Bathabile Dlamini says her inclusion in ANC list is ‘will of the people’

Minister of Women in the Presidency and ANC Women’s League president Bathabile Dlamini on Wednesday, New York time, responded to the criticism the ruling party received from South Africans for including her in the ANC candidate list.

The ANC list was criticised for lacking young people and including those who had been in the news for the wrong reasons. Dlamini, for one, has been accused of lying under oath.

Speaking to the SABC while attending the UN Commission on the status of women in New York, Dlamini said that what South Africans saw in the ANC list was “the will of the people”.

“What is in the list of the ANC is the will of the people. In the ANC we do not apply to be public representatives. We are elected by the people and therefore what is there is the will of the people,” she said.

She further congratulated Nomvula Mokonyane, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Lindiwe Sisulu, the only women who made it to the top 10 on the list, saying it was “not easy”.

“Firstly I want to congratulate every woman who made it to the top 10 because I know it is not easy. You know what happened? Men came up with an idea of originality of the will of the people and said 15% must not be changed, and that was meant to keep positions for themselves. Because they know that if it is a zebra they are going to go down.”

Editor’s note: She meant a “zebra list”, in which candidates alternate equally between men and women, ensuring 50-50 representation.

“They know that more women vote for – during the election – for all parties. They also know that it is women that mobilise for the support of different political organisations.”

The ruling party received criticism after secretary-general Ace Magashule confirmed that Malusi Gigaba, Mokonyane, Dlamini and Mosebenzi Zwane were included in the list. Gigaba has also been accused of lying under oath.

Gigaba stepped down from his position as home affairs minister following a sex scandal, while Zwane and Mokonyane were recently implicated in state capture.

In defence of the list, Magashule said those being criticised had not yet been charged of any crime.

“We have looked at what the law says. You are talking about people who have never been charged with any crime or offence. Why do you want to single out people because they are out there in the media?” asked the secretary-general.

(Compiled by Vhahangwele Nemakonde)

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