Cyril has the political capital to pick a woman as his deputy

The country wants more women in leadership, and having one by his side in the Union Buildings would send a strong message

28 January 2018 - 00:00 By MAKHOSINI NKOSI

A lot of media airtime has been dedicated to the clamour of South Africans for President Jacob Zuma to leave office. However, not much time has been spent on who will take over as deputy president to a President Cyril Ramaphosa when Zuma goes.
If the wishes of most South Africans matter, as well as the fact that women are the majority in society and in the ANC, the next deputy president of the country must be a woman.
From July to October I was head of communications, public relations and strategy for the Lindiwe Sisulu ANC presidential campaign. The campaign reached its zenith and began its decline during that time.Several factors informed its traction and reach. Chief among those was that Sisulu had crossover appeal and a reputation a strategist could work with. Also significant was the fact that Sisulu is a woman.
All campaign research data pointed to the conclusion that citizens and voters would want a woman in the presidency of the country. Sisulu's campaign benefited most from that voter sentiment.
The greatest strength for the Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma campaign was what later turned out to be its biggest weakness. It had the sleek election machinery that had swept Zuma to victory. Unfortunately for Dlamini-Zuma, that machinery was nothing but a "basket of deplorables" in the eyes of many voters and ANC members.
A possible worst case of irony was that what brought Dlamini-Zuma so close to being the first woman president of the ANC was also what prevented her from crossing the finish line: the Zuma factor.
To suggest that Dlamini-Zuma as ANC president would be malleable in the hands of Zuma is to overlook her own history as a headstrong - sometimes even stubborn - person. Zuma was already ANC deputy president when she divorced him. That speaks to her integrity and principles.
Sisulu's campaign started very late. It also lacked the funds and election machinery that her main rivals apparently had at their disposal.Sisulu's strategy made strong use of mainstream and social media to keep her in the minds of ANC members and ordinary voters. People loved the open style of campaigning - to the extent that other campaigns followed suit.
Trouble for Sisulu's campaign began when a competing campaign for a male candidate was reported to have said that it would add Sisulu as its deputy presidential candidate so that she could counter Dlamini-Zuma's advantage as a woman.
Sisulu viewed that as a sexist attempt to use one woman to stop the advancement of another. That informed her refusal to co-operate with other campaigns if her role was to be that of a deputy.
At that moment her campaign changed in all but name and focused on the fight against patriarchy in the ANC and in society. Anything that looked and sounded like patriarchy was in the campaign's crosshairs. The stated manifesto moved to the back burner.
Her public spats with fellow comrades and like-minded campaigns must be seen in that context. I effectively lost my job on the day I appealed to Sisulu to walk away from one of the spats.
WOMEN'S LEAGUE
There was also the problem of some sections of the mainstream media, inadvertently or otherwise, assisting some campaigns against others. There were blatant cases of campaign surrogates embedded in the media. They may well have believed that their envisaged end justified jettisoning journalistic principles and embracing advocacy.
The multiplicity of factors impacting the election processes of the ANC produced the presidency it has now. It is not necessarily a reflection of the wishes of ANC members or the voters.
One of those factors is that the ANC Women's League chose to be part of Zuma's electoral machine instead of supporting every woman who was a candidate for one of the top six positions.
Unfortunately, the loss for the women's league at the elective conference became a loss for all women.The ANC will have to reflect on the perceptions it is creating. It does not want to be seen as a party that advances the principle of nonsexism in theory but not in practice.
As the party reboots itself for the next five years, its deployees in parliament and government must ensure that its values and stated objectives are one and the same.
Apart from being the majority in society, women are predominantly the victims of discrimination, harassment and violence. Issues affecting women should not be left to an obscure ministry in the Presidency.
Women must be championed at all levels.
This would also go a long way towards teaching young people that women can do anything men can do, just as well if not better. In a woman deputy president, girl children would have an example to look up to, someone who is living testament to the fact that they can become anything they want to with talent, hard work and determination.
Ramaphosa is in the position Nelson Mandela was in prior to taking office. His predecessor has messed up so badly that most South Africans can't wait for him to take over. With so much goodwill comes political capital, the ability to rule with minimum opposition.Ramaphosa has enough capital to appoint any distinguished woman as his deputy in the national executive. He is big enough to work with any of them, even if they ran against him for the position he now holds.
His party deputy and Mpumalanga premier David Mabuza is fairly young and can wait a few more years for the big time. Besides, he could also use the time to profile himself better. Currently he is best known as the man who stood for ANC unity and won.
• Nkosi is the founder of the Nation's Voice initiative..

There’s never been a more important time to support independent media.

From World War 1 to present-day cosmopolitan South Africa and beyond, the Sunday Times has been a pillar in covering the stories that matter to you.

For just R80 you can become a premium member (digital access) and support a publication that has played an important political and social role in South Africa for over a century of Sundays. You can cancel anytime.

Already subscribed? Sign in below.



Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.