Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality is a local municipality within the Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality,in the Free State province of South Africa. It encompasses substantially all of the former bantustan of QwaQwa,except for the small enclave at Botshabelo. The population is almost entirely Basotho. The municipality is named after the Drakensberg mountains. The peak is known as the Sentinel,which is called Phofung in Sesotho.
Sefora Hixsonia "Sisi" Ntombela is a South African politician who was the 6th Premier of the Free State and a Member of the Free State Provincial Legislature for the African National Congress. She previously served as the Free State MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements and as MEC for Social Development. Ntombela was also the Deputy President of the African National Congress Women's League and the treasurer of the Free State ANC.
Sarah Matawana "Olly" Mlamleli is a South African politician who served as the mayor of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality from August 2016 until August 2020. A member of the African National Congress,she served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Cooperative Governance,Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements from February 2012 to August 2016. In 2020,Mlamleli was ousted as Mayor of Mangaung and arrested over a controversial asbestos contract stemming from her time with the MEC.
Skully Thembeni Nxangisa is a South African politician who served in the Free State Executive Council as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs from May 2019 until October 2021,when he became the MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development. He was removed from the executive council in March 2023
Pule Herbert Isak Makgoe was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist. A member of the African National Congress,he was elected to the Free State Provincial Legislature in 1994. After holding multiple positions in the Executive Council of the Free State,he was appointed Member of the Executive Council for Education in May 2009,a position he would hold until his death in March 2023.
Kwekwe William Bulwane is a South African politician who has been a member of the Free State Provincial Legislature since May 2019. He had previously served as an MPL in April 2018. Bulwane had previously served in the Free State Executive Council as the Member of the Executive Council for Agriculture and Rural Development from May 2019 to October 2021 and as the MEC for Police,Roads and Transport from October 2021 until his demotion from the Executive Council in March 2023.
Makalo Petrus Mohale is a South African lawyer and African National Congress politician serving as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Education. He had previously been the MEC for Economic,Small Business Development,Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA) from May 2019 until March 2023. Mohale is the provincial chairperson of the African National Congress Youth League.
Gadija Brown is a South African politician and banker who is a member of the Free State Provincial Legislature for the African National Congress (ANC) and the provincial Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Finance.
Limakatso Patricia Mahasa is a South African politician who currently serves as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Sport,Arts,Culture and Recreation in the Free State. A member of the African National Congress,she previously served as the MEC for Economic,Small Business Development,Tourism &Environmental Affairs and as the MEC for Social Development.
Kathleen Dibolelo Mahlatsi is a South African politician who has been a Member of the Free State Executive Council for Public Works and Infrastructure and a Member of the Free State Provincial Legislature since March 2023. She is a former Member of the National Assembly of South Africa from the Free State. Mahlatsi is a member of the African National Congress.
Malambule Samuel Mashinini is a South African politician and trade union leader who has been a member of the Free State Provincial Legislature since 2014. A member of the African National Congress,he was elected to the Free State Provincial Legislature in May 2014. He was then appointed as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. A year later,he became the MEC for Economic and Small Business Development,Tourism and Environmental Affairs. Mashinini was appointed MEC for Police,Roads &Transport in October 2016. He was dismissed in October 2021.
The Executive Council of the Free State is the cabinet of the executive branch of the provincial government in the South African province of the Free State. The Members of the Executive Council (MECs) are appointed from among the members of the Free State Provincial Legislature by the Premier of the Free State,an office held since March 2018 by Sisi Ntombela of the African National Congress (ANC).
Montseng Margaret Tsiu is a South African politician,trade unionist and nurse who served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Health in the Free State provincial government from May 2018 until March 2023. She was sworn in as a Member of the Free State Provincial Legislature for the African National Congress in April 2018. Tsiu is the former provincial chairperson of the National Education,Health and Allied Workers' Union and the former director of nursing in the Free State government.
Mxolisi Abraham Dukwana is a South African politician who has been the seventh Premier of the Free State since February 2023. He has also served as Provincial Chairperson of the Free State branch of his political party,the African National Congress (ANC),since January 2023. Prior to his election as Premier,he served in the Free State Executive Council as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs since October 2021.
Motlagomang Grazy Qabathe,commonly known as Mamiki Qabathe,is a South African politician who served in the Executive Council of the Free State as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Social Development from May 2019 until October 2023. Before that,she was Speaker of the Free State Provincial Legislature from 2015 to 2019. She is a member of the African National Congress (ANC).
Thabo Piet Meeko is a South African politician who has represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the Free State Provincial Legislature since 2014. He was first elected to the provincial legislature in the 2014 general election,ranked 15th on the ANC's provincial party list,and he was re-elected in the 2019 general election,ranked 16th. During that period he has also served as spokesperson for the ANC's Free State branch.
Vusimusi William Tshabalala is a South African politician who has represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the Free State Provincial Legislature since 2019. He was also the Majority Chief Whip in the legislature until October 2021,when he was replaced after the ANC suspended him while he faced internal disciplinary charges. He is also known for his controversial tenure in the Free State's Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality,where he was Mayor between 2013 and 2018.
Nokwanje Selina "Mathabo" Leeto is a South African politician who has been the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Health in the Executive Council of the Free State and a Member of the Free State Provincial Legislature since 2023. Leeto had previously served in the provincial legislature between 2014 and 2019 and during that time,she was the MEC for Sports,Arts,Culture and Recreation. Leeto is the Provincial Treasurer of the African National Congress,as of 2023.
Benjamin "Benny" Malakoane is a South African politician and medical doctor who served in the Free State Executive Council from 2004 to 2005 and from 2013 to 2019. A member of the African National Congress (ANC),he dropped out of the Executive Council after failing to gain re-election to the Free State Provincial Legislature in the 2019 general election.
Mantsheng Anna "Ouma" Tsopo was a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the Free State Provincial Legislature from 1994 to 2014. Between 1994 and 2009,she served almost continuously in the Free State Executive Council and held several different portfolios,including as the Free State's inaugural Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Local Government and Housing from 1994.
