East Cape MPL Mvenya aims to lead DA women

“There are not enough women’s voices in the DA. I want to change that.” Veliswa Mvenya, 49, a DA MPL from the Eastern Cape, has her sights set on leading the DA Women’s Network (Dawn) after next Friday’s election. A DA member for more than 18 years, she is vying for the top job against Western Cape Health MEC Professor Noma French Mbombo. Dawn will be electing a national leader for the first time on the first day of the two-day DA Congress in Tshwane, which starts next Friday. Should she beat Mbombo for the top spot, Mvenya wants to transform Dawn into an active, attractive and vibrant organisation that champions women’s causes. “I’ve been working with various other organisations on women’s issues. I’ve been attending marches and picketing at courts, but not under the Dawn umbrella. “I want to change that,” Mvenya said. “I don’t think we have enough women’s voices in the DA as a whole. By having me as the leader of Dawn, I will change that. “Maybe then, if the [mother body] sees us doing a good job as Dawn, they will see there are capable women who can lead,” she said. Could another woman ever lead the DA again? Mvenya believes it is definitely possible.

“I don’t want Dawn to be known as running soup kitchens only. “We must show the party that we have the capacity to do any job properly. We must occupy our space as women. “If the party only sees Dawn in soup kitchens, they will think we as women belong in the kitchen. I don’t want that . . . Why can’t a woman lead the DA [mother body] again?” As one of the founding members of Dawn, Mvenya has spent many years trying to build the organisation at grassroots level. She was the Eastern Cape leader of Dawn between 2000 and 2011 before moving over to the DA’s provincial leadership structure, where she has served as both deputy leader and chairwoman. Mvenya then contested the provincial leader position last year, but lost to Nqaba Bhanga. With only one municipality in her constituency – cut down from seven – Mvenya said she had a lot of free time when she was not busy with legislature work. “Initially I didn’t feel like standing for the Dawn leader position. But then a number of people started talking to me about it and put the idea of me leading the organisation in my mind. “In politics, when people say they want you, you don’t say no. “I sat down and thought about it and consulted a few people before I made a decision,” Mvenya said. She decided to go after a position that would allow her to do what she enjoys most. “Working with women makes me happy. I like serving people, so why not do what I do best?”