‘I have a bias towards women’ – New MEC will champion women’s causes

Newly appointed MEC for economic development, agriculture and environment, Morakane Mosupyoe, will use her position to champion women’s causes in Gauteng.

Having survived an abusive marriage, Mosupyoe believes it is her responsibility to empower women, either economically or by sharing her own story.

“My passion is around that [empowerment], giving opportunities to women. I have a bias towards women,” the MEC told City Press last week.

The divorced mother of three said she was planning to one day open a centre for women to create a platform where they could openly speak about abuse.

“I would like to have a centre for abused women. The main aim would be to speak to women about my experience and give them hope that you do not have to be in such a relationship. I know that it is different for me because I had a choice but there are many women who remain in abusive relationships,” she said.

Mosupyoe was thrown into the deep end last month when the governing party announced that she would be replacing Kgosientso Ramokgopa in Gauteng premier David Makhura’s cabinet after the ANC Women’s League had complained about the unbalanced gender representation in Gauteng.

The governing party’s highest decision-making body, the national executive committee, ordered Makhura to drop one male MEC and replace him with a woman.

Mosupyoe commended Ramokgopa for volunteering to step down to help Makhura solve the dilemma.

“I understand why people would view it as a Catch-22 situation but for me and for Ramokgopa I do not think it is.

“We had a working relationship but also we are okay with each other. It was selfless of him and I will respect him for as long as I live.”

However, she admitted that she had a tough task ahead.

“I was thrown into the boots of a person who is not only highly educated but very smart. I have worked with him before. That is what gave me a bit of a headache,” she said.

“My fears were laid to rest when I went to the interview for the position.”

The self proclaimed bookworm has had to put her reading hobby on hold to learn the ropes in her new position.

“Right now I am reading two books at the same time [but] it has been two weeks since I read any of the books because of the responsibility I was thrown into. I am reading [Nelson Mandela’s] Long Walk to Freedom.

“I am re-reading it because of some of the things that came up during discussions I had with friends and family. And I felt I did not know some of the things so I went back to reading it,” she said.

The MEC explained that her passion for reading started at an early age as a way to deal with her shyness.

“One of my main hobbies is reading and you cannot read in a crowded environment. So if I am alone, I am able to read, then I am okay. We read a lot at home.

“The first novel I read was The Things Men Do by James Hadley Chase,” she said with a laugh.

“I am giving away my age.”

Mosupyoe grew with her five siblings and their parent in Atteridgeville, Pretoria, but her family later moved to Ga-Rankuwa.

In around 1986 she was approached by a nursing sister, May Bokaba, to join the SA National Civic Organisation to assist with projects which were geared towards helping the elderly.

“I worked with her [Bokaba] for eight to nine years. I used to go to the ANC meetings, but I was not necessarily actively involved in the political side of it,” she explained.

Eventually she joined the ANC, following the strict instructions of her brother-in-law, who she described as a “father figure”.

As she became more visible in her community and in the party, in 2002 Mosupyoe was approached by some members in her branch in Tshwane, who believed she had what it took to be a councillor.

After a bit of convincing, Mosupyoe ran for the ward councillor position in 2006, which she won.

She ended up serving until 2016.

She also served as the member of the mayoral committee for health and social development and formed part of the social and economic cluster during the same period.

She has been part of the ANC’s regional executive committee and the regional working committee in Tshwane.

She said she looked forward to making her mark in building South Africa’s economic hub but she acknowledged that it might be a mammoth task.

According to the MEC, the two key areas that she will tackle to beat unemployment are the country’s stagnant economy and the influx of people to Gauteng from other parts of the country and the continent.

“People still see Gauteng as a hub of opportunities, we have to plan for it,” Mosupyoe said.

She said she would also like to see the growth of small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) in the province.

“Getting SMMEs to function properly would be for myself a recognisable achievement,” Mosupyoe said.

Queenin Masaubi Political journalist | City Press

+27 11 713 9001 Queenin.Masuabi@citypress.co.za Media Park, 69 Kingsway Road, Auckland Park

Rise above the clutter | Choose your news | City Press in your inbox

City Press is an agenda-setting South African news brand that publishes across platforms. Its flagship print edition is distributed on a Sunday.