FEATURES and NEWS26 August – 08 September 2011 Page 5

Cllr Nondumiso Cele

AS general-secretary of theSACP, member of the ANC’snational executive committeeand vice-president of theSouth African Congress OfTrade Unions, Moses MbhekiMncane Mabhida was one ofthose who helped to forgeand maintain the powerfulunited front that eventuallysaw the creation of ademocratic and non-racialSouth Africa.

Comrade Baba, as he wascalled by his friends, was bornon October 14, 1923. Hisfather was a farmer forced offhis land and forced to findwork in the city and hismother was a domesticworker who instilled in herchildren an understanding ofthe importance of education.

After many unionists werebanned in 1952-1953, hiscolleagues underground

party urged Mabhida toundertake fulltime unionwork. In the next decade, heorganised scores of workers inNatal. He was a centralparticipant in the develop -ment of the South AfricanCongress of Trade Unions(SACTU) and was elected avice-president at its firstcongress in 1955. He alsoserved as secretary of theANC’s Pietermaritzburg bra -nch in the mid-1950s, and hada close working relationshipwith Chief Albert Luthuli.Mabhida became a memberof the ANC’s National Exec -utive Committee (NEC)around 1956, and in 1958-1959 was acting chair of the

Natal ANC.A week after the declaration

of the 1960 state ofemergency, Mabhida was sentabroad by SACTU to representthe organisation inter nation -ally. For the next three years heorganised intern ationalsolidarity activities in Praguewith the World Federation ofTrade Unions, and with thedeveloping African tradeunion feder ations. In 1963,following his re-election to theNEC at the ANC’s Lobatseconference in October 1962,he was asked by Oliver Tamboto devote himself to thedevelopment of the ANC’sarmed wing, Umkhonto weSizwe (MK). Mabhida then

underwent military training;as MK commissar and hebecame the chief politicalinstru ctor of new militaryrecruits, and later served asthe commander of MK.

Mabhida’s repeated re-election to the NEC, hisappointment to the Revol -utionary Council on itscreation in 1969, and later tothe Politico-Military Councilwhich replaced it.

After Morogoro in 1969, hewas instrumental in setting upthe ANC’s department ofIntelligence and Security. Hewas elected General Secretaryof the Communist Party inNovember 1979, replacingMoses Kotane who had died

the previous year. In the 1980s,Mabhida continued his workwith political and logisticalplanning for MK, based atvarious times in Lesotho,Mozambique and Swaziland.In 1985, while on a mission toHavana, Mabhida suffered astroke, and after a year ofillness, died of a heart attack inMaputo on March 8 1986 atthe age of 63. He was given astate funeral with full militaryhonours at the capital’sLhanguene cemetery.

“We who have walked withthe giants know that MosesMbheki Mabhida belongs inthat company too,” said thethen president of the AfricanNational Congress Oliver

Tambo, speaking at Mabhida’sfuneral. In December 2006Moses Mabhida’s body wasreturned home and laid to restin the Heroes Acre inSlangspruit, Pietermaritzburg.

Info sourced from the Moses MabhidaStadium website and wikipedia

Moses Mabhida, a political giantAs part of a series on the heroes honoured in eThekwini’s building names,

Metro Reporters profile the namesake of the Moses Mabhida Stadium

As part ofWomens’ Month,Metro Reporters,profile some of

the City’sprominent women

Durban’s women lead the way

deputy chairperson of theMasakhane.

Grants-in-aid, Non-racismand Non-sexism Committeefor five years until taking thechair earlier this year.

Since 2003 the Grant-in-AidProgramme has spent inexcess of R20m to supportcommunity based and non-governmental organisations.

After the recent localgovernment elections, Celewas appointed to her newpost and also serves in theExecutive Committee.

Cele said women in hercommittee were doing awonder ful job and weremotivated by the fact thatthey are led by a woman.

“I would like to see thecommittee continuing tohelp people. As we arecelebrating Women’s Month, Iwould like to remind womenthat they are all-important insociety and should make surethey don’t disappoint thosewho fought for theirliberation,” Cele said.

She also encouragedwomen to be involved ingovernment programmes.

Cllr Bongiwe MtshaliExco Member

Executive Committeemember Councillor BongiweMtshali is passionate aboutwomen’s issues and hasstrong views about honesty inservice delivery.

The former teacher runs asoup kitchen and works withyoung people, educatingthem about HIV.

“Women must beempowered. There is nothing

that we cannot do. We mustbe recognised and guided onthe right path to success.Women who aspire to make asuccess of themselves shouldwork hard. Recognition isawarded if you work hard andare honest,” Mtshali said.

Turning to the role ofcouncillors, Mtshali said, “Weneed to help communitiesfrom grassroots level andalways be accessible andaccountable. The communityis waiting for us to providegreat service delivery and thismust be done in a fair, honestway.

“There is no development ifthere is no honesty.Corruption must stop. Moneymust be used wisely and inthe best interests of people.”

