President Cyril Ramaphosa is reportedly considering newly appointed Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise as his running mate ahead of the ANC’s national elective conference next year.

According to a Sunday Times report, ANC insiders claimed Modise’s name was high on the list of female leaders Ramaphosa’s faction is considering lobbying ANC members to support for the top job of deputy president.

Earlier this month, Ramaphosa announced sweeping changes to his Cabinet and recalled Modise from Parliament, where she served as the speaker of the National Assembly.

Former defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has been chosen by the ANC parliamentary caucus to replace Modise.

The move by Ramaphosa’s faction to nominate a female leader comes as pressure grows on the ANC to elect its first female president.

Insiders also claimed Ramaphosa was considering Modise as his deputy to counter his rival’s attempts to nominate a female candidate at the ANC’s December 2022 conference in a bid to oppose his leadership of the governing party.

Apparently, this would demonstrate that Ramaphosa is “preparing” a woman to succeed him after his second term in office.

What about Mabuza’s role?

But this raises questions about Deputy President David Mabuza’s position in the ANC and government.

Mabuza recently returned to the country after he travelled to Russia for what the Presidency initially said was supposed to be a few days of leave for a scheduled medical consultation.

Questions were raised about Mabuza’s suitability to continue as the country’s deputy president after he spent a month in Russia. During that time, a deadly civil unrest gripped parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in July, and former president Jacob Zuma was incarcerated for being in contempt of the Constitutional Court.

This is not the first time Ramaphosa has considered a female deputy. Ahead of the ANC’s 2017 Nasrec conference, International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor was approached for the top post, but she declined the nomination.

Compiled byThapelo Lekabe