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Staff and sources say a volatile Nare has cultivated a culture of fear, intimidation and bullying, but the commission says she is encouraging dialogue
The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) is under siege – by its own boss.
So say complaints to City Press from more than a dozen ordinary staff members who have had enough and claim that chairperson Lulama Nare is “a human wrecking ball” who has tried to “hijack” the commission’s work and has been “waging a war with the chief executive” since becoming chair in October last year.
The staff also claim that Nare has created a “climate of fear” and is relentlessly meddling in operational matters.
However, the commission strongly denies the allegations, saying Nare “acknowledges that she is not perfect and no one is”.
“She has never bullied or intimidated a staff member ... She has a very good, healthy relationship with commissioners, management and staff. All she did was try and establish an environment where people can engage with her office openly, accessibly and freely.”
B*TCHES BE HUMBLE
Nare achieved a certain level of WhatsApp fame in the gender justice sector after a CGE strategic planning meeting at the Protea Hotel Parktonian All-Suite in Braamfontein in May, where she quoted rapper Kendrick Lamar when dressing down staff.
The meeting was to be between chief executive officer (CEO) Keketso Maema and her top managers, and included an external facilitator.
But, sources claim, Nare arrived near lunchtime under the pretext of coming to greet staff and proceeded to take over, addressing management for almost two hours with a “rambling, chaotic” speech.
She used the speech, sources claim, to “publicly humiliate” senior managers by getting middle managers to raise complaints against them.
City Press obtained a recording of part of the speech.
In response to issues raised around increases and staff skills growth, Nare says nobody is happy with their pay: “I am actually now worth R800 000 in this institution, [but] I am getting R300 000.”
When one manager addresses a staff issue, she shuts him down with the line: “Get to your point ’cos you’re making me fall asleep.”
Nare also asked those present if they knew Lamar.
“So be humble. Just take a step back, sit down with them,” she said, quoting from his hit Humble, saying “b*tches be humble”, but replacing the b-word with “la la la” and hand gestures, witnesses said.
CGE staffers told City Press how offensive they found the impromptu rap, especially because a song perceived as misogynistic was being quoted by a gender equality champion.
In response, the commissioners told City Press: “The chairperson does not attend any staff meeting except per invitation of the CEO... Yes, the chairperson loves rap and trap music. Before the chairperson uttered the words of the song she did put a disclaimer to say: ‘There is song of Kendrick Lamar that I love. Some parts of the song are insulting, but be humble and sit down.’ Humility was going to help all of us to work together. That was the basis of her words. No harm was intended. No one raised their dissatisfaction.”
CLIMATE OF FEAR
However, sources paint a different picture.
They claim Nare demands to be greeted, but refuses to greet certain staff; is angry about them staggering their lunch hours, but forbids them from sitting in groups at lunch; repeatedly silences others in meetings and does all the talking; victimises staff who speak in meetings; threatens staff members with disciplinary action; creates an atmosphere where her word may not be questioned; and creates a “cult of personality” around herself.
Staff say they fear her because she is “erratic”, and claim she has repeatedly called staff “useless” or “stupid”, and habitually comes late for meetings, but won’t allow them to start without her.
“When you speak up in a meeting you know there will be trouble afterwards,” said one staff member.
One set of correspondence speaks of a staff too afraid to stand up to her: “Maybe we are waiting for something more drastic and dehumanising to happen … for the chairperson to frogmarch the CEO and managers, naked and in broad daylight, out of the building in front of tourists in the atrium.”
Apart from rejecting, in detail, an issue of the alleged ill-treatment of a tea lady, the commissioner responded to each claim, saying: “We have never received any complaint regarding this matter from any staff member. There are internal grievance procedures and we encourage any staff member that feels aggrieved ... to follow them ... or report to the CEO. And in case that staff member is the CEO herself, she can lodge the complaint to us through the chairperson of the HR committee. Any complaint lodged will be thoroughly investigated without fear or favour.”
Commissioners dismissed allegations that Nare split the council, foregrounded favourites and silenced her deputy chair’s comments as “blatant lies”.
INTERFERENCE AND ABUSE
City Press heard many claims of Nare involving herself in operations and administrative matters, in contravention of the commission’s act and its policies.
Sources said Nare approaches staff directly, demanding minutes, information and reports, and describes herself as “executive chairperson”.
Some claim that Nare tells staff they are not entitled to accept invitations from stakeholders or attend meetings with bodies such as the UN.
Several alleged that Nare tried to take over operations completely, undermining almost every decision taken by the CEO.
They allege she often tries to “take down” strong women in the organisation, especially Maema, who Nare accuses of “trying to embarrass me”!
There are also claims that Nare has been “cooking up” allegations against Maema and demanding a forensic audit into maladministration at the CGE.
Repeated attempts to reach Maema were unsuccessful.
The commissioners denied the claims and urged staff to lay grievances.
Matters came to a head at the end of last month when Nare received a letter confirming that her five-year term would expire on December 31.
She served on the commission for four years before being made chair.
Sources claim Nare had a “meltdown” and travelled to Pretoria to a meeting with Minister of Women in the Presidency Bathabile Dlamini.
After the meeting, Nare told CGE colleagues she would remain until March.
City Press has seen both a Presidential Minute and correspondence from the department of women which confirms her term expires at month-end.
The commissioners responded saying: “The presidency and Parliament are well placed to respond to that matter.”
FURTHER RESPONSES
Thandi Memela, chair of the parliamentary portfolio committee on women, said she was unaware of the problems and needed “more time to look into the matter”.
Department of women spokesperson Shalen Gajadhar said the department “trusts that the CGE has effective internal mechanisms and structures to respond to grievances that may arise internally.
Minister Dlamini may not ‘investigate’ allegations of staff unhappiness as this is tantamount to political interference at a Chapter 9 institution.”
Inkatha Freedom Party MP and portfolio committee member Liezl van der Merwe said she had known about the complaints for months.
She said her party believed the CGE had improved its performance under Maema’s stewardship and it was “of grave concern that a culture of fear, intimidation and bullying now exists, which has the real possibility of taking the CGE back to the days of it being ineffective and ineffectual”.
- Additional reporting Rhodé Marshall
