Mbombo up for top DA posting
Mdantsane woman’s hat in ring
SHE has been a domestic worker, a nurse, a university lecturer, a doctor, a professor and, if things go her way next month, Western Cape Health MEC Professor NomaFrench Mbombo will be national leader of the Democratic Alliance Women’s Network (DAWN).
The structure will for the first time host an elective congress on April 6, just a day before its mother body hosts its national congress in Tshwane on April 7.
Based in the Western Cape now, Mbombo who hails from the streets of Mdantsane, has been part of the DA since the early 2000s after having been an active member of the ANC for years.
The Saturday Dispatch contacted the MEC to discuss her new ambitions and how she had attained all her accolades.
Mbombo said all that she has become was due to hard work, dedication and a lot of sleepless nights.
She said being a DAWN leader would give her the opportunity to mobilise women to drive women’s agendas, not only at government level, but also on the political front.
“This is the first time that DAWN will elect a leader – previously it has co-opted people and some have volunteered.
“I take seriously the issue of being an elected leader, more so than if I had been appointed, for when elected you come with a mandate from the people and that is serious business,” said Mbombo.
The soft-spoken but firm politician was the first black woman to be part of the Western Cape cabinet under the leadership of premier Helen Zille.
Throughout her career Mbombo has been involved in a number of organisations as member, adviser or consultant in various ministerial committees such as the National Committee of Confidential Enquiries on Maternal Death, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad), and the United Nations Office of Human Rights in the Women & Gender directorate.
Despite this international activity, she says she still keeps in touch with colleagues at her former training hospital Cecilia Makhiwane, in Mdantsane.
Jane Sithole, newly elected Mpumalanga provincial leader and a voting delegate, said women voters were looking for a leader who had her feet on the ground.
She said it was important that the DA established a strong women’s wing in order to pay attention to women’s issues and to influence policymaking around women.
Mbombo said she was up for the challenge and was ready to lead DA women across the country.