South African presidential hopeful awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award.
South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) presidential hopeful, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Political Leader (WPL) Global Forum.
The WPL is a worldwide network of female politicians which seeks to increase both the number and the influence of women in political leadership.
Accepting the award, Dr Dlamini-Zuma said: "I am supremely honoured. This award has inspired me immensely. I will continue to work harder to push down barriers to women's emancipation and empowerment."
Congratulating her for the award, the ANC spokesperson Khusela Sangoni said: “She has dedicated her life to service of our people. She is and remains an exemplary leader and inspiration not only to women leaders but to all progressive forces committed to clean governance, visionary leadership and an uncompromising commitment to bettering the lives of our people.”
A former health, foreign affairs and home affairs minister, Dr Dlamini-Zuma was elected the chairperson of the African Union Commission in 2012, becoming the first woman to head the continental bloc’s secretariat for nearly five years.
President Jacob Zuma’s ex-wife, Dr Dlamini-Zuma, a seasoned politician in her own right, has emerged as a prime candidate to replace him at the helm of ANC and as the party’s presidential candidate in 2019 if she wins.
She faces stiff competition from Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The ANC elections are slated to take place during the party’s elective conference on December 16 to 20, in Johannesburg.