TO ALL NEWS EDITORS

For Immediate Release

Thursday, 15 September 20222

PREMIER DUBE-NCUBE CALLS ON WOMEN TO BE MORE INVOLVED IN LAND OWNERSHIP DURING ADDRESS TO THE AFRICAN WOMEN LEADERSHIP ORGANISATION IN UMHLANGA

Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Nomusa Dube-Ncube on Thursday used the welcoming address at the African Women Leadership Organisation (AWLO) Annual Conference in Umhlanga to call for a central role for women in the leadership echelons of the continent including in the ownership of land.

“When we speak of the empowerment of women, we must also speak about land. Women cannot be involved in property and construction without access to land. And when there are discussions about land ownership, land restitution and resettlement, women are not always involved. 

Women should be involved all the time especially when there are discussions about the ownership of land,” concluded Premier Dube-Ncube.

In her address to gathering attended by top women leaders from business, government and other sectors from all over Africa, Premier Dube-Ncube recalled the words of President of Ghana Dr Kwame Nkrumah who in 1960 organized the first conference for women in Africa and the diaspora.

President Nkrumah said: “This was to celebrate the women’s contribution to the liberation struggle, but also as a platform for reflection on their future role in a free and united Africa. That meeting underscored the deep conviction among pan-Africanists about the revolutionary role of women and highlighted the fact that the liberation of Africa is impossible without the emancipation of all the women of the continent”

Premier Dube Ncube also reminded the audience of the words of Shirley du Bois, the wife of the W.E.B Du Bois who made a passionate plea to the women at the conference when she said:

“This great giant Africa, which was anaesthetized for so long, is now awake and has shaken itself out of the slumber that for so many years enabled exploiters and marauders to plunder its wealth. The new African has arrived on the scene”.

The Premier challenged the women to be involved today in economic emancipation in the same way that the women up to the 90s were central to the struggle for political freedom. She said the gathering would “trigger the mobilisation of women all over Africa to join and lead their own liberation, which is the struggle for economic freedom. This is aptly captured in the conference theme which is “Women Solidarity: An Impetus to the advancement of Gender Equality”.

Premier Dube-Ncube called on women leaders to take the responsibility of “moulding the new and African Model Citizen that does not resort to violence when he is angry. We also have a duty to bring up young girls who will be assertive and not aggressive. They must grow to support the struggles and successes of other women. We will not be able to achieve these objectives unless we place women at the centre. We make this not only as a statement of faith, but as a practical response to the need for the transformation of our society”.

When the Premier announced the KZN Provincial Executive Council in August, she named “a massive 6 out of 10 Members of the Executive Council who are women, 11 if you include me and the Director General is also a woman. The result is that for the first time in our history, our provincial Cabinet is 63% women. This is massive victory in a country where to all intents and purposes, patriarchy and outdated stereotypes about women’s abilities exist. That it has taken 29 years for a woman to become a Premier of KwaZulu-Natal challenges us to ask ourselves why, why, when we know that women are already taking care of their own homes, children, businesses and the community,” concluded the Premier.

For more information please contact:

Mr Thami Ngidi

066 3066 793 or

Mr Lennox Mabaso

082 884 2403