Squabble at Multi-Party Women’s Caucus election

Yesterday’s meeting of the Multi Party Women’s Caucus (MPWC) in Parliament ended up in a squabble between Chairperson Rosalia Morutoa from the ANC and the DA’s Dianne Robinson. The meeting started off with the election of the Deputy Chairperson. After the UDM’s NoCollege Majeke nominated IFP’s Sibongile Nkomo, Robinson said that the Democratic Alliance was under impression that as the majority opposition party the position was going to a member of her party. She went on to say that as the Shadow Minister for Women, the DA had nominated her from within its ranks.

Morutoa responded that the Rules said the deputy chair position needed to be filled by a member of the opposition but not from the biggest opposition party per se. She added that in the Fourth Parliament the position had been filled by the IFP’s Connie Zikalala, who was “not from the majority opposition party”.

Discussion ensued about whether the election was procedurally correct as Robinson pointed out that it was “down to a small group”. At the time she raised the point that there were only six MPs in the room, including the Chair. Robinson also raised the point that at the last meeting it was decided that the Chair would have a meeting with all opposition parties to discuss the appointment but this had not happened. Morutoa responded that she had delegated the committee secretary to communicate with each of the opposition parties, which he had done.

The election also moved on to nominating the “additional member” to the Steering Committee. While Robinson nominated herself, none of the Members seconded her nomination. The New Deputy Chair Nkomo then nominated Majeke as the additional Member, which was seconded.

After a dramatic start to the meeting, the Committee turned to the document titled Multi-Party Women’s Caucus 2009-2014: Lessons Leant. The document spoke to the “re-establishment of the MPWC in the South African Parliament in 2008, [which] was borne of the need to create a platform for female Parliamentarians to advance gender equality as a collective, across party lines.” The document goes on to state that while women’s representation has gone down in the National Assembly (from 173 in the Fourth Parliament to 156 in 2014), there is a slight rise from 16 to 19 female Members in the NCOP. One of the MPWC’s strategic priorities is the “priorotisation of 50/50 represention within parties”.

The document also adds that the MPWC’s strategic imperatives include representing the interests of women MPs, promoting the discussion of women’s issues in Parliament, making submissions to relevant committees and engaging on empowerment issues with women in political structures outside Parliament as well as women MPs in other countries.

It will be interesting to see what role the MPWC plays in the Fifth Parliament, notably if the Women’s Empowerment & Gender Equality (WEGE) Bill is re-introduced to the house. The controversial Bill was stopped in its tracks by the NCOP last year largely as a result of pressure from civil society pressure and NGO’s like SWEAT. People’s Assembly will keep a close eye on the work of the Multi-Party Women’s Caucus and update our readers on any significant developments.