The male-dominated executive council announced by Western Cape premier Helen Zille was a ”disgrace” and a slap in the face for gender equality, tripartite alliance partners said on Friday.
”Her cabinet could not be less representative of the people of the Western Cape: six white men, three coloured men, one African man – and no women,” the Western Cape African National Congress said in a statement.
The appointments reflected a party that was fundamentally opposed to affirmative action, and held gender and racial equality in contempt.
”The composition of the Western Cape cabinet is a disgrace,” the ANC said.
Congress of South African Trade Unions provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich said the announcement was a slap in the face for women.
He also said he doubted whether the appointments had much to do with ability ”as I know them to not be the sharpest knives in the drawer”.
”I would have expected more of Helen Zille, but clearly the old boys’ network has taken over,” he said.
Earlier on Friday Zille said her choices represented ”the best fitness-for-purpose match I could find”.
Responding to a reporter who said he could not see a single female in the executive, Zille, who will head the body, replied with a grin: ”Last time I looked I was a female.”
However she conceded the question was fair and valid.
”There are lots of positions the DA has to fill in this government, and I may have not got the fit perfect in terms of other peoples’ analysis. But in terms of my analysis, for what is needed I’ve got the best fit with the jobs and the people that I could.”
She said the gender ratio could well swing in the other direction with DA office-holders in other spheres of government.
Although nine of the provincial ministers were drawn from DA ranks, Zille gave responsibility for cultural affairs and sport to Independent Democrats provincial chairperson Sakkie Jenner.
”We have included Sakkie Jenner on the basis of our drive towards inclusivity and realigning politics in South Africa over the next five years,” she said.
Jenner said he had accepted because the ID’s mantra in the recent election campaign had been that its members should be ”part of the solution”.
”That is the basis of this decision,” he said. ”I have come here to make a difference.”
Zille said she had also talked to the Congress of the People about a possible post, but the party had indicated it wanted to remain independent ”at this stage”.
The DA, which Zille leads, won a clear majority in the 42-member legislature in the elections, and does not need to enter into alliances to govern.
The other members of the executive council, who were sworn in by Constitutional Court judge Yvonne Mokgoro, were: health, DA provincial leader Theuns Botha; agriculture, Gerrit van Rensburg; safety, former provincial police commissioner Lennit Max; transport and public works, Robin Carlisle; social development, Ivan Meyer; finance, Alan Winde; local government, former mayor of the award-winning Swartland municipality Anton Bredell; housing, Bonginkosi Madikizela; and education, Donald Grant.
Grant, a former Bitou (Plettenberg Bay) local councillor, said it had been ”with shock” that he got the call from Zille on Thursday offering him the post.
”I did a crash course on the internet last night to check up on what the DA’s education policy is,” he admitted, to laughter from his colleagues.
”Fortunately there is a wonderful road map.”
Zille said her executive faced a huge challenge in governing the province. – Sapa