EMPLOYMENT EQUITY PLAN
The Executive Committee (EXCO) has implored the City’s administration to fast track the implementation of the employment equity plan for the Municipality.
EXCO held its meeting on Wednesday, 27/08/14 at City Hall. Deputy City Manager: Corporate Human Resources, Dumisile Nene presented a report detailing a four year plan that seeks to achieve equality in the Municipality’s employment practices. The report shows that males currently dominate the Municipality’s 23 000 strong workforce, with women making up about 32.90% while their male counterparts are about 67.10% of the total workforce. The employment of people living with disabilities stands at 0.58%, which is outside of the national target of 2%.
The plan calls for the deliberate action by all Municipal departments to drastically increase the number of women employees at all levels by 2018. This will increase the number of women employees to 38.78% while reducing males to 61.22. The Municipality also needs to employ at least 310 people living with disabilities (PWD) in order to reach the 2% target.
Mayor James Nxumalo welcomed the plan and urged all Unit Heads to work hard towards achieving the targets. He said however, the employment of PWD can be achieved within the 18 months that are remaining in the current term of office which ends in 2016. “The employment of PWDs must be achieved within our term of office. The target of employing 300 people is reachable. We must also employ more females, because our current status does not reflect the demographics of our country. We should be closer to 50% target by 2018. Even the DCM’s Forum is dominated by males and we need to take the lead in this exercise,” he said.
City Manager Sibusiso Sithole welcomed EXCO’s support for the plan adding that his administration will introduce measures to correct the situation.
“We have been robust and realistic in undertaking this exercise. I believe that there is a collective buy-in for this exercise. We can commit ourselves that we will implement this plan vigorously,” said Sithole.
ETHEKWINI EARNS RIGHT TO HOST WORLD ROUTES 2015
EThekwini Municipality and the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government have won the bid to host the 2015 edition of the World Routes conference which will bring together CEOs of major international airlines at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre. This event, which will be coming to Africa for the first time, brings together key stakeholders in the aviation and tourism industry, which includes airlines, airports and tourism industry players. Through this conference the City and Province aim to engage the major global airlines with an objective of getting them to consider King Shaka International Airport as an alternative hub to enter Southern Africa.
In preparation for the hosting of World Routes 2015, Mayor James Nxumalo and Economic Development and Tourism MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu will lead high powered delegations to Chicago, USA, to observe the 2014 edition which takes place next month and to kick start the lobbying process. The City is using its Sister City partnership with the City of Chicago to secure various opportunities to engage with relevant stakeholders in the tourism and investment fields.
Mayor Nxumalo said that after the successful bid to host the 2015 edition of World Routes, the City would be working alongside the KwaZulu-Natal Government, Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, Durban Tourism and other trade investments groups.
“Durban will now be able to position itself as an economic gateway not only to the rest of the continent but also the rest of the world,” he said. The delegation will be in Chicago between 17 and 25 September 2014.
ETHEKWINI TO LEAVERAGE ON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PARTNERSHIP
EXCO was given a detailed presentation on the benefits of a partnership between the City and international television station, National Geographic (NG), which has increased exposure for Durban as a tourism destination to the international markets.
Nadine Haggy, NG Director, told EXCO that the two year partnership has already exposed the City to over 500 million consumers in key tourism markets through the various mediums. The deal involved the broadcast of short video clips and documentaries as well as information on Durban in print, television and digital platforms.
“This partnership has increased the international awareness and knowledge about Durban and these are authenticated figures. The majority (about 81%) of participants felt positive about Durban and wanted to know more about the City. Three quarters of these people said they wanted to visit Durban,” she said.
Deputy Mayor Nomvuzo Shabalala welcomed the outcomes of the partnership.
”The challenge for us now is to turn these numbers into real people who will come and visit our City,” she said.
City Manager Sibusiso Sithole said the aim of the partnership was to increase knowledge about the Durban brand. “If you are selling the brand the first step is to increase the knowledge of the brand to your target market and we have achieved that through this partnership. The next logical step is to come up with strategies on how to translate these figure into visitors in line with our 2020 visitor strategy.”
Head of Durban Tourism Phillip Sithole said supply chain management processes are already underway to appoint service providers to work with the City to increase visitor demand in international destinations like America, London, Australia and New Zealand.
ETHEKWINI TO HOST INTERNATIONAL KARATE TOURNAMENT
EThekwini Municipality will be the first African City to host the International Karate Organisation’s fourth IKO Matsushima World Cup next month.
The event which is scheduled to take place on the 6th and 7th September 2014 at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre will host 850 athletes from 46 countries.
EThekwini Mayor Cllr James Nxumalo said the World Cup will realise a return on investment for the City as 2840 international visitors were expected to attend.
“The event will also be a chance for local service providers and the hospitality industry to market themselves; the media exposure for the City will also be an advantage,” he said.
A South African team is also expected to take part in the World Cup, which is strongly supported by President Jacob Zuma.
City manager Sibusiso Sithole said the City would be associated with a sport that promotes self-discipline, crime prevention and culture.
EXCO approved a budget of R3.5million for the hosting of the tournament.
