Business Day
*KwaZulu-Natal women put their faith in Zuma ally's leadership* *Sbu Mjikeliso, Business Day, Johannesburg, 26 March 2012 *Celiwe Madlopha, newly elected African National Congress (ANC) Women's League chairwoman in KwaZulu-Natal, said yesterday the league would support the re-election of the party's provincial chairman, Premier Zweli Mkhize.
This comes after the women's league president, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, threw her weight behind President Jacob Zuma 's re-election in a radio interview on Saturday, saying he "should be allowed by the party to finish his term as president" of the country.
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, the province with the party's biggest membership, will hold its elective conference in May, where Mr Mkhize could face a challenge from education MEC Senzo Mchunu.
The re-election of Mr Mkhize, a strong ally of Mr Zuma, would strengthen the president's hand in the run-up to the elective conference set for Mangaung in December.
"We still have confidence in the leadership of comrade Mkhize and the entire provincial executive committee ," Ms Madlopha said.
"The collective leadership of KwaZulu-Natal has worked tirelessly and as women in the province, we are saying we support the current leadership ... because of the hard work that they have done.
"They represented us very well. In the ANC we don't just change people, we look at the programmes that they have done and (will support them) if they have implemented them very well."
Ms Madlopha unseated Lungi Gcabashe in a fierce battle for the only post contested. Deputy provincial chairwoman Dolly Shandu, provincial secretary Nonhlanhla Khoza, deputy provincial secretary Weziwe Thusi and provincial treasurer Barbara Thompson were all elected unopposed.
The conference was characterised by jeering and singing in support or in opposition of the contenders. However, the league's national head of organising, Nonkosi Mvana, played down suggestions of divisions within the league.
"It is part and parcel of the conference," Ms Mvana said. "One who doesn't understand an ANC conference will judge that there is something that was not in line with what we are doing.
"Contestation is a fair process, it's not something that is bad and that is the culture we are trying to implant to all of our women."
Ms Madlopha said: "This is internal democratic processes in the ANC that contestation is allowed. It does not mean that if you are contesting, you are fighting for positions and so on. When you contest it does not mean that you are in conflict. It is our tradition and our culture in the ANC that we contest ."
The Eastern Cape provincial women's league is expected to hold its elective conference next month.
The KwaZulu-Natal women's league said it would push strongly for policies that enhanced women's economic transformation at the ANC's policy conference in June.
"We want to (exercise) influence in the policy conference in June," Ms Madlopha said. "These policies that are going to be reviewed must be engendered so that they address the challenges that (women) are facing."
In its gender discussion paper released ahead of the ANC's policy conference in June, the national women's league called on the conference to address the growing "feminisation" of poverty; address the income gap between men and women; tackle the "skewed nature" of the private sector, where male domination is reinforced; speed up the implementation of gender-based policies in general; and change the environment so women are able to get access to their rights.
The league wants 50% of the 150000 jobs set to be created through the New Growth Path's jobs fund over the next three years to go to women. Similarly, 50% of all tenders and contracts awarded by state-owned enterprises should be given to women, the league proposes.
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