Meet the EFF’s secret weapon in Parliament

Past debates on the state of the nation addresses in Parliament have mainly been characterised by rowdy EFF MPs with the likes of Julius Malema‚ Floyd Shivambu and Mbuyisen Ndlozi stealing the limelight.

But this year the party had a secret weapon in its arsenal - a little known National Council of Provinces member‚ Delisile Ngwenya.

While many MPs appeared charmed by newly elected President Cyril Ramaphosa during their speeches‚ Ngwenya went for the jugular.

The Soweto-born MP was not that impressed by Ramaphosa’s maiden speech‚ saying it omitted issues of women and children.

Ngwenya‚ who now lives in the Mohlakeng township in Randfontein‚ has taken up the fight for equal rights for women‚ their access to better healthcare and to the economy.

In her speech‚ she said Ramaphosa spoke “about many things that excited the nation” and cited the song Thuma Mina by the legendary Hugh Masekela‚ asking South Africans “to send him and he will be there for all afflicted by a number of social ills in country”.

“But sadly‚ the president he never spoke about the gross economic inequality between men and women in this country. He never spoke about the deep-rooted patriarchy which breeds toxic notions of masculinity leading to unmitigated violence against women in this country‚” said Ngwenya.

“I am here Mr President to speak about those women and girls who have a very long time been forced to keep silent about the struggle they face‚ just to breath‚” she added.

She went further‚ saying she also spoke for the widows and orphans of Marikana mineworkers who perished under a hail of bullets from police for demanding a living wage.

Ngwenya would know about some of these struggles‚ having served as an acting secretary of the EFF in the North West‚ where the 2012 shooting took place.

The party sees Marikana as its birthplace and has continuously criticised Ramaphosa for his role in the tragedy.

And it was no surprise when Ngwenya placed the blame on Ramaphosa’s doorstep‚ saying the officers were encouraged by his call for “concomitant action against the striking workers”.

Following the tragedy‚ it was revealed that as a non-executive director of the mining company Lonmin at the time when police opened fire on striking mine workers‚ killing 34 people‚ Ramaphosa had written to the then police minister‚ Nathi Mthethwa‚ calling for “concomitant action” against the mineworkers‚

Speaking to the Sunday Times‚ Ngwenya said although she was glad Ramaphosa had committed to compensate the families affected by the tragedy‚ he was not happy about his commitment on women’s issues.

“I would have thought that he would have given some concrete promises on the way forward and just give some clarity to women of South Africa ‘that we have heard the outcry and we will make certain that things change”‚ she said.

Ngwenya says she has always had a heart for women and girls’ issues even before joining the EFF.

She had even started a soup kitchen for underprivileged children and donated clothes‚ on a small scale‚ through her church.

But with her work in the EFF‚ Ngwenya said she had since been confronted with bigger issues and had taken women and children’s issues even more to heart.

The 40-year-old mother of one said she gets a lot of support from the EFF‚ her family and found herself at home in the party because it advocated for gender equality and women representation.

“I would really like women to support each other‚ in every sphere ...because whether we like it or not‚ for some reason as women we always have to work harder than men and prove ourselves‚” she said.

Before getting involved in politics‚ Ngwenya worked in human resources for different companies like Hollard and Liberty Life.

“I grew up in a political family though‚ a family of PAC. I grew up knowing about politics but I was never active as I am now. What really attracted me to the EFF was especially their land policy‚” she said.

She said her experience in HR coupled with regular readings of Statistics South Africa reports made her realise the disparity between men and women in the workplace.

“I could always see that there is this imbalance because it was always clear on reports that there is still this gender inequality at work and at home [where people] doing the same job earn different salaries‚” she added.

- TimesLIVE