to follow a systematic approach in responding to concerns raised by the Committee. CGE would endeavour to do better about the Deployment Plan.

The CGE Chairperson said assistance to the two part-time Commissioners with special needs was identified in August 2019. Commissioner Botha was engaged on his need for assistance with report writing and Commissioner Mazibuko was engaged on her request for a reasonable accommodation policy. Advertisements were placed in September 2019 for personal assistants for both Commissioners with November 2019 as the closing date for applications. However, the appointment process had been delayed as no interviews were conducted in December 2019 due to the shorter working period. In addition, there was a special request from Commissioner Mazibuko to include the previous occupant of the PA position to also apply. The CV of this particular person was submitted a week before the deadline in February 2020. In April 2020, there was a plan to fast track the process but due to the lockdown, no appointment had been made to date. It was envisaged to appoint one PA to assist both Commissioners.

The CGE Chairperson explained that CGE held an emergency plenary in April 2020 to engage on the payment options for Commissioners during the COVID-19 lockdown period, subject to discussions with the Human Resources and Remuneration (HR) Committee. CGE was identified as one of the Chapter 9 institutions that would deliver services. Commissioners were working from home to address community issues. Based on recommendations from the HR Committee, a broader plenary decided to approve 100% payment to part-time Commissioners and full payment to full-time Commissioners; however, submission of monthly plans in support of the payments was required.

The Chairperson said that if Commissioners agreed to the payment options based on their understanding of the matter than the Committee would accept it. However, the Committee was open for discussion if that was not the understanding of the Commissioners.

The CGE Deputy Chairperson commented on her appointment to the Commission as a full-time Commissioner by the President in 2017. At the time, she was also working as an academic at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB). In the first meeting, the Handbook and the regulations were explained and she openly declared her employment at USB. She was informed about the procedures that needed to be followed in the event of her continuing part-time work and she underwent the process outlined in the Handbook. In terms of the regulations, any remuneration earned from alternative services rendered by a full-time Commissioner must be declared and permission requested from CGE. The University submitted a letter to confirm her employment. The CGE Chairperson at the time, Commissioner Nare, responded with a supplementary list of questions to which answers were provided in writing and permission was subsequently granted. Her contract with the University was changed from a full-time to part-time employee and she was still employed as an academic based on the permission granted by the previous the CGE Chairperson.

Deputy Chairperson Moleko said that permission was again obtained from the incoming Chairperson after undergoing the same process of submitting remuneration information and declaration of university commitments. Chairperson Mathebula raised secondary questions on this matter although she was aware of it as a Commissioner. Her work with the USB had been approved and permission was granted by both Chairpersons. Unfortunately it ended up in a situation where Commissioner Smout, who no longer worked at CGE, laid a complaint against her. Her conduct was targeted and allegations were made which resulted in an arbitration process in January 2020. Commissioner Smout was surprised to learn that she had permission to work at USB and that it was approved by both Chairpersons. Dr Moleko's understanding was that based on the information submitted, the allegations were withdrawn. She invited the CGE Chairperson to relay the finalisation of the process as it was directly linked to this issue of remunerative work which she had always openly declared to the Commission as well as the Committee. She was willing to submit any documents about this matter and to allay the staff involved in the process. She was aggrieved that her integrity was impaired and her name smeared but nothing had been done to clear her name even after the charges were withdrawn. The last seven months had been difficult but she wanted to focus on the CGE programmes. Her USB part-time work did not negate her responsibilities at CGE as these took preference in the event that it clashed with her USB work.

The Chairperson replied that she was familiar with the matter raised as she met with Commissioner Smout before she resigned. However, she did not want to dwell on the matter and emphasised the importance of having a good working relationship.

Commissioner Nomasonto Mazibuko also used the opportunity to reflect on her appointment since 2014. She was appointed as a part-time Commissioner until 2018 and was granted a second term until 2020. She made it clear in the interview for the second term that she needed a PA but had been struggling without a PA for the entire eight months of the second term. Disability was not a one-size-fits-all condition. Albinism was only recently declared as a disability in South Africa. Due to the lack of mechanisms within CGE to take care of all disability related issues, it was important for her to be appointed as a full-time Commissioner. However, she found herself struggling and suffering in the second term. She coped in the first term with the help of her daughter. Her reasonable requests for accommodation started with the need to have documents being enlarged but this was only done after several requests. She was also struggling without transport. The discrimination in assisting people with disabilities was unacceptable. She complained that CGE never accommodated the needs of blind people as documents were always in small print and on glossy paper.

The Chairperson asked Commissioner Mazibuko how she was going to ensure that discrimination was eliminated. She feared that if CGE failed in assisting its own, it would be a struggle for the broader community to get help.

