MPs fume over male involvement in Women’s Bank

PARLIAMENT has expressed dismay over failure by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Gender to appoint a woman to chair the board of the Women’s Bank.

The issue came up when secretary in the Ministry of Women Affairs and Gender, Sibusisiwe Zembe appeared before the Biata Nyamupinga-led Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs and Gender to speak about the 2018 National Budget and the progress on the Women’s Bank.

Zembe had revealed to the committee that the Women’s Bank must have a 12-member board and already eight board members had been appointed, to be chaired by a man called Mathews Kunaka.

The deputy chairperson of the Women’s Bank board is Lucia Mandengenda, while other board members are Spain Gwerejena (male), Pamela Mhlanga (female), Abraham Kamanga (male), Margareta Makuvaza (female), and Irvene Dumba (male).

But, MPs were not impressed that a ministry which is supposed to champion women’s issues had appointed a man to chair the Women’s Bank board.

“This is the time to stop the issue of women being deputised in boards, and it is surprising that the Ministry of Women Affairs and Gender has placed a man to chair the board,” Nyamupinga said.

“The question is that what is it that Kunaka has that Mandengenda does not have,” she queried?

Zembe also told the committee that 13 people had been appointed to be members of the executive of the bank, adding that of the $10 million allocated towards capitalisation of the Women’s Bank, only $5 million had been released to date, while the other $5 million is in Treasury Bills which will be redeemed in two years.

“Currently the bank is operating from Trust Towers and is working on coming up with an information communication technology system to begin work.

But, MPs from the committee felt that the $5 million disbursed might be gobbled up by salaries of the 13 executives already appointed.

The committee demanded that the Women Affairs and Gender ministry must in a fortnight bring before Parliament a report detailing how much the 13 executives earn, the rentals of their premises at Trust Towers, as well as the interest rates that the bank is going to be charging to women.

Zembe disclosed that the ministry had outstanding loans to the tune of $1,3 million through the Women’s Development Fund after women defaulted from paying back; adding the high rate of default can be attributed to poor monitoring by the ministry.

She said the ministry’s furniture is also in a very deplorable state.

BY VENERANDA LANGA