Dube-Ncube endorsed by former KZN premiers
KWAZULU-NATAL awoke on Women’s Day with Nomusa Dube-Ncube as the province’s first female premier-elect. On Monday she was announced as Sihle Zikalala’s successor.
Dube-Ncube said she understood the responsibilities of the position and promised that she would not disappoint.
“The promise is clear – we are here to uplift communities and unite the nation. Government needs to be capable and champions of the people, so I am grateful for the trust placed in me by the ANC. Going forward, we will be working with all of our colleagues from across the aisle to eradicate socio-economic plights,” she said.
Dube-Ncube said she understood the gravity of her position and felt the province was progressive in choosing a female leader.
“The fighters who have always raised their voice for women can now see that the province has a female leader who was also elected during our month of August.”
Dube-Ncube got the nod from Mbali Frazer and Amanda Bani-Mapena, who are both members of the provincial legislature.
POST spoke to former premiers of KZN on their thoughts about what was needed to be prioritised.
The province’s first three premiers, Frank Mdlalose, Ben Ngubane and Lionel Mtshali, have all died. They belonged to the IFP and served from 1994 to 2004.
Sbu Ndebele, the first ANC premier, served from 2004 to 2009. He is now the High Commissioner of South Africa in India.
Ndebele said: “All resources should be prioritised to end poverty. China has done it. Once poverty is solved, other issues such as instability and unemployment will begin to be resolved.”
Former health minister Zweli Mkhize, who was the province's premier from 2009 to 2013, did not respond to requests for comment.
Senzo Mchunu, the current minister of water and sanitation, served as premier from 2013 to 2016. His spokesperson, Kamogelo Mogotsi, said Mchunu was not available to comment.
Willies Mchunu, the premier between 2016 and 2019, said he felt confident about the future of the province under Dube-Ncube.
“She has been a stalwart in local government from municipalities to being MEC and working with national government. There will be no train smashes. She has the skills,” he said.
Mchunu said criminality and instability, along with unemployment, had to be prioritised.
“Departmental backlogs should also be addressed.”
Zikalala, who resigned as premier last Friday, said: “I resigned not because I’m pushed out by new leadership but simply because of the deceptive narrative peddled against me.
“I supported (Jacob) Zuma as a leader and my support has never been personal but always organisational. I have at no point used him to gain a position nor badmouthed those who did not support him. The rumours suggest I have aligned myself with president Ramaphosa, but it is tradition for members to accept and work with elected leadership,” he said.
Zikalala added: “We have arrived at the time for the next leadership to steer forward an inclusive and progressive future. During my term, I believe we have honoured our responsibilities. We did our best to advance the goals of the National Democratic Revolution and did our part to accelerate the goal of radical socio-economic transformation.”
Nigel Ward, president of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry NPC, said they were 100% behind
Dube-Ncube’s appointment.
“As the eThekwini business community, we have had the pleasure of working with Dube-Ncube in various leadership roles. She was responsive, dedicated, hard-working and resultsdriven,”
he said.
Ward said they were committed to working with the public sector to create workable and sustainable solutions.