Ms Leigh-Ann Mathys (EFF)

What is your political background? I don’t have a political background as such. Before I joined the EFF I was a social justice activist. I like to refer to myself as an accidental politician who came to politics through a passion for social activism. The EFF was the first political party I joined and this happened because of Marikana. That moved me to become part of a political movement. Before that I had come back to South Africa from Australia where my family had moved. I joined a community based organisation in Ingwavuma, a rural area in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The organisation was then called Ingwavuma Orphan Care – they have changed name since then. I ended up working for another organisation called Food For Africa where I helped with fundraising for a number of rural-based community development initiatives.

How did you become an MP? I was part of the founding membership of the EFF and I was appointed to the interim leadership structure of this new organisation. Although my main mandate was taking care of the finances, I also did a whole lot of other things pertaining to the day to day running of the EFF, including registering the party and helping to get it off the ground. I was new to politics and a lot of stuff, such as wards and branches, did not make much sense to me, but my organising experience and administrative capacity came in handy.

What were your first impressions of Parliament, and what do you think of the Fifth Parliament now? I saw Parliament as a sort of rubber stamp. It was this huge organisation that had processes in place that went round and round in circles without expecting anything to change. To a certain extant it is still like that – Parliament has teeth but it has taken them out, and so it is like you have mouths walking around Parliament without teeth!

What constituency have you been assigned to and what really interests you about your constituency work? My party has assigned me to our head office in Pretoria. Constituency work for me is probably what I enjoy the most – going out and meeting the communities. I don’t do it as much as I would like to because of the huge responsibilities I have running the organisation. I just love the opportunities to go out on door-to-door campaigns and meet and help out people, especially women and children – that is who I am. That is what I am extremely passionate about.

What is your message to South Africans? South Africans need to be the change they want to see in their country, and they need to vote for that change. People died for the right to vote but people are not using that right. They just vote without understanding who they are voting for – some don’t even vote at all because they are so disgruntled and don’t see any hope at all. But there is hope. We can change this country for the better through the ballot box. And that is the best way - constitutionally rather than going out into the streets and having a war.

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