The ANCWL statement on announcing its ANC top 6 preferred candidates

10 January 2017

The National Executive Committee (NEC)  of the African National Congress Women’s League (ANCWL)  held it’s extended NEC Meeting from the 6 – 7 January 2017 at St George’s Conference Centre, Irene. After the meeting the NEC released a summary report to ANCWL supporters and members of the society and full report is to be tabled in structures of the ANCWL.

Amongst others the summary report included the ANCWL position on the ANC succession. The ANCWL did not deviate in anyway from the longstanding mandate from its members and supporters to pursuit the call for the election of the ANC's first female President and having minimum 50% representation in the top 6 of the ANC.  In its 105yrs of existence the ANC has never had a female President and 50 % representation in the top 6 of the ANC. That glass ceiling will be broken by having a female President giving closing remarks in the 54th ANC National Conference in December 2017 and other female cadres being in the top 6 of the organisation. 

The call for the first female President and having 50% representation in ANC top 6  has gained relevance and necessary significance; therefore pronouncing on the preferred candidates to be lobbied cannot be in anyway interpreted as a form of ill-discipline. In true pursuance of the ANC's policy of equality and non-sexism,  ANCWL  will not be persuaded to stop its decision to call for the members of the ANC to elect its first ever woman as President in December 2017 and having women equally forming part of the ANC top 6. 

The ANCWL carries in it a responsibility to be the voice of reason and critical body of opinion within the ANC and broader society in so far as it relates to gender equity and parity. The ANCWL welcomes the support received from its members, supporters, society in general and other progressive women political structures within and outside Africa for this announcement .The success of ANCWL in realising a goal of having the first ANC female President will be a success of women structures across the globe and motivation for them to continue with an agenda of having the world that is not partriachal. Thepatriachal system which is protected by the beneficiaries and proxies of partriachy must be exposed and be dismantled. 

The unity and integrity of ANC is sacrosanct and is high in the agenda of ANCWL, therefore ANCWL will at all times be in the forefront to defend that. As integral part of the ANC, the ANCWL will clarify to the ANC it's decision to release the summary report  of its NEC meeting and not engage the ANC through public platforms.

ANCWL calls for all South Africans to join us in the journey of building a non-sexist prosperous country by transforming the political and economic structures which marginalises women purely on the basis of gender. Women have capacity to lead. The ANCWL will be recorded in history as one of formations that led to the demise of partriachy in politics and other sectors in the world.  

The time for ANC to have a female president and 50% of women in its top structure is now!

Issued by Meokgo Matuba, ANCWL Secretary General, 10 January 2017