Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs who narrowly lost to Ramaphosa in the ANC leadership contest has contradicted the President within the cabinet and in public leading him to back down on his own policies...

The finance minister has clashed fiercely with ANC cabinet colleagues over the government's Covid-19 strategy especially with Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma over her decision to ban alcohol and tobacco sales for several months during the lockdown periods our sources say...

Public sector unions now form the largest section of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and were among the biggest supporters of Ramaphosa in his battle for leadership of the ANC against Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in 2017...

Minister of Cooperative Governance and former Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma an ex-wife of Zuma's was Ramaphosa's closest rival...

The two favourites are Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor and Minister in the Presidency Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma who has been extending her authority during the pandemic...

But on a number of contentious issues including the ban on the sale of cigarettes and alcohol it has been Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma who is the Minister in the Presidency and the head of the government's National Coronavirus Command Council who has been making the decisions...

In early 2017 when then AU chair Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma announced that she would not stand for a second term Kenya nominated Mohamed an hour before the deadline...

PushbackRamaphosa who has faced ridicule in some quarters over the reinstatement of the ANC officials is also facing pushback from some of his senior ministers on the National Coronavirus Command Council: Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma the Minister of Local Government and Traditional Affairs the Police Minister Bheki Cele and Lindiwe Sisulu the Minister of Human Settlements who is seen as a possible challenger to Ramaphosa for the ANC leadership in 2024...

Minister of Co-operative Government and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is also emerging as a potential successor thanks to the executive powers she has within the National Coronavirus Command Council under the state of 'national disaster' declared on 15 March (AC Vol 61 No 11 Cyril's lockdown limits)...

Rival's powerHeading the informal coalition of securocrats and 'micro-fiddlers' is Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma ex-wife of disgraced former President Jacob Zuma and the main political rival of Ramaphosa who narrowly beat her for the leadership of the African National Congress in December 2017 (AC Vol 59 No 1 Pushing Zuma to the exit)...

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma the co-operative governance minister and a former health minister and renowned anti-smoking campaigner has supported current Health Minister Zweli Mkhize in maintaining that the ban is justified because of the damage Covid-19 causes to the lungs...