A plethora of people are gathered inside the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg, all draped in regalia of the 106-year-old African National Congress (ANC), South Africa’s ruling party.
The crowd of more than 5,000 moves like a multi-headed beast, chanting South Africa’s struggle songs. The head of this beast can be found in a song that keeps creeping up in many parts of this crowd.
“Unity maqabane, ixesha lisondele,” goes the song, which loosely translates to “unity comrades, the time has come.”
This is moments before the African National Congress, the oldest liberation movement on the continent, makes one of the biggest decisions in more than a century of struggle and campaigning in Africa. It is about to elect who is going to lead it out of its most difficult time in democratic South Africa.
In a few moments, the ANC will choose who will replace President Jacob Zuma, a man who has ruffled feathers from the boardrooms to the streets.
Even before he took office, Zuma faced 783 counts of corruption. Around $20 million of taxpayers’ money was used to upgrade his private home in Nkandla, even though he is paying back some of it. His relationship with the Gupta family has cast a shadow over his presidency. The economy has undoubtedly taken a huge dip under his leadership, with unemployment rising and investments falling.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/politics/2017/11/21/lessons-south-africas-jacob-zuma-robert-mugabes-misfortunes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Lessons for South Africa&#8217;s Jacob Zuma in Robert Mugabe&#8217;s misfortunes</a>
At Nasrec, as the mood of the people swirls in different currents, dark uncertainty is visible on their faces. Factionalism is at its worse within the ANC, with the party split between two candidates.
The first is business-minded ANC Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, who many believe should be next in line, claiming it is party tradition. The unions, however, say he is too capitalist.
The other is Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, a veteran parliamentarian and former chairperson of the African Union Commission. She is the first female ANC member gunning for the party’s top position. Many however say she is too close to President Zuma, her former husband.
Months of campaigning, factionalism, infighting and party slates have all boiled down to this moment. After a period of uncertainty and songs blaring from every corner, EleXions Agency, the facilitators of the voting process, take to the stage to put the masses here out of their misery.
Ramaphosa emerges as the new ANC president by a whisker. A mere 179 votes separates him from Dlamini-Zuma, after almost 5,000 delegates cast their votes.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2016/12/01/zuma-thief-must-voetsek/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: &#8216;Zuma The Thief Must Voetsek&#8217;</a>
The top six positions of the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) are also closely contested, with the outcome split between supporters of Ramaphosa and Dlamini-Zuma. Is this the unity outcome that’s often crept up in songs here, or will this cause further division within the self-confessed corruption-riddled party?
“It’s an interesting outcome but it’s an outcome that’s organizational. I think that’s what the ANC needs, where we pull everyone together under one roof and make it a point that people work together as a collective, cohere and move forward,” says recently elected ANC Eastern Cape Chairman, Oscar Mabuyane.
Fikile Mbalula, the newly-elected NEC member, and staunch supporter of Dlamini-Zuma, preaches unity after the battle.
“The conference is over, we have one president and not two. Cyril Ramaphosa is my president and we are going to work nicely together,” says Mbalula, who is also South Africa’s Minister of Police.
Some, however, aren’t taking kindly to the outcome. Bathabile Dlamini, the President of the ANC Women’s League, lambastes the new leadership. The Women’s League had thrown its weight behind Dlamini-Zuma in the hope that she’d become the first woman to lead the ANC in its history.
“This is an attack on women’s struggles. We have been dealt a blow and want to call on all women to stand together,” says Dlamini.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/politics/2017/12/19/anc-new-leader-south-africa-remains-political-precipice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: The ANC has a new leader but South Africa remains on a political precipice</a>
Jesse Duarte is the only woman in the top six – coincidentally contesting for her position against another woman.
Business tycoon and former Gauteng Premier, Tokyo Sexwale, who is also concerned by the lack of women in the top six, gave words of warning on tackling corruption within the ANC.
