Woman set to lead the DA in Mpumalanga for the first time
Jane Sithole, the chairman of the DA in Mpumalanga, is set to become the first female leader of the party in the province when the party holds its provincial congress on March 3.
MBOMBELA – Nominations for the leadership closed on Friday, and according to the list, Sithole will run for leader uncontested.
Sithole has been in the Mpumalanga legislature since 2014, after spending 14 and a half years as a councillor in eMalahleni Local Municipalty and Nkangala District. She joined the party in 1999.
“I was very young,” she told Lowvelder. “I was reading up about democracy and learned that if there is not a strong opposition party in a country, democracy dies. I looked at the DA’s policy and decided it was the only vehicle I could use to make an impact in the country and in the lives of others.
“People used to ask me why a young, black, educated woman would join the DA. Now they come to me and say, ‘You were right’.”
She added that it was an emotional journey for her as she had seen the party grow from its inception.
“Everywhere I went I was the only black person in the party.”
She is humbled that she will not face a fight to be elected the leader, but talk has been rife for years that she was being groomed for exactly that. It was also a long road and the party has sent her for training programmes – also in Germany – on numerous occasions.
Now she is ready. “I worked hard on the ground so that, if the time comes, I would be deserving. I didn’t expect it to be so smooth.”
She loves her job. “Politics is not a calling, but you cannot do this if you don’t have the passion for it. Otherwise it will frustrate you. It is a job where you give and sometimes you don’t get anything back.”
Being the first female leader in the province is an added honour. “I am very humbled and honoured,” she added.
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