By Simon Nare
African National Congress veteran Dr Naledi Pandor believes women within the organisation have the muscle and capacity to mobilise behind a female candidate to lead the party and ultimately the country.
Speaking to Inside Politics in a wide-ranging interview, Pandor said South Africa was more than ready to be led by a woman but society was too patriarchal, so there was a lack of appetite to support a woman.
She agreed that despite the hype within the ANC to have gender parity in most structures and a lot of talk about the organisation and the country being ready to be led by a woman, there was not much push or support for this to become a reality.
The former minister, who left politics after the national elections last year, said it was up to those who had access to power to deliver a woman leader.
“I think what we need (are) good leaders, and I really believe that there are women in South Africa who have the capacity to be the key leader of our country. So, indeed I don’t think it’s a matter of readiness, it’s really for those who enjoy access to power to realise that they should be playing a role in making sure that happens.
“We need bold action from women. In the ANC I think if women take the view that they as women will support a female candidate, I am sure we will see a woman as a leader of the ANC,” Pandor said.
This extended to other parties as well where women could take the same position.
She refused to be drawn on the ANC’s succession battle and the names being punted ahead of the party’s 2027 national conference.
Pandor cautioned that those who were going public on the succession battle were speaking out of turn with the constitution and tradition as the debate had not been opened yet.
Asked if she would return to politics to lead the party if she were called upon by the branches, Pandor chose to give a political answer, saying she was really enjoying her retirement which she was using to get to know herself.
“I don’t know because I don’t know what the membership of the ANC wants, but presently it’s not the time (to answer the question). The branch influence will happen, and we will have a sense of what will happen at the right time.
“The ANC has procedures. As a disciplined member one doesn’t speak or act outside of those procedures,” she said.
Pandor shared the sentiments of many ANC leaders that if the party did not clean its house ahead of the next elections, it could see its support declining further after a dramatic drop to 40% in the last national and provincial elections.
She was of the view that loyal ANC members were too demoralised to go to the polls due to widespread corruption and poor service delivery. This was evidenced by the fact that they did not vote for another party.
It was one thing, she said, for the ANC leadership to admit the party’s mistakes and shortcomings, but another for the leaders to be on the ground instilling discipline through political education.
“I think it’s not for a leader to anticipate doing badly, it’s for them to ensure that we improve. The rot was quite deep, and I think efforts are being made to communicate the character of the ANC and help those new structures to have people understand what the core purpose of the ANC is.
“If we do the right thing, which I think we are trying to, we could recover the majority support,” she said.
Pandor added that because ANC supporters did not vote for other parties in the last election, it had a lifeline to self-correct. And if there were genuine efforts to fight corruption and fix municipalities, ANC supporters were likely to vote for the party again.
INSIDE POLITICS