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Bulawayo councillors sworn in
Women's Institute for Leadership Development
September 16, 2013

Only 8 out of the 29 councillors sworn in today at the Mayor’s Chambers at the Bulawayo City Hall were women. Out of the 8 women none of them made it to the top 3 of the Executive, which is as Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Town Clerk.

The elections held to choose the Mayor can be said to have been fair and free as the 29 Councillors were given an opportunity to nominate who ever they wanted for the position. It was surprising yet expected that one of the female councillors jumped to the occasion and nominated Cllr Martin Moyo for the post of Mayor. Despite the controversy heralded in the public media over the Mayoral post, Cllr Martin Moyo’s nomination was not contested.

With the popularized quota system it was anticipated that the Deputy Mayor would at least be a woman but the 3 nominees were male. Cllr Gift Banda was voted in by a 48% majority as the Deputy Mayor.

The inaugural ceremony of the town councillors comes after the swearing in of the new Cabinet which has been grossly criticized for the lack of gender balance.

The current social system does not provide a support system that translates gender equality on paper to reality. There are capable women leaders who need to be given a chance and trusted with more responsibility to run for positions like Mayors or Ministers.

However, WILD would like to congratulate the female councillors who were sworn in today, as these last elections have seen an increase of female councillors from 2 to 8. It is hoped that their contribution in the leadership in the Bulawayo City Council will contribute to improved service delivery.

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