COJ : COUNCILOR CANDIDATE : MANKU NORUKA

Born in Soweto, Senaoane Manku Noruka was introduced to politics while still at high school in the late 1980s. Her political growth was primarily facilitated by reading, a hobby she credits for shaping the person she is today. A book which shaped her thinking and still informs her political activism is ‘I Write What I Like’ a collection of essays by Steve Biko. “I write what I like, introduced me to the black consciousness philosophy, which till this day informs my worldview” says Manku.  Today she considers it a privilege to be serving in the same Standing Committee of the Azanian Peoples Organisation (AZAPO) with Ntate Molefe Pheto the author of “ And the night fell”.

In 1992, Manku registered for a Bachelor’s Degree at Vista University’s Soweto campus. There she was instrumental in setting up a branch of the Azanian Students’ Convention (AZASCO) , a student formation of AZAPO. The following year she was elected to be the branch organiser, a position she held till 1995. “ Being a branch organiser was not easy, it meant you had to be at the forefront of building  the organisation on campus and recruiting members. One had to quickly learn how to relate the core believes and mission of the organisation to the daily lives of students” says Manku.

In 1997 Manku was elected to the National Executive Committee of AZASCO “the most influential leadership in the history of AZASCO” as the Gender Officer. After leaving student politics, in 2001 Manku joined the Phiri branch of the Azanian Youth Organisation (AZAYO) another formation of AZAPO.  This period was followed by a “seven years break from political activism”  in which she devoted herself to her family. In 2009 “I reactivated my political involvement and became active in AZAPO”. In 2010 Manku was elected to serve in the Standing Committee of AZAPO as Secretary for Gender and Women Affairs, a position which she holds to date.

MESSAGE TO THE PUBLIC

I understand being under privillaged and it is through my deep love for my community that I would like to make a difference. I believe that the first step in doing so is to ensure that there our people are empowered and it is through your vote that issues of education will be prioritized, our community is under the scourge of drugs and I believe that is where I can make a difference and that our people should be safe. By introducing community project for our youth to be involved in it will remove them from the life of crime, drugs and make our communities to be the safe heaven we all aspire. It is by your vote that we can make this a reality



 

by Ineeleng Bogosi