‘NDZ’, one of our fiercest political veterans, bows out gracefully

Not all leaders are created equal. And few politicians have enjoyed a career to rival that of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the steely ANC veteran and minister in the Presidency who announced earlier this week that she would not seek re-election to parliament in the 2024 elections.

By every measure, Dlamini-Zuma — affectionately known to South Africans as “NDZ ”— is an example of formidable political leadership and public service. A medical doctor by training, she has served as an MP since 1994, holding ministerial positions in the administrations of all five postapartheid presidents — from Nelson Mandela to Cyril Ramaphosa. She is also the first and only woman to have been elected chair of the AU.

Tarring her public service record with the ignominious brush of her former husband’s tenure as president would be an ignorant and sexist repudiation of her significant contributions to the good governance of this country. Nevertheless, many have tried to do just this. And while her lengthy record in public office is by no means perfect, we have much in the way of public policy reform for which we should heartily thank her.

Born in January 1949 near Hlanganani in the Eastern Cape, Dlamini-Zuma attended Adams College, the historic mission school that also educated ANC stalwarts Albert Luthuli and John Dube. Like many who voiced their opposition to apartheid, she fled South Africa out of fear of persecution. While in exile, she chaired the ANC’s UK youth section while completing a BMed degree at the University of Bristol.

Her first significant position in government was as health minister in Nelson Mandela’s administration from 1994 to 1999. During her tenure, she fearlessly took on a formidable and obstinate multinational tobacco lobby — including British American Tobacco, whose virtual monopoly gave it a 95% South African market share when the bill was introduced — in one of the world’s first battles to regulate the industry. And she won.

When I was first elected to parliament in 2009, veteran MPs would regale us with tales of the ruthless lobbying the tobacco industry embarked on, including dishing out lavish patronage to MPs in the hope of turning their votes on the bill.

The Tobacco Products Control Amendment Act of 1999 — a law banning the advertising and promotion of tobacco products at major events, prohibiting the free distribution of tobacco products, and banning smoking in public spaces — set the stage for the wave of indoor smoking bans and other restrictions that would take place around the world over the next two decades.

During her term as health minister, DlaminiZuma also introduced critical legislation granting the poorest South Africans access to free health care. She litigated against powerful international pharmaceutical companies to challenge the patenting of HIV/Aids treatments and medications. And it was she who introduced into parliament the seminal law enshrining women’s bodily autonomy and giving life to the constitutional protection for women’s reproductive rights: the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1996.

It was this same steely intellect, resilience and resolve that underpinned her sophisticated handling of South Africa’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, during her tenure as co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister.

President Cyril Ramaphosa would deliver his addresses to the nation during television prime time, outlining his administration’’s response to the public health crisis. But it was Dlamini-Zuma who would face a phalanx of flashing cameras and microphones the next morning as the nation’s journalists quizzed her on the details of the government’s plans and regulations.

Hounded by industry lobbyists, the media and citizens alike for her strict approach to the lockdown regulations, Dlamini-Zuma’s policies — which banned everything from alcohol and tobacco to the sale of heated and prepared roast chickens and pies — were deeply controversial and unpopular. But they also unquestionably slowed and limited the spread of the virus in South Africa.

Without question, the policies introduced by Dlamini-Zuma during her time in public office have positively affected the lives of tens of millions of South Africans. But the retirement of this titan of South African politics should give us all cause for reflection. Why does South Africa not benefit from having successive waves of young women political leaders of similar intellect and tenacity taking on Dlamini-Zuma’s leadership mantle?

The time is ripe for a seismic shift in the leadership demographics of our country. Too many outstanding young people have been relegated to the periphery of political participation. But a brave new generation of leaders has the potential to invigorate modern politics by injecting fresh ideas, technological acumen and a profound understanding of contemporary challenges into a landscape that has been weighed down by greed, corruption and self-interest. This year’s elections offer South Africa’s political organisations the opportunity to embrace just such a leadership transition. This would be a fitting tribute to the legacy of one of our fiercest political veterans.