“When you become president of the country [one day], make sure you have the long arm of the law reach out to criminals. Start with criminals who are trying to hide under Cyril’s umbrella, because that’s how they corrupt the situation. Before you steal from Eskom, SAA and so on, you’ve got to corrupt the ANC. So deal with them decisively first,” says Sexwale, who was once named alongside Ramaphosa and Mathews Phosa in a plot aimed at toppling then president, Thabo Mbeki, in 2001.
A thorny issue for the new ANC leadership, which includes the 80 NEC members, are the growing calls to recall outgoing ANC president, Zuma, from the presidency of South Africa.
In his closing speech at the conference, Ramaphosa, emphasizes the need for a public office that wouldn’t serve vested interests, but build a truly developmental state.
“Our people will judge this conference not only by what we have done here over these past five days, but perhaps more importantly, they will judge it by what we do next. The people of South Africa want action.”
Will Ramaphosa be able to deliver this action? Time will tell.

‘The People Want Action’

Rumours that President Jacob Zuma has instructed the South African National Defence Force to draw up plans for implementing a <a href="https://citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/1756940/sa-presidency-rejects-reports-of-state-of-emergency-regulations-draft/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">state of emergency</a> may or may not be true. Nonetheless they are evidence of South Africa’s febrile political atmosphere.
But any assumption that <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/news/anc-conference/anc54-breaking-ramaphosa-elected-anc-president-12453127" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the election</a> of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/cyril-ramaphosa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cyril Ramaphosa</a> as the new leader of the African National Congress (ANC), after winning the race against Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, will place South Africa on an even keel are misplaced. Indeed, the drama may only be beginning.
It’s useful to look back to 2007 when President Thabo Mbeki unwisely ran for a <a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/i-asked-mbeki-to-stand-for-a-third-term-to-stop-zuma-kasrils-20171108" target="_blank" rel="noopener">third term as ANC leader</a>. His unpopularity among large segments of the party provided the platform for his <a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Politics/Zuma-sweeps-to-resounding-victory-20071218" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defeat by Zuma</a> at Polokwane. Within a few months the National Executive Committee of the ANC latched onto an <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAKZHC/2008/71.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">excuse</a> to ask Mbeki to <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/thabo-mbeki-resigns-south-africa%E2%80%99s-second-democratic-president" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stand down as president of the country</a> before the end of his term of office. Being committed to the traditions of party loyalty he complied, resigning as president some eight months before the Constitution required him to do so.
The question this raises is whether South Africa should now expect a repeat performance following the election of a new leader of the ANC. Will this lead to a party instruction to Zuma to stand down as president of the country? And if it does, will he do what Mbeki did and meekly resign?
There’s a big difference between the two scenarios: Mbeki had no reason to fear the consequences of leaving office. Zuma, on the other hand, has numerous reasons to cling to power. This is what makes him, and the immediate future, dangerous for South Africa, and suggests the country faces instability.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/politics/2017/11/21/lessons-south-africas-jacob-zuma-robert-mugabes-misfortunes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Lessons for South Africa&#8217;s Jacob Zuma in Robert Mugabe&#8217;s misfortunes</a>
<h2>Why Zuma won’t go</h2>
It is not out of the question that Zuma may say to himself, and to South Africa, that he is not going anywhere. He is losing <a href="https://theconversation.com/dramatic-night-in-south-africa-leaves-president-hanging-on-by-a-thread-57180" target="_blank" rel="noopener">court case</a> after <a href="https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21732538-judges-keep-finding-against-south-africas-embattled-president-jacob-zuma-loses-two" target="_blank" rel="noopener">court case</a>, and judicial decisions are increasingly narrowing his legal capacity to block official and independent investigations into the extent of <a href="http://ewn.co.za/Topic/State-Capture" target="_blank" rel="noopener">state capture</a> by business interests close to him.
With every passing day, the prospects of his finding himself in the dock, <a href="https://theconversation.com/president-zuma-loses-bid-to-dodge-783-charges-but-will-he-have-the-last-laugh-85703" target="_blank" rel="noopener">facing 783 charges</a>, including of corruption and racketeering, also increase.
