Bathabile Dlamini facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bathabile Dlamini
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Dlamini (second from left) meets Manmohan Singh
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| 6th President of the African National Congress Women's League | |
| In office 7 August 2015 – April 2022 |
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| Deputy | Sisi Ntombela |
| Preceded by | Angie Motshekga |
| Succeeded by | Sisisi Tolashe |
| Minister in the Presidency for Women | |
| In office 27 February 2018 – 29 May 2019 |
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| President | Cyril Ramaphosa |
| Preceded by | Susan Shabangu |
| Succeeded by | Maite Nkoana-Mashabane |
| Minister of Social Development | |
| In office 1 November 2010 – 27 February 2018 |
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| President | Jacob Zuma Cyril Ramaphosa |
| Preceded by | Edna Molewa |
| Succeeded by | Susan Shabangu |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Bathabile Olive Dlamini
10 September 1962 Nquthu, Natal South Africa |
| Citizenship | South Africa |
| Political party | African National Congress |
| Alma mater | University of Zululand |
Bathabile Dlamini (born 10 September 1962) is a South African politician. She was the President of the African National Congress (ANC) Women's League from 2015 to 2022. Before that, she served as the Minister for Women from 2018 to 2019. She was also the Minister of Social Development from 2010 to 2018.
Bathabile Dlamini trained as a social worker. She became well-known in the ANC Women's League. She was its Secretary General from 1998 to 2008. She was also a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 2004. In 2006, she faced consequences for misusing travel vouchers in a case known as the Travelgate scandal. She joined the ANC National Executive Committee in 2007. She strongly supported former President Jacob Zuma, who appointed her to his cabinet. She briefly served as Minister for Women under President Cyril Ramaphosa. However, she was removed from the cabinet after the May 2019 election. She then resigned from the National Assembly.
As Social Development Minister, Dlamini played a key role in the 2017 social grants crisis. This crisis almost stopped the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) from working. The Constitutional Court and an official investigation found that her actions contributed to the problems. In April 2022, she was found to have given incorrect information under oath during the investigation. In the same month, she was removed as President of the ANC Women's League. This happened because the ANC ended the league's leadership.
Early Life and Education
Bathabile Olive Dlamini was born on 10 September 1962. She was born in Nquthu, in what was then Natal province. This area is now part of KwaZulu-Natal. She grew up in Matshensikazi, near Nkandla. She also lived in Imbali, a township near Pietermaritzburg.
In 1983, she helped start the Imbali Youth Organisation. This was a community group linked to the United Democratic Front. She joined the South African National Students Congress in 1985. In 1989, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in social work from the University of Zululand. From 1991 to 1993, she worked as a social worker. She helped people with physical disabilities at the Pietermaritzburg Cripples Association.
Around 1991, Dlamini was part of the interim leadership of the ANC Women's League (ANCWL). This was in the Natal Midlands region. The ANC had recently been allowed to operate again by the apartheid government. Her role was to help rebuild the ANCWL's structures in South Africa. In 1992, she was officially elected as the Regional Secretary of the ANCWL in the Natal Midlands. She held this role until December 1993. Then, she became the Deputy Secretary General of the national ANCWL.
Time in Parliament
In South Africa's first election after apartheid in 1994, Dlamini became a Member of the National Assembly. This is the lower house of the new South African Parliament. From 1994 to 2004, she served on committees for Correctional Services and Social Development. At the same time, she was the Secretary General of the ANCWL. She held this position from 1998 to 2008.
Travel Expenses
In 2005, Dlamini was among politicians investigated in the Travelgate scandal. This case was about misusing parliamentary travel vouchers. It was said that Dlamini used these vouchers for hotel stays and car rentals. These vouchers were only meant for air travel. In October 2006, she accepted responsibility for misusing about R254,000. She was ordered to pay a fine of R120,000. She paid the fine.
Political Roles
After this, Dlamini kept her role as ANCWL Secretary General. She had been re-elected for a second term in 2003. She also helped start the Progressive Women's Movement of South Africa in 2006. Within the ANC, Dlamini strongly supported Jacob Zuma. He later became the ANC president in December 2007. At the same conference, Dlamini was elected to the National Executive Committee of the ANC. She also served on the party's National Working Committee.
When her term as ANCWL Secretary General ended, Dlamini tried to become ANCWL President. However, in July 2008, she lost the election to Angie Motshekga. Dlamini was still elected to a regular seat on the ANCWL National Executive Committee. In 2008, she also worked full-time for the ANC. She was a co-ordinator in the office of the new ANC President, Jacob Zuma.
Cabinet Positions
Minister of Social Development: 2009–2018
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Dlamini was re-elected to Parliament in the 2009 election. Jacob Zuma also became President of South Africa in this election. On 11 May 2009, Zuma appointed her Deputy Minister of Social Development. She worked under Minister Edna Molewa. She was Deputy Minister until 31 October 2010. Then, Zuma changed his cabinet, and Dlamini became the Minister of Social Development.
Dlamini stayed in the social development role for the rest of Zuma's time as president. She was appointed to his second cabinet after the 2014 election. During her time, a committee on gender-based violence started the Gender-Based Violence Command Centre. This was a 24-hour call centre that offered support to victims of gender-based violence.
