BUILD One South Africa (Bosa) leaders were allegedly sent packing by the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) for not having a man in their delegation.
According to Bosa acting spokesman Roger Solomons, the delegation was told it “lacked authority” without the presence of its leader, Mmusi Maimane.
He said party deputy leader Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster had written to the CGE to request a meeting and attended the meeting on Wednesday, 13 September.
She was accompanied by Bosa Gauteng leader Maria du Toit and her executive assistant.
“On arrival, the group were met by the chairperson of the CGE, Advocate Nthabiseng Sepanya-Mogale, who expressed her surprise at the size of the delegation and demanded to know where the leader of the party was,” said Solomons.
He claimed that Hlazo-Webster informed Sepanya-Mogale that she was the deputy leader, and in effect, co-leader of the party, and that she was the one who called the meeting, the chairwoman summarily shut down the meeting.
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“In her refusal to proceed with the meeting, the chairperson said, ‘Please raise in your organisation this whole woman thing, because it looks like you guys do not understand, we are not a woman’s organisation’. This is a repulsive act and smacks in the face of the commission’s constitutional mandate to promote gender equality and the protection, development and attainment of gender equality - through research, public education, policy development, legislative initiatives, effective monitoring and litigation,” said Solomons.
Hlazo-Webster said the CGE grossly undermined the authenticity of her role as Bosa deputy leader and that of her colleague Du Toit, and ironically dismissed the credibility of the delegation on the premise of their gender.
“I personally wrote to the Commission’s Chairperson on Women’s Day to request this formal meeting in order to make formal proposals on impactful interventions that empower women in the economy. It is clear that the commission is playing politics to avoid engaging on the pressing matters of substance,” said Hlazo-Webster.
Solomons said Sepanya-Mogale undermined the fact that it was a women-only delegation and at one point asked, “Why are there women only, is it a coincidence?”.
He said Bosa will announce action in the next 24 hours to take the matter further.
CGE spokesman Javu Baloyi told Daily Sun that he was not aware of the said meeting.
"I shall ask for more information." he said.
