Nokuzola Gladys Tolashe (born 21 December 1959), also known as Sisisi "Sisi" Tolashe, is a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n politician from the

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. A member of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

(ANC), she has been the Minister of Social Development since June 2024 and the president of the

ANC Women's League The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) is an auxiliary women's political organization of the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa. This organization has its precedent in the Bantu Women's League, and it oscillated from ...

since July 2023. Tolashe was a member of the

Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature The Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Eastern Cape. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the members of the leading pa ...

between 2001 and 2008, and she rose to national political prominence as the secretary-general of the ANC Women's League under President

Angie Motshekga Matsie Angelina "Angie" Motshekga (born 19 June 1955) is a South African politician and educator who is currently serving as the Minister of Defense and Military Veterans since 3 July 2024. She served as the acting president of the Republic of ...

. She was secretary-general from July 2008 until she was ousted in August 2015. She went on to serve as a backbencher in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

from 2016 to 2018 and then as mayor of the Eastern Cape's

Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality Enoch Mgijima Municipality () is a local municipality within the Chris Hani District Municipality, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It was established after the August 2016 local elections by merging the Tsolwana, Inkwanca, and Lu ...

from 2018 to 2019. She returned to the National Assembly in the 2019 general election and was appointed to the national executive by President

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

in March 2023, first as Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities and then, after the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

, as Minister of Social Development. Tolashe has been a member of the ANC National Executive Committee since December 2022, and she previously served in the committee between

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Early life and activism

Tolashe was born on 21 December 1959 in Queenstown in the former

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...

. She entered politics through youth organisations in the

anti-apartheid movement The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-white population who were oppressed by the policies ...

and served in various civic organisations under the United Democratic Front. In the 1980s, she was detained without trial for five years – three years under Section 29 of the Internal Security Act, and two years under the prevailing state of emergency regulations.

Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature: 2001–2008

On 29 January 2001, Tolashe was sworn in to the

, where she filled a casual vacancy in the caucus of her political party, the

(ANC). She served in the provincial legislature until 2008. During her tenure, in December 2007, Tolashe attended the mainstream ANC's 52nd National Conference, where she was elected to a five-year term as a member of the ANC National Executive Committee. Her candidacy had been endorsed by the

Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU or Cosatu) is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the largest of the country's three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions.One Union ...

, and she received 1,574 votes from the roughly 4,000 delegates at the conference, making her the 59th-most popular candidate of the 80 ordinary members elected to the committee.

ANCWL Secretary-General: 2008–2015

Her departure from the legislature followed her election as national Secretary-General of the

(ANCWL), a full-time position based out of

Luthuli House Chief Albert Luthuli House in Johannesburg, more simply known as Luthuli House, is the headquarters of the African National Congress (ANC) and other subsidiary organizations. The name "Luthuli House" is frequently used as a metonym Metonymy ...

. She was elected to that office on 6 July 2008 at a league conference in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

. She succeeded

Bathabile Dlamini Bathabile Dlamini (born 10 September 1962) is a South African politician who was the President of the African National Congress (ANC) ANC Women's League, Women's League from 2015 to 2022. She was previously the Minister of Women, Youth and Person ...

who, at the same conference, was beaten by

in the race for the ANCWL presidency. Mpai Mogori was elected as Tolashe's deputy. At the ANC's 53rd National Conference in December 2012, Tolashe was re-elected to the ANC National Executive Committee, ranked 56th with 1,715 votes from 4,500 delegates. After the conference, the ANCWL was criticised for failing to field women candidates for the top leadership positions. In October 2013, Tolashe said that the mainstream ANC would have a woman president "in time", and that, though the time had not yet arrived, "I think we are almost there now." Both Motshekga and Tolashe were voted out of the ANCWL leadership at the league's next elective conference, held in August 2015 after a long delay. Meokgo Matuba won the Secretary-General position, beating Tolashe by 348 votes.

Return to government

National Assembly: 2016–2018

On 5 September 2016, Tolashe was sworn in to an ANC seat in the

, the lower house of the

South African Parliament The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature. It is located in Cape Town; the country's legislative capital. Under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Asse ...

. She replaced Raesibe Nyalungu, who died. She was a member of the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies and an alternate member of the Portfolio Committees on Labour and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Concurrently, she continued to serve in the ANC National Executive Committee – and apparently remained a supporter of ANC President

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...

– until the party's 54th National Conference in December 2017, at which she failed to gain re-election. Tolashe's term in the National Assembly lasted less than two years: she resigned on 25 February 2018, ceding her seat to Daniel Jabu Kabini.

