Summit 2017-Mokhotlong Urban Council COE

Mokhotlong Urban Council is situated in the town of Mokhotlong district; is a city and seat of Mokhotlong District in the mountainous north-eastern part of Lesotho. It is the first major city with an airport along the road from South Africa across the Sani Pass, near the Maloti (Drakensberg in South Africa) Mountains. The name of the city is a word in Sesotho, the language of the people of Lesotho, meaning “Place of the Bald Ibis.” Thabana Ntlenyana, the highest point in southern Africa is found in Mokhotlong.

Mokhotlong Urban council has worked very hard to review their gender action plan and GBV action plan even though they did not do much to implement due to lack of funds, but the council tried to work things through where they could. The council has 11 members which four are women and seven men. The mayor of the council is a man and deputized by a man.In those three committees that council has, two chaired by the women.

Even though the council has few women representation women councillors participate and take part in decisions that taken by the council. They make sure that their voices are heard and well represented all women who are not councillors. Community members attend and participate in the public gatherings and they make sure youth, People living with the disability and men are participating to issues that affect them. The council is also working with the Office of Disaster Management Authority (DMA) where they invite stakeholders, traditional healers and representation from youth, women and PWD in order to create a policy on resilience of climate change.

The council has 13 employees whom ten are women and three are men. The town clerk and assistant administration officer who are at the top management of the council and are both women. The council provides family responsibility day where staff are allowed to attend any family emergencies as when someone have a journey to attend or if the child or any member of the family is not well.

The council gives three months paid maternity leave for women and after the maternity leave there is also a provision of three months of nursing hours when the mother has come back to work. The council does not have sexual harassment policy, but cases of such are dealt at the police stations. The council is well accessible to people and is disability friendly user.

Mokhotlong Urban Council gender budget for the 2017 to 2018.

In terms of local development, the council does not have entrepreneurship finance schemes that is in place or linked to the council but women were contracted to make clothes for orphans and vulnerable children and also the council has offered the market site for street vendors in order to empower women. Also 45 people have benefited from jobs created by the council of which 25 of them were women. Also the councils approached Lets’eng diamond mine to make kraals and buy dairy cattle from Mokhotlong Dairy Association.

In supporting care work and making sure that more people are getting tested for HIV/AIDS. The council with Social Service Committee support and care for those living with HIV/AIDS and have encouraged more men to join support groups. Six men now have joined support groups and they are helping women because they were doing all the work alone.

For land and infrastructure the council has worked very hard to see that more women knew about land act and encouraged more women to apply for the land and 12 women were able to apply for the land without their partners. People are encouraged to go for greenhouses in dry seasons and build small gardens.

Click here to read more about the Mokhotlong Urban Council.