Described as the "Game Changer", Nomusa Dube-Ncube may rewrite history if elected as the first woman to chair the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal when the elective conference sits this weekend.
She will be racing against other heavyweights, including current chairperson Sihle Zikalala, Nomagugu Simelane, Sandile Zungu, Mdumiseni Ntuli, and Bheki Mtolo.
Dube-Ncube is seen by her supporters as the "ideal leader" with the capacity to focus on the township economy, create jobs for all, and improve living standards.
So who is Nomusa Dube-Ncube? She is the provincial MEC for the KZN Treasury and the provincial treasurer of the ANC in the province. She has received endorsement from various regions in the province as one of the preferred leaders nominated to be the next head of the province.
Dube-Ncube was born and bred in KwaMashu and mentored by prominent leaders such as Harry Gwala, Dorothy Nyembe and Linda Zama.
During the Struggle, she participated in underground operations at a young age and engaged in mass-based mobilisation campaigns that helped topple the apartheid government.
As part of the preparation for the transition to a democratic government, she and other leaders were sent to other countries. She was sent to the Netherlands, where she was trained in leadership and constitutional governance.
Her team was subsequently involved in the drafting of the Local Government Chapter of the Constitution.
Before the 1994 elections, DubeNcube worked with legal activists under the leadership of the founding president of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers and former Constitutional Court Justice Pius Langa.
She has served as a provincial ANC Treasurer for two terms and was also Chief Whip of the ANC in the legislature.
Apart from providing strategic policy direction for the KZN Treasury as its political head, Dube-Ncube is the leader of Government Business within the provincial government and hailed by some for having presented pro-poor budgets.
She has also been commend for the commitment shown by her department to rebuilding the economy following the outbreak of Covid-19.
Her lobbyist, Wiseman Ngubane, said she had succeeded in ensuring that state resources are not diverted for other purposes but used to speed up socio-economic development.
Other supporters of her nomination to be ANC chair say she believes in the township and rural economy, citing that she had always ensured good governance was adhered to.
"The 'Game Changer' has shown commitment towards clean governance that is free from any form of maladministration. She has emphasised that as public representatives, including herself, they have a responsibility to live up to the mandate given to them by the South African electorate.
"She has said that the people of KZN want their government to deliver them from poverty and bring about a better life for all," said Ngubane.
As the battle royal in KZN draws near, the elective conference promises to be one for the books, as the province gears up for a potential female ANC leader.