Zuma will have every constitutional right to defy an ANC instruction to stand down as state president until his term expires following the next <a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/newsmaker-2019-elections-results-will-be-credible-20171015-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">general election in 2019</a>, and the new parliament’s election of a new president. In terms of the <a href="http://www.treasury.gov.za/legislation/bills/2002/b16.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">South African Constitution</a>, his term of office will be brought to an early end only if parliament passes a vote of no confidence in his presidency, or votes that, for one reason or another, he is unfit for office.
But today’s ANC is so divided that it cannot be assumed that a majority of ANC MPs would <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-happening-inside-the-anc-not-parliament-is-key-to-why-zuma-prevails-82399" target="_blank" rel="noopener">back a motion of no confidence</a>, even following the election of Ramaphosa as the party’s new leader.
In other words, there is a very real prospect that South Africa will see itself ruled for at least another 18 months or so by what is termed <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2007-06-27-anc-debates-two-centres-of-power" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“two centres of power”</a>, with the authority and the legitimacy of the party (formally backing Ramaphosa) vying against that of the state (headed by Zuma).
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2016/12/01/zuma-thief-must-voetsek/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: &#8216;Zuma The Thief Must Go&#8217;</a>
<h2>Throwing caution to the wind</h2>
As if that is not a sufficient condition for political instability, we may expect that Zuma will continue to use his executive power to erect defences against his future prosecution. He will reckon to leave office only with guarantees of immunity. Until he gets them, Zuma will defy all blandishments to go. And if he does not get what he wants, he may throw caution to the wind and go for broke.
Hence, perhaps, the possibility that he is prepared to invoke a state of emergency.
The grounds for Zuma imposing a state of emergency would be specious, summoned up to defend his interests and those backing him. They would be likely to infer <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-pressure-mounts-on-south-africas-jacob-zuma-he-blames-an-old-enemy-western-intelligence-agencies-69599" target="_blank" rel="noopener">foreign interference</a> in affairs of state, alongside suggestions that <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/zuma-again-denounces-the-monopoly-of-white-economic-power-11988619" target="_blank" rel="noopener">white monopoly capital</a>, whites as a whole as well as nefarious others were conspiring to prevent much needed <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2017-12-15-know-your-candidate-dlamini-zuma-beats-the-ret-drum/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">radical economic transformation</a>. Present constitutional arrangements would be declared <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-south-africans-should-be-worried-by-anc-talk-of-a-colour-revolution-87019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">counter-revolutionary</a> and those defending them doing so only to protect their material interests.
After a matter of time, such justifications would probably be declared unconstitutional by the judiciary. It is then that there would be a confrontation between raw power and the Constitution. If such a situation should arise, we cannot be sure which would be the winner.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2017/12/13/anger-corporate-slippery-slope/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Anger At The Corporate Slippery Slope</a>
<h2>South Africa’s army</h2>
It is remarkable how little the searchlight that has focused on state capture has rested on the Defence Force. Much attention has been given to how the executive has effectively co-opted the <a href="https://theconversation.com/leaked-emails-ramaphosas-hypocrisy-on-spying-by-the-south-african-state-83605" target="_blank" rel="noopener">intelligence</a> and <a href="http://www.ngopulse.org/article/2016/09/29/political-interference-weakening-rule-law-sa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prosecutorial service</a>, as well has how the top ranks of the police have been selected for political rather than <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/world/africa/south-africa-police-commissioner-under-investigation-is-suspended.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">operational reasons</a>.
It seems to have been assumed that South Africa’s military is simply sitting in the background, observing political events from afar. But is it? Where would its loyalties lie in the event of a major constitutional crisis?
The danger of the present situation is that South Africa might be about to find out.
Were the military to throw its weight behind Zuma the country would be in no-man’s land. Of course, there would be a massive popular reaction, with the further danger that the president himself would summon his popular cohorts to <a href="https://theconversation.com/anc-military-veterans-and-the-threat-to-south-africas-democracy-76118" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“defend the revolution”</a>.
