Ms Tabiso Wana (ANC)

What is your political background? I entered politics from the working class point of view and I am among those that had spent some time incarcerated for my involvement in the political unrest prior to 1994. This was post matric in a rural area called Qhumanco Village of Cofimvaba.

Around 1992 I became a member of The Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) as a negotiator. In 1995 I got employed by the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) after the disbanding of the TGWU. During that same time I had been elected the provincial deputy chairperson of the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU) where I often negotiated on salaries. I then moved into the civil society sector from 1996 to 1997 in the Eastern Cape and in 2002, I returned to the ECDC as a negotiator.

I entered the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature in 2009 as a member and whip of the committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA). In 2014, I was elected to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) as a permanent delegate from the Eastern Cape, representing the ANC.

What does your job as an MP entail? Amongst other things, I am part of the Select Committee on COGTA where the job is to oversee the Department on COGTA and to then report back to my constituency on new developments in terms of legislation.

What is your impression of the Fifth Parliament? The atmosphere in the NCOP is quite moderate at best compared to the Legislature where the political atmosphere was more vibrant. The atmosphere at joint sittings of the National Assembly (NA) and the NCOP is concerning, because some of the traditions there are foreign to my experiences in the Eastern Cape Legislature.

What constituency area have you been assigned to you by your party? What is most interesting about your constituency work so far? My constituency is Ngqeleni, under the OR Tambo Region of the Eastern Cape. Most interesting about constituency work is the interaction between us as politicians and our people and the satisfaction in knowing an issue is being resolved. An example is when I was moving around my constituency’s polling stations during the weekend of 5 and March 2016. I was made aware of problems at one school. Upon my arrival, I found the agitated parents of the 2014 matric class had chased the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) from the premises, because learner results were being withheld as a result of suspected cheating during the exams. Upon my intervention the IEC was allowed back by the crowd and the citizens of that community could continue to register for the 2016 Local Government Elections.

What are you most passionate about - this applies both in a political/professional arena as well as personally? My biggest passion is my family and how much we care for each other.

What would your message to South Africa be? South Africans know the African National Congress liberated them and alleviated dire poverty. They have to follow and vote for the ANC of all the fallen liberation and struggle heroes of yesterday.

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