Ministerial Spending
In June 2016, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) criticized Dlamini. They pointed out that she had spent R11,000 on a short stay in a luxury hotel. This was after she said that people receiving social grants could live on R753 a month. Later that year, the Sunday Times reported on her department's spending. The Department of Social Development spent R1.3 million on Dlamini's official car, a BMW 740i. They also spent R1.1 million on a Jeep Grand Cherokee for her deputy. Both amounts were more than the allowed limit for official vehicles.
In May 2017, Dlamini admitted that the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) had paid for private security for her children. She said this was because of threats to their safety. In 2018, her successor, Susan Shabangu, reported that SASSA spent over R2 million on these services. The department was trying to get this money back.
Social Grants Crisis
In 2014, the South African Constitutional Court made a ruling. They said that SASSA had not followed the correct rules for a contract. This contract was with a private company called Cash Paymaster Services. This company was in charge of giving out South Africa's social grants. These grants were worth R10 billion each month. The court said the contract was not valid. They told SASSA to find a new company. SASSA extended the contract with Cash Paymaster Services until 1 April 2017. They planned to take over the grant distribution themselves after that.
However, by mid-March 2017, SASSA was not ready to take over. They had not found another service provider. This caused worries that grants would not be paid in April. This would have been very bad for the 17 million people who relied on them. Dlamini, as the Minister responsible for SASSA, said there was no problem. On 17 March, the Constitutional Court ordered SASSA to extend the contract with Cash Paymaster Services for another year.
During this crisis, President Zuma defended Dlamini. However, many people criticized Dlamini for not acting sooner. She said she only knew about SASSA's lack of readiness in October 2016. The Constitutional Court said Dlamini was partly responsible for the crisis. They said she was "ultimately responsible" for the whole situation. They noted that she did not show much interest in SASSA's progress until late 2016.
The Constitutional Court asked a retired judge, Bernard Ngoepe, to investigate Dlamini's role. In May 2018, Ngoepe reported that Dlamini's actions as Minister were careless. In September of that year, the court agreed that Dlamini had been personally responsible for problems. She was ordered to pay 20% of the legal costs for the case. This investigation also led to her being found to have given incorrect information under oath.
Missing Meetings
During and after the grants crisis, Dlamini was criticized for not attending Parliament meetings. These meetings were trying to understand the crisis. Her attendance was good in 2016. But between January and May 2017, she and her Deputy Minister missed many meetings. Dlamini missed a meeting about SASSA's performance. She also missed two meetings about her department's budget.
President of the ANC Women's League: 2015–2022
In August 2015, Dlamini was elected President of the ANCWL. This happened at their national conference in Pretoria. She won against Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga. Dlamini received 1,537 votes, while Motshekga got 1,081. Dlamini was also re-elected to the ANC's National Executive Committee in December 2012 and December 2017.
During Dlamini's time as league president, the ANCWL strongly supported President Zuma. In 2016, Dlamini famously said that senior ANC members should be careful about discussing problems in Zuma's government. She said that "All of us in the NEC have our smallanyana ["tiny little"] secrets and we don't want to take out secrets because all hell will break loose". Before the ANC's conference in 2017, Dlamini supported Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to become Zuma's successor. However, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was not elected.
Dlamini remained ANCWL President until 2022. Her term was supposed to be five years, but it lasted longer. In April 2022, the ANC National Executive Committee decided to end the ANCWL's national leadership. This was because the leaders had stayed beyond their terms. This decision ended Dlamini's term as president. An interim team was put in charge of the ANCWL. Dlamini was not part of this team.
Dlamini tried to make a political return in July 2023. The Women's League held its first election conference since 2015. However, she received the fewest nominations for president. She only got 258 branch nominations. Sisisi Tolashe and Thembeka Mchunu received many more. On 23 July 2023, Sisisi Tolashe became the new president. Dlamini received the fewest votes from the delegates.
Minister for Women: 2018–2019
In February 2018, Jacob Zuma resigned as president. His successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, appointed Dlamini to his cabinet. She became the Minister for Women. This meant she was a Minister in the Presidency. She held this role until 25 May 2019. After the 2019 election, she was removed from Ramaphosa's cabinet. She was re-elected to Parliament, but she resigned shortly after the election in June 2019.
Legal Matters
The 2018 report on the social grants crisis suggested that Dlamini had not been truthful during the investigation. The report said that Dlamini was difficult to question. It also said her statements did not match other evidence. Other witnesses said Dlamini was closely involved in setting up special "work streams." These teams reported directly to her and affected SASSA's work. Dlamini denied this. The report suggested her denial was not true.
In September 2018, the Constitutional Court agreed that Dlamini had given false or misleading information. They asked the National Prosecuting Authority to investigate her. A politician named Bridget Masango also complained that Dlamini had lied to Parliament in May 2016. Dlamini had told Parliament that SASSA would be able to take over social grant payments from April 2017. The Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, later said she could not prove Dlamini's promise broke any rules.
Outcome
However, Dlamini was charged with giving incorrect information under oath. She first appeared in court on 1 September 2021. She was found responsible on 9 March 2022. The court found that she had "knowingly and intentionally provided false information." This was about her claim that she did not oversee the special work streams. The court considered her previous issue from 2006. She was ordered to pay a fine of R200,000 or serve four years in prison (with two years suspended). She chose to pay the fine.
Personal Life
Dlamini is a single mother.