And South Africans should not assume that Zuma would be politically isolated. Those who backed Dlamini-Zuma did so to defend their present positions and capacity to use office for personal gain. If they were to rise up, the army would then be elevated to the status of defender of civil order.
What is certain is that in such a wholly uncertain situation the economy would spiral downwards quickly. Capital would take flight at a faster rate than ever before, <a href="http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=10658" target="_blank" rel="noopener">employment</a> would collapse even further, <a href="http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=10334" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poverty</a> would become even further entrenched.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/politics/2017/11/13/southern-slug-fest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: The Southern Slug Fest</a>
<h2>Reasons to be hopeful</h2>
Is all this too extreme a scenario? Hopefully yes. There are numerous good reasons why such a fate will be averted.
Zuma’s control over the ANC is waning, as is his control over various state institutions, notably the National Prosecuting Authority. And the country has a checks and balances in place: there is a vigorous civil society, the judiciary has proved the Constitution’s main defence and trade unions and business remain influential.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89248/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />Even so, it remains the case that what transpires now that the ANC’s national conference is over will determine the fate and future of our democracy. South Africa is approaching rough waters, and a Jacob Zuma facing an inglorious and humiliating end to his presidency will be a Jacob Zuma at his most dangerous. &#8211; Written by <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/roger-southall-296862" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Roger Southall</a>, Professor of Sociology, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-the-witwatersrand-894" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of the Witwatersrand</a>
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

The ANC has a new leader: but South Africa remains on a political precipice

It’s only a few weeks to the much anticipated African National Congress (ANC) leadership race. The number of people who want to be president has grown &#8211; unheard of in the 105-year history of the embattled ANC, the oldest party on the continent. President Jacob Zuma, who anointed his ex-wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, expressed dismay at the number of candidates who want to replace him. But the party veteran and former acting president, Kgalema Motlanthe, thinks there’s nothing wrong.
“It’s actually an anomaly and I suppose it is also a sign of state of health of the ANC because these contenders are members of the National Executive Committee (NEC0, which issued a directive at the beginning of the year that nobody should mention any names,” says Motlanthe.
Dlamini-Zuma, the former Africa Union chairperson and the country’s former foreign affairs, health and home affairs minister, and Cyril Ramaphosa, the Deputy President of South Africa, are the hot contenders. Ahead of the elective conference, starting on December 16 in Johannesburg, ANC members are at loggerheads. Motlanthe decried the premature announcement of contenders and says it goes against party tradition.
Zweli Mkhize, the Treasurer-General of the party, is favored as a second choice by supporters of Dlamini-Zuma.
“We leave everything to the branches to select their leadership and we make ourselves available. I still intend to be part of that leadership, and therefore we believe that as that collective that will emerge, we will be able to work together to focus on issues that will help to build the economy and ensure good governance,” Mkhize told FORBES AFRICA.
Gwede Mantashe, the party’s Secretary General and one of the most powerful members of the NEC, said the number of contenders was ridiculous, during his address of OR Tambo memorial lecture in September.
“It’s ridiculous because we are an organization, we know one another and we know our capabilities. It’s not just a question of coin tossing,” says Mantashe.
<div id="attachment_34368" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-34368" class=" wp-image-34368" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Kgalema-Motlanthe-e1510557506890-300x224.jpg" alt="Kgalema Motlanthe" width="500" height="373" />Kgalema Motlanthe (Photo by Getty Images)</div>
The ANC has been divided since the 2007 elective conference in Polokwane, in the Limpopo province, where former President Thabo Mbeki, who had hinted at a third term, lost to Zuma, the man he fired as Deputy President in 2005. Since then, competing factions sought control of the party. It continued at the elective conference in 2012, in Mangaung, in the Free State, where Zuma easily defeated Motlanthe’s faction.
