Sisi Tolashe rose to national political prominence as the Secretary-General of the African National Congress Women's League.
Nokuzola Tolashe (born 21 December 1959), aka. Sisisi Tolashe, is a South African politician. She serves as Deputy Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities, appointed on 6 March 2023.
Early Life
| Sisisi Tolashe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Full Name: | Nokuzola Gladys Tolashe |
| Other names: | Sisi Tolashe, Sisisi Tolashe |
| Born: | 21 December 1959 (age 63 years old), Queenstown, Eastern Cape |
| Nationality: | South Africa |
| Education: | Matric |
| Occupation: | Politician |
| Political Party: | African National Congress |
| Office: | Member of the National Assembly |
Nokuzola Gladys Tolashe was born on 21 December 1959 in Queenstown, a town in the middle of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. She started involving in politics during the apartheid era.
Sisisi Tolashe, as she is fondly called, entered the youth organizations in the anti-apartheid movement. She participated actively in many civic organizations under the United Democratic Front.
The government detained her in the 1980s without trial. She spent three years under Section 29 of the Internal Security Act and another two years under the prevailing state of emergency regulations.
Career
Nokuzola Tolashe served in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature from 2001 to 2008. She also was the Secretary-General of the ANC Women’s League under President Angie Motshekga.
Having served as Secretary-General from July 2008, Sisi left office in August 2015. She became a backbencher in the National Assembly in 2016.
In 2018, she became the mayor of the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape. After the 2019 general election, she returned to the National Assembly. President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed her deputy ministerial position in March 2023.
In December 2022, Sis Tolashe joined the ANC National Executive Committee. She served on the committee from 2007 to 2017. She was sworn into the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature on 29 January 2001.
On 6 July 2008, she became the national Secretary-General of the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL), elected at a league conference in Bloemfontein.
In December 2012, Tolashe stood for re-election to the ANC National Executive Committee at the ANC’s 53rd National Conference and won.
In August 2015, she was voted out of the ANCWL leadership at the league’s next elective conference.
Sisi was sworn into an ANC seat in the National Assembly, the lower house of the South African Parliament, on 5 September 2016. She took over from the late Raesibe Nyalungu after his demise.
Nokuzola Tolashe served on the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies. She was also the alternate member of the Portfolio Committees on Labour and Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries.
After being elected executive mayor of the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality, Sis Tolashe resigned from the House of Representatives. She served as mayor for a very short time.
Tolashe was a member of the Portfolio Committee on Transport and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in the parliament. She
Tolashe was elected to the Eastern Cape branch of the ANC’s 30-member Provincial Executive Committee in May 2022. The party’s 55th National Conference elected her to the National Executive Committee.
President Ramaphosa appointed her Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities on 6 March 2023. She deputized Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Contact details
As the Deputy Minister in The Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sisi Tolashe is reachable through the options below:
- Tel: 0727201662
- Email: sng.tolashe@gmail.com