MP status is likely to boost Dlamini-Zuma
• Once in the Cabinet, she will not need others’ resources for support
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s entry into Parliament would help boost her profile and could provide the logistical support needed in a presidential campaign, sources canvassed by Business Day said on Monday.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s entry into Parliament will help boost her profile and can provide the logistical support needed in a presidential campaign, sources canvassed by Business Day said on Monday.
The former health, foreign affairs and home affairs minister is set to be sworn in as an MP soon and to be appointed a minister thereafter by President Jacob Zuma.
Another consideration for the move to Cabinet is to provide security for her. Since her return from her AU posting, DlaminiZuma has been unemployed and has relied on her supporters to fund her campaign.
Sources close to DlaminiZuma’s campaign confirmed yesterday that she was set to receive a cabinet post and her introduction into Parliament would also allow her to “engage directly” in the ANC caucus, which appears to be increasingly hostile to Zuma.
Two Cabinet posts being flagged by insiders for her to possibly fill are trade and industry and public works.
An insider in the Western Cape said it was becoming a logistical nightmare to ensure that Dlamini-Zuma could travel around the country to campaign with scant resources.
Another source said her entry into Parliament and the Cabinet would allow for “fair competition” between her and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose post allows him significant exposure to a variety of constituencies.
Transportation had become “a nightmare” as Dlamini-Zuma travelled around the country to campaign. This was further complicated by the rejection of a request to the SA Police Service to increase security for her.
Another source said since Dlamini-Zuma’s career had been based on deployment by the ANC, it was natural that she would return to be redeployed by the party.
“Now that she is back, she is unemployed. She is also not a businesswoman and her life has been in the ANC. She has to look after herself and her family,” one campaign insider said.
MK Military Veterans Association chairman Kebby Maphatsoe said reports that Pule Mabe had made way for Dlamini-Zuma to enter Parliament were false as there were five existing vacancies in the ANC’s parliamentary caucus.
“It would make Parliament vibrant to see Ramaphosa versus Dlamini-Zuma.… She is an experienced minister and parliamentarian; she must be able to engage directly with members of Parliament,” he said.
Sources canvassed by Business Day poured cold water on reports that Ramaphosa would be removed, saying it would be a tactical error on Zuma’s part.
It was unclear on Monday if Zuma had told the ANC’s top six leaders who he would move.