Mayor of Enoch Mgijma: 2018–2019

Tolashe left Parliament to accept election as Executive Mayor of the

, her hometown in the

. She was elected on 26 February, replacing the embattled Lindiwe Gunuza-Nkwentsha as part of an ANC campaign to stabilise mismanaged municipalities. Her tenure in the mayoral office was brief. In the 2019 general election, she was nominated to return to the National Assembly, ranked 11th on the ANC's regional party list for the Eastern Cape constituency. After the election, Sibusiso Mvana succeeded her as mayor.

Return to the National Assembly: 2019–present

Upon her return to Parliament, Tolashe was appointed as a member of the Portfolio Committee on Transport and the

Standing Committee on Public Accounts The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA; Afrikaans: ''Staande Komitee oor Openbare Rekeninge'') is a standing committee of the National Assembly of South Africa, the lower house of the Parliament of South Africa. It oversees the financial ...

. In addition, on 24 June 2020, she was elected unopposed to chair the ad hoc parliamentary committee tasked with finding a successor to Kimi Makwetu, the Auditor-General of South Africa. The committee concluded its work in October, unanimously recommending

Tsakani Maluleke Tsakane, also known as Tsakani, is a Township (South Africa), township located in City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established during the early 1960s due to Apartheid's segregationist policies ...

for the position. In 2021, Tolashe was appointed as a member of another ad hoc committee, the Committee for Section 194 Enquiry into the Public Protector. In May 2022, Tolashe was elected to the 30-member Provincial Executive Committee of the Eastern Cape branch of the ANC. In December, the ANC's 55th National Conference elected her to return to the National Executive Committee; she was elected narrowly, ranked 77th of 80 members with 973 votes from the 4,400 delegates. At the conference, she reportedly supported

's bid for re-election as ANC President; she was linked politically to

Oscar Mabuyane Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane (born 24 February 1974) is a South African politician who has been serving as the seventh Premier of the Eastern Cape since May 2019. He was previously Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Economic Development, Enviro ...

and his allies in the Eastern Cape, a group sometimes nicknamed the

Chris Hani Chris Hani (28 June 194210 April 1993; born Martin Thembisile Hani ) was a South African military commander, politician and revolutionary who served as the leader of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and chief of staff of uMkhonto we S ...

Cabal.

Deputy Minister in the Presidency

On 6 March 2023, President Ramaphosa announced a

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

reshuffle in which Tolashe was appointed as Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities. She deputised Minister

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma (; born 27 January 1949), sometimes referred to by her initials NDZ, is a South Africa, South African politician, medical doctor and former anti-apartheid activist. A longstanding member of the African National Con ...

, who was also newly appointed to the portfolio.

ANC Women's League presidency

In July 2023, the ANCWL held its first elective conference since the 2015 meeting at which Tolashe had been voted out of the leadership. Tolashe was viewed as a frontrunner for election to the league's presidency, running with the support of Ramaphosa and his allies, including

Pemmy Majodina Pemmy Castelina Pamela Majodina (born 24 December 1968) is a South African politician from the Eastern Cape. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), she has been the Minister of Water and Sanitation (South Africa), Minister of Water and ...

and Angie Motshekga. Her slate of running mates included Lungi Gcabashe, Nokuthula Nqaba, and, until her death,

Tina Joemat-Pettersson Tina Monica Joemat-Pettersson (; 16 December 1963 – 5 June 2023) was a South African politician who served as the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police from July 2019 until her death in June 2023. A member of the African National C ...

. She stood against Bathabile Dlamini, the outgoing ANCWL President, and Thembeka Mchunu ultimately emerged as another pro-Ramaphosa candidate. At the conference held from 21 to 23 July 2023, Tolashe had the most branch nominations for the president position; she had received 1,564 nominations while her competitors Mchunu and Dlamini received 796 and 258 nominations respectively. On the final day of the conference, Tolashe was announced as the league's new president, having received 1,729 votes while Mchunu and Dlamini got 1,038 and 170 votes respectively.

Minister of Social Development

After the

, President Ramaphosa appointed Tolashe as Minister of Social Development.

References

External links

*
Nokuzola Gladys Tolashe
at Parliament of South Africa
Sisisi Tolashe
at South African Government {{DEFAULTSORT:Tolashe, Sisisi Living people 1959 births Xhosa people People from Queenstown, South Africa African National Congress politicians Members of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2014–2019 Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa Mayors of places in South Africa Women mayors of places in South Africa 21st-century South African women politicians