KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nomusa Dube-Ncube has congratulated the 320 councillors who have completed a study programme sponsored by the department in a bid to capacitate women councillors in particular on local government responsibilities.
The Women Councillors’ Skills Training Programme was launched by the MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube at the Women’s Dialogue event held on 23 August 2012 at the Durban International Convention Centre.
Some 320 Women councillors have participated in the Women Councillor Training Programme, which covered three critical subjects, namely Building self-esteem and Living your life assertively, Managing FOG (Fear, Obligation and Guilt) and Mastering the Art of Networking.
Conducted by the Regent Business School, the course aims to empower women councillors and enhance their leadership skills as they are entrusted with the task of providing leadership in municipalities.
“There are specific challenges that are faced by women leaders in male dominated municipal environments. It is imperative to empower women leaders so that they develop their self-esteem, embrace assertiveness, manage their fear, obligation and guilt, and utilise networking as a powerful leadership tool,” said MEC.
The training programme was made up of Unit Standards taken from the National Certificate: Local Government Councillor Practices qualification (SAQA ID 58578). It was pitched at NQF Level 3 and it consisted of 26 credits. This effectively required councillors to partake in classroom learning, go through inherent assessments and submit portfolios of evidence.
Linkage: Accredited Councillor Training Programme
The Department is further rolling out accredited councillor training which is open to all councillors irrespective of gender and position. This programme is also pitched at NQF level 3 and is taken from the same qualification i.e. National Certificate: Local Government Councillor Practices (SAQA ID 58578).
The modules covered by this programme are as follows:
- Municipal Finance
- Municipal Planning
- Municipal Performance Management System.
The entire Local Government Councillor Practices qualification (referred to above) contains 122 credits. Women councillors will be credited (with 26 credits already obtained during their participation in the Women Councillor Training Programme) when they register for the general Accredited Councillor Training Programme.
This gives women councillors advantage as they will be pursuing the same qualification. In essence, the Women Councillor Training Programme should not be viewed in isolation as it is part of the department’s main Accredited Councillor Training Project.
