The ANC Women’s League conference elected new leadership in the weekend Sissi Tulash He took over. Former league leader Dlamini Saidwhich once enjoyed great support from the members, managed to get only 170 votes.
The first sign of Dlamini’s demise was her apparent lack of alignment with ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa’s faction in the party, giving Tulash, also a deputy minister in the presidency, the upper hand.
Tullach was elected by 1,756 votes from the 2,962 delegates gathered at the convention held in Nasr City, Johannesburg.
Another sign was when Dlamini’s close allies, such as Sisi Ntumbela, decided to withdraw from the leadership race at the eleventh hour. Ntumbela previously served as Dlamini’s deputy in the ANCWL party and was also running for re-election.
Dlamini is also approached by Thempica Mchunu, who is seen as one of Ramaphosa’s allies, and her lobbyists at the last minute trying to convince her to drop out of the contest and join forces to take on Tulash instead.
This followed a decision by the KwaZulu-Natal chapter delegates who decided to drop Dlamini and vote for Mchonu. It dealt a blow to the Dlamini campaign as KwaZulu-Natal had the largest number, with 588 delegates, followed by Limpopo and Eastern Cape.
They were unable to broker the deal, which would have seen Tulash face stronger opposition.
Read more at The Daily Maverick: Batabile Dlamini and Sisese Tolashi are vying for first place in next month’s ANCWL elections
The new ANCWL leadership elected at the congress includes Vice President Lungi Jakabash, Secretary General Nokothola Nqaba, Deputy Secretary General Dina Paul and Treasurer General Makueen Letsoha Mathi.
Polley was the only nominated candidate from the audience. She returned to the forefront of politics years after she was removed from the position of Minister of Communications, which prompted her for her involvement in ICT Indaba scandal in 2012.
Speaking after the announcement of the ANCWL’s new leadership on Sunday, Ramaphosa encouraged the league to staunchly defend women’s rights and never allow men in the party to impose themselves on their affairs.
“Young women should be able to stay in school, go on to higher education and study whatever they want. Young women should participate equally in whatever industry they want. You as ANCWL must make sure that women in this country have access to financial resources. We must encourage that there should be access for women to take higher paying jobs and get to senior positions.
On Sunday evening, the league had not yet elected an additional 40 members to its national executive committee. Results are likely to be announced on Monday.
Four facts about Sissy Tulash
- She is from the small town of Komani, Kwa Mlongisi Township, in the Eastern Cape and got her start as a member of the South African Students’ Conference. She was held without trial for five years for her work as an anti-apartheid activist.
- She previously served as ANCWL Regional Chair and ANCWL Secretary and later as ANCWL National Secretary.
- She was sworn in for the first time as a Member of Parliament in 2016 and is the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Affairs.
- She was once the executive mayor of the besieged Enoch Mjijima Municipality in the Eastern Cape. DM
