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- United Nations executive director for women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, has said she has no desire to contest for political power in South Africa or the ANC.
- Mlambo-Ngcuka said South Africa’s people desperately need an ANC that is responsive to their needs.
- She also praised former president Thabo Mbeki for his leadership while she was in government.
Former deputy president and United Nations executive director for women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, has ruled out vying for political power in the African National Congress or in South Africa after completing her second term of office at the global organisation.
However, Mlambo-Ngcuka did say that she shared a yearning with many South Africans that the country would turn its socioeconomic fortunes around and that the state of the governing party would also improve.
Mlambo-Ngcuka was speaking at a webinar on Tuesday evening organised by the Black Management Forum entitled: ‘Breaking through the glass ceiling: advancing a new wave of women leaders in Africa’.
Mlambo-Ngcuka served as deputy president under the administration of former president Thabo Mbeki between 2005 and 2008, after Mbeki fired his then-deputy Jacob Zuma, who later became president.
She also served as minister of minerals and energy between 1999 and 2005.
Mlambo-Ngcuka's tenure as deputy president came amid division and infighting within the ANC, which would come to define the political party's leadership battles for years to come, all while contributing to damaging the party's credibility among voters.
Fielding questions during the webinar, facilitator and BMF board member, Achumile Majija, read out the question from the audience on whether Mlambo-Ngcuka would want to run for president and whether she would want to do so on an ANC ticket.
State of the ANC ‘concerning’
Whether they want to contest for power or not, ANC members seldom make a habit of declaring their candidacy for leadership prematurely, and Mlambo-Ngcuka was no exception, responding jokingly: "Achumile, do you want to answer that one?"
She immediately moved to say, however, that she had no plans or desire to contest for political power in South Africa or within the ANC, adding that she hoped South Africa would recapture some of the promise it showed at the dawn of its democracy.
"Let me say that obviously the state of the ANC right now is concerning. I think whether you are a member or not, you have an interest in the ANC being stronger, without corruption and capable of meeting the needs of South Africa," Mlambo-Ngcuka said.
Mlambo-Ngcuka said South Africa's people desperately needed an ANC that was responsive to their needs and that she was willing to do all she could, "formally or informally, to help the ANC in cleansing itself".
She said various platforms existed for whoever wished to pursue a political solution to South Africa's many challenges.
"Do I want to return to vie for leadership within the ANC? That is not my preference at this point in time, frankly.
"I want contribute and work with anyone who wants to make the country work for the right reasons. It is important to advance this and independence could be a part of that. I am willing to work with any person who wants to help the country find itself," said Mlambo-Ngcuka.
She also took the opportunity to praise Mbeki for his leadership while she was still in government. She called him a "demanding" captain who "did not suffer fools" but would support his minister’s in difficult times.
Mlambo-Ngcuka is on her second term as executive director of UN Women, which ends next year. The position typically offers one four-year term, which is renewable with another term. Mlambo-Ngcuka’s predecessor in the position was former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet.