“The eradication of factionalism is going to be a long process because it is not just a once-off process; it is going to be something that is going to be linked into rebuilding the values, political education and bringing back party education. There’s also action to those who are involved in corruption, those who are arrogant and those who are not serving the community. All those need to be acted upon so that people can be convinced the ANC is working on some of the things it objected to,” says Mkhize.
ANC is riven by all kinds of scandal; from thousands of illegal members in KwaZulu-Natal, the political murders of whistle-blowers and the leaked Gupta family emails implicating ministers in so-called state capture – that is the takeover of government by private business.
“The ANC has been in power for 23 years and what has happened; corruption is very rife, the generosity and selflessness of former freedom fighters has been turned into greed and desire for the acquisition of material benefits which of course creates a sense of grievance in a majority of people who felt left out. Many of our people are not asking for pity, they are asking for opportunities so they can do for themselves what others are doing for themselves. The number of people without jobs has increased,” says Motlanthe.
“When the Constitution was crafted we hoped we would always have people of Mandela’s strong character in office. Now we know better.”
Whoever emerges victorious in December will be put forward as the ANC candidate for the general election in 2019. The party needs a good one if it is to cling to power against the growing opposition.
“It’s a moot question whether the ANC will retain power beyond the December conference. I don’t know if the new leadership of the ANC that will be elected will understand that or whether they will think by using more slogans you can win people, or a well-couched policy position, will crack it. People go by their lived experience. It will take some doing,” says Motlanthe.
<h2>The pros and cons of the main candidates:</h2>
Cyril Ramaphosa – As the Deputy President of the country and the ANC, it is expected he should be the next man in line. The killings of 34 miners in Marikana in 2012 affected Ramaphosa’s popularity in South Africa. He was a shareholder in Lonmin, the mining company that operated Marikana. But he’s seen as a business-minded candidate and maybe a little too close to the boardroom for the unions.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma – She is one of the longest serving parliamentarians, appointed in 1994 by President Nelson Mandela, she held a string of ministerial posts. Soon after serving as the chairperson of the African Union, Dlamini-Zuma was again sworn in as the Member of Parliament. The fact that she’s the ex-wife of President Zuma, she’s viewed as a proxy of her former husband who could yet face 783 criminal charges.  Dlamini-Zuma could be South Africa’s first female president.
Zweli Mkhize – He is the Treasurer-General of the ANC NEC and for a long time was an ally of President Zuma until he announced his interest to contest for his position. He is one of the favorites of the biggest ANC constituency of KwaZulu-Natal. The fact that he’s vying for the same support base as Dlamini-Zuma will make it tough.
Baleka Mbete – She is the Chairwoman of the NEC and was appointed Speaker of the National Assembly in 2014. Mbete was previously endorsed by ANC Women’s League, but she’s no longer their candidate since Dlamini-Zuma was endorsed early this year.
Lindiwe Sisulu – She’s one of surprise packages. The minister of housing is the daughter of the late Walter and Albertina Sisulu, both ANC stalwarts. ANC Chief Whip Jackson Mthembu and opposition leader Julius Malema called her “politically immature” but she has solid cabinet experience and a famous name.
Jeff Radebe – He is seen as an outsider to lead the ANC. Since 2014, he has served as the Minister in the Presidency. As a cabinet minister, he has served in different portfolios since President Mandela in 1994. In late June, Radebe accepted a nomination from ANC Midvaal, in Gauteng, but ever since then is the quiet candidate whom many are not giving a chance.
&#8211; Additional reporting by Thobile Hans

The Southern Slug Fest

It was a united Africa that met under one dome at the 27th African Union (AU) Summit, held from July 10-18 in Kigali, Rwanda.
After a week of mostly closed-door negotiations by the 35 heads of state in attendance, it concluded with the AU setting targets to self-finance its activities by raising $1.2 billion annually.
“It’s a great start, and an achievement for Africa,” said Smail Chergui, the AU’s commissioner for peace and security, to FORBES WOMAN AFRICA.
