Top brass all glitzed up for gala night big bash
IT WAS a night of glitz and glamour at the ANC’s first gala dinner with the newly-elected president Cyril Ramaphosa.
The event, held at the East London International Convention Centre last night, started too late for Saturday Dispatch deadlines, but the paper was privy to how some of the guests had prepared for the night.
The event, which saw some of the guests forking out at least R250 000 for a seat, saw Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, who withdrew at the 11th hour as a presidential hopeful at the ANC’s December elective conference, getting a brand new look.
The Saturday Dispatch can reveal today that both Sisulu and Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane wore expensive Peruvian and Brazilian wigs respectively.
But other high-fliers in ANC circles, such as Deputy Minister of Communications Stella Ndabeni, opted to remain “simple and natural”.
Ndabeni spent two hours at East London’s downtown Mmeli’s salon in Station Street, where she relaxed, cut and tinted her short hair before curling it for an evening with the who’s who of SA business and politics.
In an interview conducted while her stylist Mmeli Madubela was hard at work, Ndabeni said the night represented a new beginning for her ANC.
The Eastern Cape-raised leader was to wear a classy silver-grey gown she said she bought overseas.
“I am wearing this outfit for the second time because I wore it when I was turning 40. That to me was a start of new things.
“The ANC is starting a new era of new leadership and a new path. I am extremely excited about tonight, although we are completely exhausted from the mobilisation.
“Tonight is going to be a night of looking back to where we come from as an organisation and where we are going,” she said.
Ndabeni said one of her biggest accessories would be her husband, who she assured the paper would be in a tuxedo.
The event was also marked by the presence of seasoned ANC supporters turned multi-millionaires, including Robert Gumede, Patrice Motsepe of the Motsepe Foundation, his sister and wife of Ramaphosa, Bridgette Motsepe-Ramaphosa, and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The gala dinner served as a major boost for the beauty industry.
One of the beauty boutiques which made good money thanks to the dinner was Afrika M in Berea, owned by Afrika Mbandazayo.
All three senior ANC women leaders – Sisulu, Mokonyane and Ndabeni – were pampered at her beauty shop, known for having pampered some of the country’s celebrities.
Mbandazayo said they were grateful for the opportunity to showcase their talents to the world during this period.
“But this is a demanding time for us as businesses as we must make sure that we offer quality services to our clients so that our businesses can be taken seriously.
“This is an opportunity for us to learn,” she said.