Summit 2016- Ts’ana Talana Council COE

The Ts’ana Talana Council is found at the lowlands of the country, about 20km from the district of Mafeteng town and 70km from the capital city of Lesotho, The council has got 14 councillors, 5 women and 9.

The council has put in place a number of gender-related policies to guide its work. The district council consist of 9 male councillors and 5 female councillors. The council aims to expand its percentage of female councillors from 36%. The Mayor of the council is a male, and the Deputy Mayor is a female.

The council is made up of 4 committees, two of which are chaired by woman. The number of women and men are employed at their Workforce of the council is equal.

Young people, people living with disabilities (PWD) and community members participate in community-based planning projects and meetings. Between 51 and 75 percent, women participate in public consultations.

The total workforce of the council employees consist of 50 percent women, 50 percent youth and 21 percent people with disabilities. Women are only 5 of management. The Council amended the recruitment, selection and promotion policies to increase the proportion of women in the workforce. The Management of the council consists of one male in management position being the CCS or CEO and the other being the clerical assistant and three being the security guards; in total there are five males while females are 12. One female is in Administration of the council, 2 are the physical planners, 2 are in Finance, another 2 are the messengers and 3 are the office assistants.

There are provisions for maternity and paternity leave. The council does not have a sexual harassment policy. Cases related to Sexual harassment are usually reported whenever they occurs. They are conducted by the Disciplinary Hearing Committee established within the council. Council Buildings have ramps so they are accessible to disability.

The Ts’ana Talana Council allocates a substantial budget to gender-related projects, these amounts has stood at the same level from 2015 to 2016.

As part of the of the Council’s local economic development plan, the council built market place in the urban council. There are 50 beneficiaries benefiting from jobs created by the council, 25 women and 25 men.

Women, men, PWD, and youth are involved in the planning, management, and maintenance of water and sanitation. There is a total of  228 water and sanitation committees. There is 103 women and 125 men on the committees, four of which is chaired by a woman.

Click here to read more about Ts’ana Talana Council