ANC Deputy Secretary-General Nomvula Mokonyane sat down with Daily Maverick to discuss her presidential ambitions, the party’s decline and South Africa’s relationship with the US. As the ANC succession race gathers momentum ahead of the party’s 2027 elective conference, there appears to be a renewed push for the party to have its first woman president. The Speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza’s name has been touted, while the ANC’s deputy secretary-general, Nomvula Mokonyane, also known as “Mama Action”, has signalled her openness to the top job, saying she wouldn’t reject a branch or structure nomination — and that more women should put up their hands.
Speaking to Daily Maverick on the sidelines of the ANC’s 5th National General Council (NGC) in Gauteng on Tuesday, 9 November, Mokonyane glossed over her presidential ambitions, saying: On Didiza’s possible candidacy, Mokonyane said: “There must be a conversation not only on Thoko Didiza but every woman.” Mokonyane has been a major figure in South African politics for more than 20 years — serving as a Gauteng MEC, premier, a Cabinet minister and, since 2022, as one of the ANC’s top seven. Her rise has come with controversy, notably when the Zondo Commission found that she received monthly payments, food and an Aston Martin from the corrupt company Bosasa, and then lied about this. The report recommended that she be investigated and possibly formally charged.
When asked about the ANC’s calls for renewal in the light of her and several other party leaders being implicated at the Zondo Commission and the recent allegations made at the Madlanga Commission against sidelined Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, she said that other implicated ANC leaders (such as Gwede Mantashe and Cedrick Frolick, also linked to Bosasa allegations) had not refused to take accountability nor to answer questions. “What is good about the ANC is that none of the ANC members who are being cited has run away from presenting themselves. That is what is important… No one said I shouldn’t go to a commission or the ad hoc committee, ” said Mokonyane. While ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula insisted the NGC was not a discussion point for leadership conversations, focus has shifted to who will replace Ramaphosa in 2027 when he concludes his second term as head of the party.
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