Commissioner Mazibuko replied that all Commissioners were aware that she was working tirelessly on this matter but had struggled to be heard and accommodated. International Albinism Day was celebrated annually on 13 June however, it was not upheld in South Africa. She felt that the Secretariat did not value issues of disabilities but she would not tire from raising these.

The Chairperson was saddened by the concerns raised by Commissioner Mazibuko and said that it was totally unacceptable. It was unthinkable that CGE, with the mandate to address the needs of people with disabilities, failed to do so with one of their own colleagues. She questioned why it was happening at this time as it was not the case in her previous term. The inequality amongst the Commissioners was inhumane and the matter needed urgent attention.

Commissioner Botha remarked that he wanted to speak for himself as the needs of people differ. When he arrived as part-time commissioner in 2014, the CGE Chairperson had gone the extra mile to make it possible for the Secretariat to assist him. He was able to travel to his office in Limpopo and wanted it to be put on record that his working conditions were conducive.

Commissioner Sideko Rakolote observed that the responses from Commissioners Botha and Mazibuko were clear signs of the inequalities at CGE. He could not recall a discussion in the HR Committee meetings about the matter of Commissioner Mazibuko and proposed that it be referred back to the HR Committee. It was disappointing that the Commissioners were not operating as a team. He asked for assistance from the Committee on this.

Commissioner Ntuli-Tloubatla noted that the articles and opinion pieces she wrote were never published. It included articles addressing inequalities highlighted during the COVID-19 lockdown, customary marriages and GBV at Institutions of Higher Learning. Although these articles were approved by the Editorial Committee, they were not published. She was aware of other articles and opinion pieces being published and questioned why it was not done in all instances.

The Chairperson asked who was responsible for blocking the publication of the articles.

Commissioner Ntuli-Tloubatla replied that she submitted the articles to the CGE Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson. She revealed that inequalities were quite common in CGE. As an example, she referred to one or two Commissioners who always appeared on TV news programmes on behalf of CGE.

Ms T Mgweba (ANC) was concerned about the unhealthy working relations amongst the Commissioners. Although the Committee commended the work of CGE in previous meetings, she sensed that something was not right. The Deployment Plan needed to be revisited. If service delivery was to be taken seriously, then someone from the Eastern Cape could not be deployed to Gauteng especially during COVID-19 restrictions. The HR issues must be attended to by the CGE Chairperson, the Deputy Chairperson and the CEO. In all prior meetings where matters to do with persons with disabilities were raised, the response had been inadequate. She now realised that something was wrong. She expected all these administrative concerns to be resolved before the next meeting. She concluded that leadership in CGE was lacking and that the Committee needed to deal with it.

The Chairperson rejected the Deployment Plan, which she had obtained in the meantime, after noting that the geographical spread was inadequate. People needed to be deployed where they were residing and where they were going to be effective.

Ms F Masiko (ANC) said that it was of great concern to hear about the concerns within the organisation. CGE could not work effectively, to improve the lives of women, youth and people with disabilities, without adhering to principles of corporate governance. She enquired how much part-time Commissioners were paid and what the level of input was. It was not the role of the Committee to interfere in the running of the organisation. However, the Committee had the responsibility to ensure that results were delivered. She had not expected to hear such negative feedback from CGE and was concerned that the work would be compromised if the challenges were not resolved. The Committee did not wish to play an oversight role over a broken organisation. She was saddened about the treatment of Commissioners with disabilities and said that Commissioners must not feel that they were discriminated against. She questioned how CGE would succeed in appointing a CEO if the appointment of a PA posed such a challenge. She was disappointed that the Deployment Plan was not providing the detail requested on the roles and responsibilities of each Commissioner. CGE had the opportunity to improve the working relations within the organisation.

The Chairperson requested a roadmap for the CEO appointment. She asked if DPSA had been approached, for a secondment in an acting position, if CGE was unable to employ someone. She did not want a repeat of the previous term when the contract of Commissioner Nare was cancelled without the appointment of a replacement. She invited Commissioner Sideko to speak on progress with the CEO appointment roadmap. She was concerned that some Commissioners were being undermined by the CGE Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson. The grievances of the different Commissioners raised many questions.

Mr Ngcobo said that it was not in the best interest of the Commissioners to work in silos. The story of Commissioner Mazibuko was not only painful to hear but it was also unlawful. He agreed with the Chairperson that CGE must be given two weeks to resolve the matter. He requested that the revised Deployment Plan include an indication of full-time and part-time Commissioners, the location of offices in the provinces and the contact detail of the Commissioners.

