Connie September
2013 – 2014
Connie September is best remembered as chairperson of the September Commission, which in 1997 produced a report on the future of trade unions and the challenges and scenarios they were likely to face in the future.
She is also a former deputy president of union federation Cosatu, who rose through the union movement from humble beginnings as a clothing factory worker in Cape Town.
Speaking to the Mail & Guardian a few minutes after she was sworn in as human settlements minister this week, September said the commission was a source of pride for her. "It still remains relevant to this day and every year Cosatu reflects on it when planning."
But she acknowledges that she is taking on a tough portfolio and that she has never worked directly in housing before. She does, however, believe that her stint as chairperson of the portfolio committee on water and forestry affairs, which saw her working with municipalities on sanitation and the integration of services, will be useful in her new job.
"We worked with municipalities to ensure they met targets to eradicate the bucket system in formal areas. The majority of them did, although we had some problems," she said.
Unlike the other two new ministers, Lechesa Tsenoli and Yunus Carrim, who exuded confidence when speaking about their new postings, September was a lot more modest when asked how she felt about being allocated such a challenging portfolio by President Jacob Zuma.
"I thank the ANC and the president for giving me this opportunity," she said. "Everyone says it is a daunting task. I am looking forward to seeing what is there … there are policies that guide the department. My work is cut out and I will be picking up from where my predecessor left off."
September has a rich history in the labour movement. In 1993, she became the first woman to hold national office in Cosatu when she was elected deputy president. She was also the treasurer of the South African Clothing and Textile Workers' Union, which has substantial membership in the Western Cape.
September is originally from Grassy Park in Cape Town and has spent the past few years in Parliament as whip of the international relations portfolio committee.
Her elevation by Zuma has caused disquiet in the Western Cape, with some of her comrades saying they were surprised that she could be plucked from nowhere to become a minister. A senior ANC member in the province said: "I'm absolutely shocked with her appointment to such an important portfolio; this is a person who in 2009 didn't even make it on to the ANC's parliamentary list and has [only] rejoined Parliament in the last two years."
But the M&G has learned that some ANC leaders in the Western Cape who work closely with former provincial chairperson Mcebisi Skwatsha had hoped that Zuma would reward Skwatsha with a deputy minister's position and that this could be the source of the ill feeling.
In the run-up to Mangaung, Skwatsha worked hard lobbying support for Zuma instead of for Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, as had been expected. Before last year, Skwatsha and his supporters did not see eye to eye with the president. September's appointment could, therefore, have inadvertently opened up old wounds in the province.