Some of the other issues debated at the summit were the conflicts in South Sudan, Burundi and Libya.
“We have to be on the side of the people of South Sudan and see how we can find a quick solution to what happened,” said Chergui at the closing media conference.
The AU will also start “drawing down” its troops in Somalia from October 2018, and will devote energies to training the forces and equipping them for daily combat in their own countries. The AU peacekeeping mission has been in Somalia since 2007.
The summit also saw the launch of the much-anticipated African passport. AU Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma handed representational passports to AU Chairperson and President of Chad Idriss Deby, and to Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, at the packed ordinary session of the general assembly inside the dome of the brand-new Kigali Convention Centre (KCC).
The session had started with African music, chorus and drums, even as Africa’s first ladies sat in one colorful row, proudly sporting African fabrics and headwraps representative of their countries.
Kagame said in his opening speech: “Believe in the healing power of unity… Unity is not a feel-good slogan but a tool to unite in Africa.”
Deby too added: “For the first time since the inception of the AU, the continent decided to take the union in its own hands, and contribute financially for peace, stability and crises… It’s a gigantic step.”
The pan-African passport is expected to facilitate the mobility of Africans and ease inter-country trade, although full details of when ordinary Africans will benefit from them are yet to emerge.
Another highlight of the summit was to be the election of the next chairperson of the AU Commission. The results were to be announced on the last day after voting, but none of the three candidates, Botswana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, Uganda’s former Vice President Specioza Kazibwe and Equatorial Guinea’s Foreign Affairs Minister Agapito Mba Mokuy, managed to secure the two-thirds majority to win.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-31961 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Gatare-at-KCC-pic-by-Charles-Mugabe-683x1024.jpg" alt="" width="683" height="1024" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Gatare-at-KCC-pic-by-Charles-Mugabe.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Gatare-at-KCC-pic-by-Charles-Mugabe-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Gatare-at-KCC-pic-by-Charles-Mugabe-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Gatare-at-KCC-pic-by-Charles-Mugabe-200x300.jpg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" />
The elections are now postponed for January next year. Dlamini-Zuma will continue in her role until then.
Venson-Moitoi, 65, who spoke to FORBES WOMAN AFRICA before the results, said she had been campaigning for the elections since March, had given it “her best shot”, and if elected, was looking forward to working hard and continuing the good work, “bringing  a different outlook”.
She is one of two women proposed for the post. Are women better at the job?
We asked Prof. Vincent O. Nmehielle, Legal Counsel &amp; Director for Legal Affairs of the AU Commission on his way out of a media briefing.
“I can tell you women are quite resilient and very kind in terms of what they want to see with regards to the continent. And when you become the chairperson of the African Union, there is a tendency to feel you are a mother to the continent, so you want to handle the continent with care,” he said.
The theme of the summit was Human rights, Women’s rights; at the closing ceremony where countries were given awards for promoting the gender cause, Dlamini-Zuma handed Kagame – to a rousing applause – the award for political rights for women. Globally, Rwanda has the highest participation of women in Parliament, at a staggering 64%.
But with a number of competing issues, did women’s issues receive its due airtime?
“It was sufficiently discussed,” said Mahawa Kaba Wheeler, the AU’s Director of Women and Gender, at the final press conference.
“The discussions don’t end here and will go on, it will take on new dimensions… The media must work with us to get the message out.”
Diane Gashumba, Rwanda’s Minister of Gender and Family, said 17 ministers of gender attended the summit from various African countries.
“We did a lot, but when you look at all the policies in place supporting gender, we still have a long way to go. We have to keep sensitizing [women] to dream big about owning big enterprises,” said Gashumba.
At the session of the Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA), Kenya’s First Lady Margaret Kenyatta made an impassioned plea to combat HIV/AIDS.
For a country that already won praise for hosting the 2016 World Economic Forum on Africa in May, the AU summit proved to be another milestone for Rwanda, which is now aiming to be Africa’s leading MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) destination.
