Nominees for Western Cape Cultural Commission & Language Committee: deliberations

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed everyone and indicated the Committee had held previous engagements on nominations for the Western Cape Cultural Commission (WCCC) as well as the Western Cape Language Committee (WCLC). The Department had also briefed Members on this matter. By the 30 September deadline, the Committee had received 45 and 21 nominations for the vacancies in the respective boards. The WCCC board consists of 14 members and the Language Committee 11. The Committee would shortlist 20 nominees for each board, and the names will be submitted to the Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport for vetting and appointment.

Western Cape Cultural Commission nominations

The Chairperson indicated Members had been afforded an opportunity to peruse through the list of nominees before the meeting. Members will undertake a scale of one to five scoring exercise on the basis of the information provided by the nominees in their applications and CVs. Candidates with the highest scores will be shortlisted.

Mr M Kama (ANC) underscored that the shortlisting by the Committee should be fair and the qualifying candidates should be selected on the basis of clear criteria per the requirements listed on the advertisements

The Chairperson highlighted the criteria per the advertised requirements as follows: Nominees must be South African citizens of at least 21 years of age and permanent residents of the Western Cape; be representative as far as possible of the cultural diversity of the people of the Western Cape, and have full command of at least two of the three official languages of the Western Cape; have knowledge of cultural matters and must actively contribute to the development, promotion and preservation of culture in relation to the citizen of the Western Cape. Nominees must have knowledge of and/or experience in any of the following: business studies; marketing and management practices; knowledge and understanding of cultural diversity; cultural history, social anthropology, performing arts and languages; policy analysis and interpretation; sound knowledge of financial management and compliance requirements in terms of the Provincial Finance Management Act.

Mr P Marais (FF+) asked to be excused as he could not participate meaningfully as he was not part of the previous Committee engagements on the nomination processes. He advised Members not to give maximum scores to candidates not conversant with at least Afrikaans and one of the other two official languages. Afrikaans should not be neglected as it is spoken by a sizable population in the province. No candidate should be appointed as board member if they cannot understand the language. Appointment decisions should be taken in the interest of the Western Cape as a whole. 

The Chairperson took note of Mr Marais’ comments. However, the criteria were clear as outlined in the advertisement. 

Members undertook the scoring exercise and the 20 nominees ranked in descending order were as follows: 

1. Mr M Mbothwe
2. Mr M Myers
3. Mr Z Jama
4. Ms B Muthien
5. Ms L Abrahams
6. Ms P Baard
7. Mr J Hop
8. Mr S Mavumengwana
9. Mr L Nokwaza
10. Mr M Arendse
11. Ms Jansen
12. Mr P Joka
13. Mr Najair
14. Ms K Dumbrell
15. Ms Sammy
16. Mr N Moletsane
17. Mr Swanepoel
18. Mr C Van Blerk
19. Ms Wenstein (spelling unconfirmed)
20. Mr Winkler (spelling unconfirmed)

The Chairperson indicated the outlined list of 20 nominations will be submitted to the Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport.

Western Cape Language Committee nominations

The Committee undertook the scoring exercise from the list of 21 nominees for the Western Cape Language Committee. The final list of 20 nominees ranked in descending order was as follows:

1. Mr G Grootboom
2. Ms B Muthien
3. Mr R Baartman
4. Mr Z Jama 
5. Ms L Lesch
6. Ms S Makambi
7. Mr P Moloto 
8. Ms V Reyneke
9. Ms S Vermeulem
10. Mr M Mkhize
11. Mr M Malan
12. Ms M Arendse
13. Ms G Lentz
14. Ms Banako
15. Ms N Gomani
16. Mr B Nqono
17. Mr A Sam
18. Ms C Vanqa
19. Ms H Fraser
20. Mr E Willemse  

Mr G Bosman (DA) noted that nominee Ms B Muthien was top five on both lists. He asked whether this would be a problem for the Minister in the appointment process.

The Chairperson replied it would be up to the Minister to decide. The final list as outlined would be submitted to the Provincial Minister. He thanked members of the public for taking the time to nominate the persons who availed themselves to serve on the two boards.

The meeting was adjourned.