Summit 2016 – Tsoili-Tsoili Council Council

Tsoili-Tsoili is a community council which is located in Leribe District in Lesotho. Tsoili-Tsoili Council has successfully gone through all the ten stages of COE process.

In terms of the progress to implementing gender policies, council has done gender work plan and the gender policy is drafted by the ministry of gender. The council has seven male councillors and ten female councillors. The Deputy Mayor of the council is a female.

The council has three committees, one of which is being chaired by a woman. There are no representatives of youth and people living with disabilities (PWD), and there is no Junior Council. However there are many women represented than men.

Women and men actively participate in the council work and female councillors are part of the decision making within the council. Approximately 51%-75% women participate in public consultations.

The council has 33 percent men and 67 percent women employed. Therefore, women form 33 percent of the council’s management and currently the council is working to include more women in the top positions. Already the female councillors are playing a huge role in public participation and decision making.

There are provisions for maternity leave and for paternity leave as well. Maternity leave is paid for and it goes on for three months while paternity leave lasts for a month. The council does not have a sexual harassment policy. Any cases that relate to sexual harassment are reported directly to the police.

Tsoili Tsoili Council did not allocate any substantial budget to gender-related projects and there was no budget line from 2015 and 2016.

The council, as part of its local economic development plan, has no scheme and is still trying to sensitise the community about their importance. The council is issuing forms for lands and assisting to get leases so that it can be form of security at financial providers.

As part of a policy on climate change, the ministry of meteorology is already drafting a strategy with the council. Women are included especially because they are the first to be affected by climate change. Examples are how to run for safety to avoid risk and if risk is there where to report it.

The social service committee usually gives information on family planning in its public gatherings and it gets support from health department by its officials. The council is issuing out females and males condoms with regards to strategies to combat HIV/AIDS, unplanned pregnancies and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Please click here to read more about Tsoili Tsoili Council.