“We have confidence in the contribution of MICE events as a way to diversify the purpose of visitors coming to Rwanda,” says Francis Gatare, CEO of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB).
It’s expected to boost the country’s services sector, which currently contributes to 49% of the economy.
“The services sector is expected to rise to 50% of our economy in the next two to three years. Over the last 10 years, we have seen all forms of service industry [banking to tourism] emerge and take prominence,” says Gatare.
This is where the KCC will have a starring role. Gatare says the most important dimension of the tech-savvy convention center is its location.
“Located at the entrance of the city coming from the airport, this represents a unique intersection of government ministries on one side and the central business district on the other, while it’s also adjacent to one of the most sought-after residential areas. So, all civic communities, businesses and governments come together here.”
Its design is inspired by Rwanda’s Agaseki baskets, and is also representative of the country’s traditional homes.
“When Rwandans see it [the KCC], they see their home, they see their treasure, they also see their identity,” says Gatare.
The success of any country is reflected in the success and growth of its national airline. In September, the country’s flagship carrier RwandAir will be launching direct flights to Mumbai in India and Guangzhou in China, receiving two brand-new Airbus A330s fitted with lie-flat seats in business class; the aircraft will also have a premium economy cabin, a concept new to most airlines in Africa.
RwandAir is expected to launch flights to New York, Paris and London in the next two years, says John Mirenge, the airline’s head, on the sidelines of the summit. And all new planes will be fitted with wifi onboard as a standard.
Wifi is what most business travelers to Kigali compliment the city for; from the 295-room Radisson Blue by the KCC to the mint-fresh Marriott, close to the stately Serena hotel, and even in the smaller hotels, this is evident.
Overall, the summit proved to be a success for the host country, especially the $300 million KCC, Rwanda’s new focal point vying with the hills.
The KCC, so new it literally still smells of paint, stole the show with its nightly light displays featuring the colors of the Rwandan flag that presented many picture opportunities.
Madeleine Mukamabano, a Paris-based journalist who has been covering AU summits for years, called the Kigali edition the “first truly African summit that was without foreign influences”.
Kigali scored.

The-Kigali-Convention-Centre

Meeting Africa  In Kigali

As chair of the African Union (AU) Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, it would seem, far from the politics of her home country South Africa.
But it is now, in recent months, perhaps more than ever before, that her name is ricocheting in the corridors of power. Whilst political observers say she is coming to South Africa more often addressing high-profile meetings, the speculation is if she will be South Africa’s next president in 2017.
Will she be? If she does, it will make her South Africa’s first female president, which will be a political harbinger for the women’s movement.
We posed the question to the sexagenarian and anti-apartheid activist in June 2015 in Johannesburg, a day after the 25th Assembly of African Union Heads of State and Government around the theme ‘Women’s empowerment and development towards Agenda 2063’.
“That is not dependent on me,” Dlamini-Zuma had replied with a gentle laugh.
“At the moment, I am working at the AU, and that’s where my efforts should be. Who becomes the president of South Africa is a decision of whichever party wins, it will be the decision of the ruling party. And I have to do my best where I am. If you work for it, maybe it will happen. It is the decision of South Africans, but not my decision.”
A medical doctor, Dlamini-Zuma had been minister of health during Nelson Mandela’s presidency, foreign minister in the Thabo Mbeki government, and home affairs minister in the Jacob Zuma government before becoming the first woman to take on the top job at the AU in 2012.
Dlamini-Zuma’s mandate for now is clear – a united and strong Africa.
The greater financial inclusion of women on the continent, especially in agribusiness, is a subject close to her heart.
“The women on this continent are very unique in many ways. They really are the drivers of communities, of families, they are the curators of our culture, they really are the backbone of our social security as they take care of the elderly and the sick. But they also just make sure the land is tilled, there is food on the table for the children. But we need to empower them to do a lot more.”
Binding a large, heterogeneous continent with similarities rather than differences is challenging, but Dlamini-Zuma stridently believes in the pan-African dream, and the power of the youth to shape Africa.
