From Drum Magazine 1 August 2013
Women across the globe have a new champion – former deputy president of South Africa Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has been appointed executive director of UN Women, an organisation that promotes women’s agendas across the globe.
The announcement, made by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in early July, was followed by Phumzile being swamped with media interviews as well as juggling a very busy schedule in South Africa.
DRUM visited the offices of her Umlambo Foundation in Sandton to chat about how the new position will change her life. When we arrive she’s preparing to make the move to New York, where she will be based. The 58-year-old is poised and authoritative, issuing orders to her staff. She’s obviously a woman who’s used to being in power – but she’s gracious and humble when talking about her achievements.
“The UN appointment took me by surprise,” she says.
“I didn’t see it coming and it wasn’t on my list of things to do even when I was invited by the head hunter for the UN to apply. I didn’t even think it was a viable proposition, but I thought I’d give it a go.
“In fact, I was interested in something that was happening in the secretary-general’s office that involved pushing an education agenda in the Millennium Development Goals and I hoped that I would end up doing that,” the savvy politician explains.
She says the process of applying for the job took less than a month to complete after she first heard about the opening and that she’s expected in New York at the end of August. Phumzile is currently completing her PhD in technology in education at Warwick University in the United Kingdom.
“I’ve had so many things planned between now and the end of the year,” she says. “I was hoping to implement the findings of my PhD for one.”
As a former teacher Phumzile is passionate about education. She started the Umlambo Foundation in 2009 and works with 45 schools around the country. The foundation supports leadership development of school principals for effective learning as well as encouraging principals to be motivators.
“Since I left the office of deputy president of SA in 2008 I’ve been involved in education and in supporting women entrepreneurs,” she says. “We facilitate formal training for principals who have no background in leadership and management.”
Building a society of good citizens has been one of the driving forces of Phumzile’s life for as long as she can remember. She became a member of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) as a teenager.
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“It was my first experience of being a member of an organisation that helps people and it brought me to a place where I was dealing with the spectre of triple oppression that is race, class and gender,” she explains.
“I was lucky in that by the time I became aware of apartheid I was already involved with the issues of fighting triple oppression,” she quips with an ironic smile.
“In addition, there was always an emphasis on having a bigger purpose entrenched in service.”
Phumzile’s years in government gave her the edge because, as she says, the UN is a consensus building organisation and as a South African she is able to bring her wealth of experience in doing just that.
“I have experience in consensus-building, whether it was working on HIV and Aids to bring different and often warring factions together or fighting the sale of blood diamonds in Africa, when I was minister of minerals and energy,” she explains.
She has always put women’s issues on the agenda in whichever portfolio she held, whether in government or the private sector. She was appointed minister of minerals and energy in 1999, a position she held until 2005. She also briefly served as acting minister of arts, culture, science and technology in 2004.
She was deputy minister in the department of trade and industry from 1996 until 1999, during which time she was also a founding member of the Gugulethu Community Development Corporation. Then she was appointed deputy president of South Africa in June 2005, replacing Jacob Zuma after he was dismissed from the post by President Thabo Mbeki due to allegations of corruption.
She was the first woman to hold this position, until she resigned in 2008 when Thabo Mbeki was recalled from his post as president.
When asked if she is bitter about the way she left her post, she laughs and says this is the nature of politics.
“If you can’t take the heat then you can’t be in the kitchen,” she says.
“Bitter is too strong a word. One can be angry and hurt, but the government we have is democratically elected so you must respect the will of the people.
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“When I got fired, I was so excited!”
She giggles at the irony of the statement as she explains how this gave her the opportunity to pursue her PhD.
“When you are in politics it’s important to go with your head held high. The position is not what defines you.
“I am Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka – that is what belongs to me. Being deputy president is something you may or may not have. Having this qualification adds intrinsic value to me.”
Speaking about what she hopes to accomplish in her new post Phumzile says, “I want to use myself as an example to say, ‘If a girl from the back of beyond of Claremont township in KZN can get to the United Nations and has been a deputy president, a girl from Botshabelo can do it too.’”
She says her new job comes with set themes, and these include economic empowerment, planning and gendered budgeting by countries. It will require the support of global leaders and participation by women to promote peace and fight violence against women both in the domestic environment and in places where there is war.
“I also want to address the unequal access to education for women and girl children,” she says. “Education is the equaliser. Of all the things we do, the day we fix education we will be unstoppable. I will always fly the South African flag but the job is about prioritising women who are worst off around the world and I want to ensure that we bring the UN to communities where women’s voices are not heard.”
