Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster | |
|---|---|
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| Assumed office 14 June 2024 | |
| Deputy Leader of Build One South Africa | |
| Assumed office 24 September 2022 | |
| Leader | Mmusi Maimane |
| Preceded by | Party established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nobuntu Lindumusa Hlazo (1982-04-03)3 April 1982 (age 43) Lamontville,Durban Natal,South Africa |
| Political party | Build One South Africa |
| Spouse | |
| Alma mater | IMM Graduate School |
Nobuntu Lindumusa Hlazo-Webster (born 3 April 1982) is a South African politician and former businesswoman. She is the co-founder and deputy leader ofBuild One South Africa (BOSA), and she has represented the party in theNational Assembly of South Africa since June 2024.
Born inDurban, Hlazo-Webster began her career inmarketing andmedia production. Her ventures included African Pursuit, her marketing andbusiness development consultancy. She entered politics in September 2022 when she launched BOSA withMmusi Maimane, and she was the party's candidate forPremier of Gauteng in theMay 2024 general election.
Hlazo-Webster was born on 3 April 1982.[1] She was born inLamontville outsideDurban, but she grew up in the nearbytownship ofeNanda.[2] She has a degree ine-marketing from theIMM Graduate School.[2]
Before entering politics, Hlazo-Webster worked in business andmarketing. In 2007 she co-founded her first company, Ayano Communications, a communications and advertising firm.[2] In 2013 she co-founded African Pursuit, a marketing and business developmentconsultancy which she ran for the next decade;[2][3] its eventual clients includedSouth African Breweries,Engen, and government departments inEkiti State, Nigeria andKwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.[4] She said that her job at African Pursuit was to "commercialise dreams".[4] In 2015 she and her African Pursuit partner, Sibahle Malunga, launched My African Buy, anonline marketplace.[5]
During this period Hlazo-Webster was also the co-host, with businessman Derek Thomas, of a short-livedSABC3 programme calledThink Big. The show was a businessreality competition show sponsored byStandard Bank, and its only season began airing in July 2014.[6] In 2016 Hlazo-Webster self-published a novel calledPerfect Mess Perfect Grace.[7]
In 2018 she co-founded Avad Media, aproduction company which was a joint partnership with actressAyanda Borotho and writer Dudu Busanidube.[2]
Meanwhile, in parallel to her business pursuits, Hlazo-Webster was involved in various philanthropic and community initiatives.[4] She founded the South African Women's Commission, awomen's empowerment organisation, and chaired the Businesswomen's Association of South Africa.[8] She also attended Futurelect,Lindiwe Mazibuko's leadership development programme, and the United StatesInternational Visitor Leadership Programme, and she was a fellow of theInternational Women's Forum.[9][10]
On 24 September 2022,Mmusi Maimane launched his new political party,Build One South Africa (BOSA). At the party's launch inSoweto, Hlazo-Webster was introduced as the party's co-founder and deputy leader.[11] When asked about her entrance into politics, she said that, "There comes a time when you can no longer sit on the sidelines. I felt that all the things I was doing were not enough".[12]
On 2 April 2024, at another event in Soweto, Hlazo-Webster was unveiled as BOSA's candidate for election asPremier of Gauteng in theupcoming general election.[13][14] Her campaign platform focused onthe economy.[15] Alongside her provincial campaign, she was ranked second on BOSA's party list for election to the nationalParliament of South Africa.[1]
When the election was held in May 2024, BOSA won only one seat in theGauteng Provincial Legislature. Maimane announced that the Gauteng seat would be filled byAyanda Allie, while Hlazo-Webster would join him in Parliament as one of the party's two national representatives.[16][17] After she was sworn in to theNational Assembly on 14 June, Hlazo-Webster was appointed as a member of the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation, a member of the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development, and an alternate member of the Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition.[18]
Hlazo-Webster isChristian.[4] She married Ayanda Webster in 2007; they have two sons.[19] Together the couple convened anon-denominational religious group, the Salt and Light Tribe; founded a non-profit organisation called Phatha; and launched avlog series about their marriage,Love on the Reel.[20] They moved to Gauteng in 2011.[2]
Hlazo-Webster was a close friend to environmental activistNdoni Mcunu and acted as a spokesperson for Mchunu's family after her death in 2022.[21]