The Chairperson asked for an explanation from the CGE Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson about the articles that were not published. She said that members had an interest in reading the unpublished articles and requested that they be forwarded to the Committee.

Ms M Khawula (EFF) spoke in her vernacular language (02:56:33 - 03:03:52).

Ms Masiko responded that Ms Khawula's comments could be interpreted as misinformation and that they could not be left unchallenged. Members were aware that Parliament was open and operating but due to the observation of social distancing, political parties were allocated a specific number of seats for plenary attendance during the lockdown period.  

The Chairperson also confirmed that social distancing was being observed in the plenary sessions.

Ms Khawula spoke in her vernacular language (03:05:41 - 03:06:46).

The Chairperson replied to Ms Khawula that the Committee was working on the issues and information had been forwarded to Social Development. However, Parliament was subjected to social distancing. The Committee was abiding by the lockdown regulations in that not all 400 members could attend Parliament plenary sittings. The Committee made submissions and also had insight into the statements made by CGE. It was disappointing to see the videos of women on the first day that the alcohol ban was lifted. It reflected women as being drunkards. The Committee issued a statement on this matter and also made submissions about the cigarette ban. The Committee had been outspoken about GBV and forwarded some of the cases to CGE for follow-up. The mistake of the Committee was not to follow up on the cases referred to CGE. However, in future, the follow-up would be done.

Ms Khawula spoke in her vernacular language (03:11:27 - 03:13:29).

The Chairperson replied that the Minister of Basic Education was clear that schools would only reopen if all the safety requirements were met.

Ms Mgweba said that MPs had the responsibility to do oversight at schools during the first and second weeks of June 2020 in the areas where Members were deployed.

The Chairperson advised that where requirements were not met, MPs had a duty to report this to the National Coronavirus Command Council.

The Chairperson said that the Committee could not respond to unknown matters but if something was brought to the attention of the Committee, it  would be raised accordingly. She asked the CGE Commissioners to take note of matters raised and to act on them.

The Chairperson requested information about the rate of payment to part-time Commissioners and the hours worked under normal circumstances (that is, non-COVID-19). The concern was that the decision about payment was based solely on the HR Committee recommendations without the input of the CFO. Procedure must be followed to avoid audit queries.

The Chairperson recounted a list of items for which CGE needed to provide feedback:
• Detailed plan for Commissioners linked to Annual Performance and HR Plans (submitted in two weeks);
• Revised Deployment Plan;
• Report on the issue of Commissioner Mazibuko (submitted within two weeks);
• Feedback on the unpublished articles;
• Roadmap on the CEO appointment;
• Outstanding declarations of Commissioners;
• Report on the whereabouts of Commissioner Busisiwe Deyi.

The Chairperson said that the Committee still had confidence in the Commissioners and that CGE was not yet in ICU. However, they should work as a team and tasks should be fairly distributed. She was not sure whether Commissioners were representing CGE or if they speak in their own capacity when they appeared on radio shows. It was unprofessional to raise matters in the Committee without reporting it to the proper channels. The matter of Commissioner Smout was resolved and closed. The Chairperson was therefore unsure why it was still a contentious matter. The Commissioners were all equally important and that their work, whether in their private capacity or as CGE representatives, was being followed by the Committee. The Commissioners should inform the Committee if they feel undermined by the Administration. CGE had the opportunity to self-correct and to work as a collective.

The CGE Deputy Chairperson disagreed that her matter was closed as she recently learnt about a new investigation against her. She was currently a Commissioner without a province.

Ms Masiko asked who was responsible for making the deployments.

The CGE Deputy Chairperson replied that deployment was done on a three-fold basis and suggested that the deployment process was dysfunctional. She also submitted articles that were never published. She proposed that a clear framework be developed and principles adopted about the publication of articles. Commissioners were appointed due to their skills to address gender equality but ideas have been shelved. She pleaded for equality in the workplace and agreed that the Committee was not the correct platform to air dirty laundry but this was done out of frustration. She wanted the CGE Chairperson to respond to the issue of Commissioner Smout.

The Chairperson replied that an investigation could not be undertaken without informing the Committee. She asked Advocate Mogale for clarification of the position. The process seemed like a witch hunt. The manner of dealing with matters was unacceptable. The Commissioners were advised to take the opportunity to discuss matters in a plenary amongst themselves and to provide the Committee with a report. There were a number of issues that were not handled properly and Administration was contributing to some of the challenges. The Chairperson concluded that, based on performances at this point, the Commissioners would be given a zero rating. The Commissioners were granted two weeks to get their house in order. She acknowledged receipt of the roadmap for the CEO appointment from Commissioner Sideko but said that it would not be discussed at this point.

The meeting was adjourned.

 

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