Siboniso Duma

Siboniso Armstrong Duma is a South African politician who is the provincial chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal. He is also Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs in the KwaZulu-Natal government.

Siboniso Duma
MPL
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs
Assumed office
11 August 2022
PremierNomusa Dube-Ncube
Preceded byRavi Pillay
Provincial Chairperson of the African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal
Assumed office
23 July 2022
DeputyNomagugu Simelane-Zulu
Preceded bySihle Zikalala
Member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature
Assumed office
21 May 2014
Personal details
Born
Siboniso Armstrong Duma
Political partyAfrican National Congress

Duma rose to political prominence in the ANC Youth League of KwaZulu-Natal. He has served in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature since 2014 and was the legislature's Chair of Chairs until shortly after his election as ANC provincial chairperson in mid-2022, when he was appointed to the Executive Council of newly elected Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube.

Early life

Duma grew up in Mtwalume on the South Coast of what is now KwaZulu-Natal province.[1] His mother was a domestic worker and his father, a construction worker in Durban, died when he was a child. He is one of four siblings.[1] He became politically active while at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he joined the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League (ANCYL).[1]

Early political career

Duma was the deputy chairperson of the ANC's George Mbhele local branch on the Lower South Coast between 2004 and 2006.[2]

In May 2010, he was elected deputy provincial secretary of the ANCYL's KwaZulu-Natal branch.[3][4] Shortly after being elected, the branch's leadership announced that it would support controversial politician Julius Malema in his bid for re-election as national president of the league.[4] However, according to the Daily Maverick, the KwaZulu-Natal ANCYL leadership fell out with the Malema-led national ANCYL leadership when the latter, but not the former, retracted its support for incumbent ANC president Jacob Zuma.[3] In October 2011, at a meeting between the national and provincial ANCYL leaders, Duma alleged that the national leadership was "factionalist" and was targeting the KwaZulu-Natal ANCYL because of its support for Zuma.[5]

The following week, the ANCYL national leadership announced that it had disbanded the leadership committee of the KwaZulu-Natal ANCYL, prematurely ending the terms of Duma and other officials. ANCYL spokesperson Floyd Shivambu specifically singled out Duma's "factionalist" comment as an instance in which the KwaZulu-Natal leadership had shown "disregard of organisational process and due political conduct".[5] Shivambu also said that the national ANCYL planned to charge Duma and others for "active involvement in mobilising members... to defy and disregard the decisions" of the Malema-led national leadership.[5]

Provincial government

In the 2014 general election, Duma was elected to the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature as an ANC representative. He was re-elected to another term in the provincial legislature in 2019.[6] In June 2019, he was appointed Chair of Committees ("Chair of Chairs") in the legislature.[7]

ANC Provincial Chairperson

By 2022, Duma was a member of the Provincial Executive Committee of the ANC's KwaZulu-Natal provincial branch.[2] In May of that year, he emerged as a possible candidate for provincial chairperson of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal.[8] At that time, the frontrunners for the chairmanship appeared to be Nomusa Dube-Ncube and the incumbent, Sihle Zikalala.[9] However, Duma was nominated for the position by the ANC's John Mchunu local branch in eThekwini[2] and received the support of the eThekwini regional branch.[10] He campaigned at the head of a slate of candidates who represented the so-called "Taliban" faction, which was sympathetic to former party president Jacob Zuma.[11] Duma later explained that the name alluded to his slate's status as "underdogs" and to "the resilience of the Taliban in fighting against the United States all these years".[1]

At the ANC's provincial conference on 23 July 2022, Duma comfortably defeated Zikalala in the election for provincial chairperson, winning 930 votes to Zikalala's 665.[12] Candidates linked to the Taliban faction made a clean sweep of all the provincial leadership positions contested at the conference.[13][14][15] Duma's election was described as a "big blow" to the re-election campaign of current party president Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of the party's 55th National Conference in December 2022.[16]

Member of the Executive Council

After his election, Duma said that he did not intend to use his victory to remove Zikalala from the office of the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal.[17] Nonetheless, on 5 August 2022, Zikalala resigned as premier and was replaced by Nomusa Dube-Ncube. On 11 August, in a cabinet reshuffle by Dube-Ncube, Duma was appointed as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government.[18]

Personal life

Duma is married and has four children.[1] He is Christian.[9]

References
  1. "'I have a mandate to lead through servitude'". Post. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-04 – via PressReader.
  2. "Duma guns for ANC provincial chair". South Coast Herald. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  3. Makhaye, Chris (2022-08-07). "Siboniso Duma's rise to power as ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairperson". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  4. "KZN ANCYL to back Malema in 2011". The Mail & Guardian. 2010-05-24. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  5. "KZN ANCYL committee disbanded". Sunday Times. 2 October 2011. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  6. Ndou, Clive (2022-07-05). "Senior ANC MPL Siboniso Duma joins KZN race". Witness. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  7. "Siboniso Armstrong Duma". People's Assembly. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  8. Mboto, Sibusiso (27 May 2022). "As branches mull over candidates ahead of KZN conference, ANC MPL suggested for provincial chairperson". IOL. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  9. "How new ANC KZN top five secured a clean sweep at party conference". IOL. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  10. Matiwane, Zimasa (22 July 2022). "ANC eThekwini wants Sihle Zikalala replaced". Sunday Times. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  11. "Meet the ANC KZN faction that calls itself the Taliban". Sunday Times. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  12. Mabaso, Nhlanhla (24 July 2022). "Siboniso Duma is the new chair of the ANC in KZN". EWN. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  13. Khumalo, Juniour (24 July 2022). "Clean sweep for ANC faction sympathetic to Zuma in KwaZulu-Natal". News24. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  14. Nkosi, Ntombi (24 July 2022). "Taliban's defeat Ankoles, causing ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa to doubt addressing the conference". IOL. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  15. Makhaye, Chris (2022-07-24). "ANC KZN: Jubilant 'Taliban faction' takes control of the troubled province after a stormy weekend". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  16. Makhaye, Chris; Masuabi, Queenin (2022-07-24). "PROVINCIAL CONFERENCE: A blow to Ramaphosa as Zuma's 'Taliban' slate sweep KZN elections". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  17. Madia, Tshidi (24 July 2022). "Duma assures Zikalala that he won't be losing his job as premier anytime soon". EWN. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  18. "Cabinet clean-out as Dube-Ncube takes over as KwaZulu-Natal premier". The Mail & Guardian. 2022-08-11. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
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