THE Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities in the Presidency, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has declined an invitation by the party to return to Parliament.
Dlamini Zuma, who contested the position of ANC president against Cyril Ramaphosa and lost at Nasrec in 2017, has turned down an invitation to be part of Ramaphosa’s Cabinet after the elections.
She served in the Cabinet for almost three decades and also served in a variety of leadership roles on the continent.
In a letter dated Friday, January 12, ahead of Ramaphosa’s January 8 statement in Mbombela, the former home affairs minister thanked the chairperson of the electoral committee, Kgalema Motlanthe, for the invitation.
“Thank you very much for the invitation to attend the interview for the 2024 national list on the 16th of January at 9.30am. I appreciate the vote of confidence by the branches, who have once again nominated me on the ANC’s 2024 list ... It will not be necessary to schedule the interview for the 2024 national list because I have taken the decision to retire from being a member of the South African Parliament,” she said.
In 2022, Dlamini Zuma fell out with Ramaphosa after she voted in favour of the motion to have the president impeached.
Also in 2022, as nominations for the ANC’s top seven leadership positions came in, Dlamini Zuma declined a nomination to run for the presidency.
In her letter to Motlanthe, she said she appreciated the invitation and was grateful to the entire ANC leadership.
“My sincere gratitude to the entire ANC leadership for affording me the opportunity and support to serve the country and the people of South Africa as a public representative and as a member of Cabinet since 1994.
“I also thank all the ANC presidents under whose leadership and guidance I served as a member of the executive. I am eternally grateful for making it possible for me to serve the continent as the first woman at the helm of the Southern African Development Community,” she said.