Home | News | SIDUMO DLAMINI; FROM KONTSHINGILA TO RAMAPHOSA’S CABINET

SIDUMO DLAMINI; FROM KONTSHINGILA TO RAMAPHOSA’S CABINET

02/06/2019 08:30:00 BY WELCOME DLAMINI

Font size:

MBABANE – Who would have foreseen that a person born in the obscure rural setting of Eswatini’s southern-most area KoNtshingila would rise up the echelons of South Africa’s dog-eat-dog politics?

When SA’s number one citizen President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his much-awaited list of Cabinet ministers, one of the names that stood out was that of Sidumo Dlamini – the new Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

LIMELIGHT OF SA POLITICS

Having come into the limelight of South African politics when he was elected unopposed as President of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in 2009 – a position he retained in 2012, it was surprising that he had made Ramaphosa’s list because he was seen to be a supporter of former President Jacob Zuma.

His support for Zuma is one that resulted in his relationship with COSATU being strained since 2017 when he defied the organisation’s decision to distance itself from the former president and call for him to step down.
But what Dlamini and Zuma have in common is their relationship with the Kingdom of Eswatini.

Dlamini was born in Eswatini on March 2, 1966 but, according to SA history, he later moved to Ingwavuma in the KwaZulu-Natal province.
His place of birth – KoNtshingila, is one of the most controversial chiefdoms in Eswatini especially because of its leadership fiasco that has transcended over three decades.

The chiefdom is under the leadership of former Senate President Gelane Zwane, who is the area’s Inkhosikati. She recently announced that one Sikelela Simelane would be the next chief of the area and the latter was even unveiled to the chiefdom’s residents amid much tension from a rival faction that has always challenged Zwane’s leadership.
This tension still subsists in Dlamini’s area of birth.

A close acquaintance of Dlamini said even though he knew the home where the ex-COSATU president grew up, he was not sure if it still existed. “I think the homestead is now ruins (tindzala). I don’t think anyone lives there now,” said the close friend.
But what does it mean for the Kingdom of Eswatini now that Dlamini has scaled up the SA political ladder?

This question is most relevant because the portfolio he has been appointed into is responsible for land reform and the kingdom is still engaged in processes of getting back the land lost to South Africa.
When this question and others were posed to Dlamini, he opted to remain silent as he cited diplomatic procedure. “Protocol won’t allow me to speak on the matters you raise, lest I (violate) diplomatic protocols,” he told the Times SUNDAY.
He had been asked if there was any way he could assist Eswatini or influence SA politics to return the land to the kingdom.

He was also asked on his reflection of SA and Eswatini politics and how they could be solidified.
Lastly, he had been asked to reflect on his rise from the rural area of KoNtshingila to the political hierarchy of South Africa.
While still a leader of COSATU, Dlamini had kept with the long standing position of the organisation to support calls for multi-party democracy in Eswatini.

Reacting to Dlamini’s appointment as deputy minister, political activist Wandile Dludlu, who is Secretary General of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), congratulated him and other patriots.
“We say aluta continua, it’s not yet uhuru,” Dludlu said. He congratulated the African National Congress (ANC) and its alliance partners for winning the election, which he described as arguably the toughest since the dawn of democracy in 1994.

MATURING OF DEMOCRACY
“It’s very encouraging to witness the maturing of democracy in South Africa. We look forward to the implementation of the conference resolutions on the Eswatini question as correctly sanctioned by all branches of the ANC. We view these as decisions of the alliance as led by the ANC thus don’t per se look up to individuals for support,” Dludlu said.

TUCOSWA Secretary General Mduduzi Gina also congratulated Dlamini on his appointment and said his vast experience on political issues will come in handy as he executes his ministerial duties.
“Sidumo was the president of COSATU, a federation that has always supported the struggles of the people of Eswatini, the workers in particular. He has always proved his ability to implement collective decisions of his organisation on the Eswatini question. We believe he can take on any task given to him by the government collective of the Republic of South Africa,” Gina said.
He was mindful that Dlamini cannot be expected to act as an individual on anything, “including any possibilities of him advancing issues affecting the country or any other thing that has not been approved by his government”.
Gina wished Dlamini well in his new assignment.

According to SA History Online, Dlamini worked at Umlazi’s Prince Mshiyeni Hospital.
He was also COSATU president when the trade union, NUMSA, left the federation and also fired secretary General Zwelinzima Vavi.
In a published interview, Dlamini described his life as a great deal of hardship owing to the fact that he was separated from his parents as a result of a custody battle.

“My life was a struggle, I learned at an early age to work for schooling and a plate of food. I had to look after cattle and plough mealies,” he was quoted saying. In the 1980s, Dlamini is said to have enrolled for a Diploma in Nursing and practised at a hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, where he joined the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) following an illegal strike in 1990.
He was then reportedly elected as a shop steward and led six major strikes at that institution and had already been a member of the ANC at the time.

CHALLENGING PUNISHMENT

In 1984, he was reportedly one of the ring leaders of the first strike at high school challenging corporal punishment and the system of education and the abuse of the school fund and fees.
He is said to have only discovered months later that the strike had been spearheaded by the ANC underground operatives when many of his fellow comrades were arrested and detained for almost a year.
He was reportedly only 17 years old.

He is said to have cemented his role as a leader at NEHAWU when he was elected chairperson at regional and provincial levels.
Dlamini began his journey with COSATU in 2000 as provincial chairperson where he served three terms and became the first deputy president at the ninth national congress.
During this time, he served as a member of the South African Communist Party – an ally of COSATU and the ANC.

SAME STRUGGLES AS ANC

Dlamini, who is described as a Karl Marx enthusiast, is said to consider himself a loyal member of the ANC since 1990.
He emphasises that as a trade unionist he was not a friend of the ANC, but rather that he shared the same struggles as the ANC. Dlamini was outspoken about the need to fight for the unity of COSATU and the ANC alliance, saying that speculations were merely a distraction that he would not allow.

Another Eswatini-born individual who has climbed the SA political ladder is Democratic Alliance MP Phumzile van Damme.
She was reportedly born in Manzini in 1983 and her mother, Lynette van Damme, was born in Hlatikhulu. Van Damme’s biological father, Elroy Mayisela, was an Eswatini national.