Samukele KhumaloGender Co-ordinator

Samukele Khumalo haspraised the eThekwiniMunicipality for taking issuesof gender and women em -pow er ment more seriously.

Born in Pietermaritzburg,and growing up in the town -ship of Mphophomeni nearHowick, Khumalo hasworked as a Gender Co ord -inator in Durban from 2005.

“I have been passionatewith uplifting communities ata young age.

I matriculated in theconvent school for girls,Montebello High. That iswhere I realised the powerinvested in women to survivein very difficult conditions,”she said.

She has produced programsfor women whilst working for

Deputy Mayor Nomvuzo Shabalala Cllr Bongiwe MtshaliCllr Zandile Gumede

Moses Mabhida

Cllr Nomvuzo ShabalalaDeputy Mayor

Deputy Mayor NomvuzoShabalala is one of the longestserving women members ofthe eThekwini Council andthe first black woman tobecome Deputy Mayor sincethe amalgamation of greaterDurban’s seven formermunicipalities.

Before rising up the Councilranks, Shabalala achieveddistinction in the legal field,receiving recognition from theKwaZulu-Natal Law Societyfor her work.

Shabalala says, “I know thechallenges facing womencouncillors out there. It is verysad that even today there arepeople who still believewomen are not capable ofdoing the job they have beenentrusted with.

“Women are being called allsorts of names. No matter howthey are being victimised, theymust concentrate on theirjobs because people wouldnot have trusted them withthese positions if they werenot capable,” Shabalala said.

Shabalala takes a hands-onapproach to developmentissues. She was at the forefrontof plans to build a shoppingcentre in Umlazi, plans whichled to the successful UmlaziMega City.

She was also instrumental inthe construction of manytarred roads in Umlazi,especially after severe floodsin 1996.The Tehuis Park alongMangosuthu Highway wasalso her brainchild.

Shabalala, who also chairsthe Economic DevelopmentCommittee, was an importantdriver of the Municipality’spolicy to accommodate thestreet traders.

The mother of four and adie-hard supporter of OrlandoPirates takes the issue ofwomen’s development veryseriously.

Durban Youth Radio in 1999.“Growing in a township withnot much programs toempower people in general, Iwanted to be a woman ofchange.”

She said Women's Monthshould remind every citizenthe importance of women insociety.

“It reminds us of thematurity of our democracyand the fruits of ourConstitution. It serves as ayard stick in women eman -cipation and struggle of thepast women icons of ourcountry that fought for thefruits of democracy andwomen empowerment,” shesaid.

Maggie Govender

With 25 year’s service to theMunicipality, there’s nodisputing Govender’s loyaltyand commitment to hardwork.

Chatsworth born and bred,she served for several yearson the Development Plan -

ning, Environment andManagement Committee andwas instrumental in estab -lishing an Administrationdepartment, of which she isManager: Operations.

She is the current EventsCo-ordinator of the Khar -wastan Womens Forumwhere,

She loves working with thecommunity and is passionateabout womens issues. “I aminvolved in sports develop -ment for children fromdisadvantaged communities.I love working with them as itis important to uplift ourcommunity,” she said.

She is also an integral part ofthe Municipality’s WellnessCommittee and Chairs theOccupational Health andsafety representatives in herUnit.

“I am a woman. We are hardworkers and I step beyond thecall of duty. I love newchallenges and I embracethem.”

She is currently studyingPublic Mana gement.

She established a YouthDesk in the Municipality tomake sure that women aregiven the opportunity tosucceed from a young age.

She has also been closelyinvolved with communityhealth workers and helpedstart the food gardeningprogramme which has led tomany women across eThek -wini now running their ownnon-governmental organ -isations which feed thousandsof city residents.

Cllr Zandile GumedeChair Health, Safety andSocial Services Committee

COUNCILLOR ZandileGumede, who chairs theHealth, Safety and SocialServices Committee and is astrong advocate of the rightsof women and childrenbelieves women councillorshave to play many roles.

“Before I am a councillor Iam a mother. Women andchildren are very close to myheart. My most importantrole in the Municipality is toensure that there is unityamongst staff members in thecommittee that I chair. Thisensures that service deliveryproceeds at a fast pace,”Gumede said.

“I would also like to thinkthat I am at the forefront ofeducating communities onissues of safety. It is not onlyup to councillors to ensurethat the environment we livein is safe, it is also up tocommunity members to carefor their neighbourhoods.”

She said when she joinedthe Municipality there werenot nearly enough women inleadership positions.

“If you check now, there is abalance on the ExecutiveCommittee. The Municipalityis doing its best to ensure abalance.

Cllr Nondumiso CeleChair: Governance andHuman Resources Committee

COUNCILLOR NondumisoCele, who chairs the Govern -ance and Human Res our cesCommittee, believes thecommittee is doing a great jobin touching people’s lives andensuring service delivery.The mother of two, a PRcouncillor since 2006, was

Samukele Khumalo Maggie Govender