Institutional profile-Mashaleng Council COE

“Mashaleng will never be the same again, there is just so much that has happened and we are still going to do wonders.” Cllr Teboho Mohale

When Mashaleng council started with the COE process the councillors were blind to gender mainstreaming. To date the council has worked very hard to mainstream gender in their policies and overall council and community activities. Both women and men participate equally in the council and during council meetings all decisions taken are on the basis of issues that affect both men and women.

The council has a total of 12 councillors. Women represent 42% of the councillors compared to men at 58% representation in the council participate at an equal level during council meetings. There are no committees chaired by women in Mashaleng and this is purely because the female councillors have not reached a stage where they are comfortable in chairing the committees. Female councillors decline even when nominated by their male colleagues.

There has been notable change in the council and the community in which they each work in. The women are more aware and practice their rights more often than ever before.

Under the Basotho law women could not apply for land and title deeds without the permission of their husbands now the council encourages women to apply for land and housing nor sign documentation without the presence of their husbands. Since the use of the SADC Gender Protocol the ministry and the councils have seen that this hindrance in women’s lives causes feud. Many widows find themselves destitute when their spouses pass, as families take over the property and all its belongings leading the women to poverty and one of the ways to alleviate poverty is through informal trade.

Mashaleng community council has no Local Economic Development policy in place however the council has representation in some schemes that benefit the community such as chicken breeding, funeral schemes to assist the poorer members of the community to bury their loved ones. There is a grocery and blanket scheme that the council manages; these schemes are open to both men and women. The council also runs a community garden used to feed orphans and those living and affected by HIV.

The council of Mashaleng does not have a policy on climate change which outlines the challenges and the plans that the council have in place to combat climate change. However the council does partake in some activities that contribute to nurturing the environment and these include rangeland management. Dialogues to discuss water use and another project that the council has undertaken involves preventative measures on spreading water borne diseases and a washing of hands campgain. This is because of the high numbers of people who get sick from TB, malaria and ibola.

The council of Mashaleng has challenges, for example, there are no street lights in the area, and the roads that lead between houses are not marked and is gravel posing challenges when there are emergencies, the biggest challenge is the budget cuts that the council faces as the cuts negatively affect the fight against Gender Based Violence. For as long as there are budget cuts the levels of GBV will remain unchanged.

The council has given land to those care groups that work with people living with HIV and AIDS. There are lists of all the care workers in the area and the support groups. The council takes part in awareness campgains and provides condoms to the community in an efforet to promote healthy sexual practices.