“What is common is that we are all driven by a pan-African approach, which looks at solidarity amongst Africans, unity amongst Africans, and so I try and use what is common, what can drive all of us to prosperity and peace. And also working around the issues of women, as they are common on the continent and across the globe, and working with youth, which is also a critical part of what we do.”
In September 2015, Dlamini-Zuma received the Gülen Peace Award from the Turquoise Harmony Institute. Previous winners include Graça Machel and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
One of her achievements at the AU, she says, has been bringing together Agenda 2063, a development framework and vision for Africa.
“The second thing we have been able to achieve is to get the continent to realize it has to fund its own programs…We want to make sure we are at the forefront and the world should work with us, support us, invest in Africa, but we have to invest in Africa ourselves.”
The management of diversity on the continent is another key focus. And more women in politics, as positive role models, driving the agenda for change. Whether or not Dlamini-Zuma becomes South Africa’s next president, she is certainly only a step away from proving it is possible.

The Pan-African

Every year, South Africa celebrates Women’s Month in August, commemorating the 1956 protest against pass laws that saw 20,000 women march to the grounds of the Union Buildings in the country’s capital Pretoria.
In the run-up to Women’s Month, it was fitting that the African Union (AU) summit in June was held in Johannesburg around the theme, ‘Women’s Empowerment and Development Towards Africa’s Agenda 2063’. The AU has declared 2015 as the year of women’s empowerment.
At the opening ceremony of the summit, Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe and current Chairperson of the AU, lauded the African woman.
“Whenever I think of the virtues and the indomitable spirit that epitomizes the African woman, I am reminded of the heroines across the African continent who stood up against the forces of colonialism and occupation,” he said.
In an exclusive interview with FORBES WOMAN AFRICA after the summit, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the first female chairperson of the AU Commission, also a former South African home affairs minister, spoke about a new campaign.  She wants to replace the hoe (implement used in agriculture) with a motorized tiller.
“The women on this continent are unique in many ways. They really are the drivers of communities, of families, they are the curators of our culture… During our consultations to put together Agenda 2063 [a 50-year vision for Africa] and especially the first 10-year plan, we were told by women farmers that Agenda 2063 will mean nothing to them if they have to continue using the hoe. And it threw a big challenge to us; the more we looked at how women worked with the hoe, we realized it is actually like a symbol of poverty and symbol of submission too. We thought ‘they are right, how have we let it go for so long?’&#8230; So we decided to start this campaign to drive the hoe away, into the museum really, until there is no woman forced to use it.”
At the summit, the AU handed out tillers to each of the 54 African countries present “just to show it can be done”.
“But we think it will actually bring a different dynamic to agriculture because young people were not willing to go into agriculture. But once they see it is technology they can use, and they can use working upright, standing tall and proud, I think the tillers will restore the dignity of African women and change the image of African women farmers,” says Dlamini-Zuma.
Next on the cards for the AU is developing Africa’s blue economy. Dlamini-Zuma says water is a hugely ignored resource.
“Africa has actually neglected the fact that it’s almost like a big island with smaller islands – 32 of the 54 countries are either coastal or island states. We need to now develop the blue economy as part of the broader economy. We have developed the first maritime strategy.”
On July 25, in Addis Ababa, the AU launched the 2015-2025 Decade of African Seas and Oceans. Plans are on to build capacity and impart training in this sector.
“We want to look at maritime transport and see if it can have shipping vessels that fly African flags from African countries, and [in] time, see that the people employed are also from Africa. Because we are a continent with lots of young people, this is the one industry we can open and create jobs for our young people over the next 10 years, besides the revenue it can bring. We are also looking at aquaculture that can create jobs and food for the continent, but from the onset, we want to look at the environment and make sure we keep our oceans clean as we try and develop the industry.”
Tourism, both coastal and floating (cruise liners), will also be a big component of the blue economy.

Tag: Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma

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