Nokuzola Gladys Tolashe (born 21 December 1959), also known as Sisisi "Sisi" Tolashe, is a South African politician from the
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha.
The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...
. She is the current
Minister of Social Development since June 2024. She was also elected as president of the
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
(ANC)
Women's League in July 2023. In government, Tolashe was the
Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities from March 2023 to 30 June 2024.
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 par ...
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. 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 repre ...
from 2016 to 2018 and then as mayor of the Eastern Cape's
Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality
Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality is a local municipality of South Africa. It was established after the August 2016 local elections by the merging of Tsolwana, Inkwanca, Lukhanji local municipalities.
Politics
The municipal council consists o ...
from 2018 to 2019. She returned to the National Assembly in the
2019 general election and was appointed to her deputy ministerial position in a March 2023 reshuffle by President
Cyril Ramaphosa.
Tolashe has been a member of the ANC
National Executive Committee since
December 2022, and she previously served in the committee between
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
and
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
.
Early life and activism
Tolashe was born on 21 December 1959 in
Queenstown in the former
Cape Province.
She entered politics through youth organisations in the
anti-apartheid movement 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 Internal Security Act may refer to:
*Internal Security Act 1960, former Malaysian law
*Internal Security Act (Singapore)
*McCarran Internal Security Act, a United States federal law
*Suppression of Communism Act, 1950, a South African law, renamed ...
, 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
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 par ...
, where she filled a casual vacancy in the caucus of her political party, the
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
(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) is a trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions ...
, 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
ANC Women's League
The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) is an auxiliary women's political organization of the African National Congress, African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa. This organization has its precedent in the Bantu Women's League ...
(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.
She succeeded
Bathabile Dlamini who, at the same conference, was beaten by
Angie Motshekga 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
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 repre ...
, the lower house of the
South African Parliament. 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
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the 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 name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...
– 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
Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality
Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality is a local municipality of South Africa. It was established after the August 2016 local elections by the merging of Tsolwana, Inkwanca, Lukhanji local municipalities.
Politics
The municipal council consists o ...
, her hometown in the
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha.
The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...
.
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
Portfolio may refer to:
Objects
* Portfolio (briefcase), a type of briefcase
Collections
* Portfolio (finance), a collection of assets held by an institution or a private individual
* Artist's portfolio, a sample of an artist's work or a c ...
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 Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) is an office established by the 1996 Constitution of South Africa and is one of the Chapter nine institutions intended to support democracy, although its history dates back at least 100 years.
Tsakani Ma ...
. The committee concluded its work in October, unanimously recommending
Tsakani Maluleke
Tsakane is a township located in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established during the early 1960s due to Apartheid's segregationist policies and was formally founded as a designated area. Tsakane is a Tsonga word which means joy or happ ...
for the position. In 2021, Tolashe was appointed as a member of another ad hoc committee, the
Committee for Section 194 Enquiry
The Committee for Section 194 Enquiry is an ad hoc committee of the National Assembly of South Africa that was established on 7 April 2021 to determine if there are grounds for the removal of Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane as Public Protector.
Backg ...
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
Cyril Ramaphosa'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 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
* Filing ...
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 (née Dlamini; born 27 January 1949), sometimes referred to by her initials NDZ, is a South African politician, medical doctor and former anti-apartheid activist. A longstanding member of the African National Cong ...
, 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 serving as a Member of the National Assembly since 2019. A member of the African National Congress, she is the party's chief whip in the assembly. She was forme ...
and Angie Motshekga.
Her slate of running mates included
Lungi Gcabashe, Nokuthula Nqaba, and, until her death,
Tina Joemat-Pettersson
Tina Monica Joemat-Pettersson (née Joemat; 18 December 1963 in Kimberley, Northern Cape) is a South African politician and the former Minister of Energy from 25 May 2014 to 31 March 2017. She was previously the Minister of agriculture, fores ...
.
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.
References
External links
*
Nokuzola Gladys Tolasheat Parliament of South Africa
Sisisi Tolasheat South African Government
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolashe, Sisisi
Living people
1959 births
Xhosa people
People from Queenstown, South Africa
Politicians from the Eastern Cape
African National Congress politicians
Members of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature
Members of the National Assembly of South Africa
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 politicians
21st-century South African women politicians