Collen Maine | |
---|---|
10th President of the African National Congress Youth League | |
In office 4 September 2015 –July 2019 | |
Deputy | Desmond Moela |
Preceded by | Julius Malema |
Succeeded by | Collen Malatji |
Member of the National Assembly | |
In office 22 May 2019 –5 July 2019 | |
President | Cyril Ramaphosa |
Member of the North West Executive Council for Local Government and Human Settlements | |
In office May 2014 –November 2015 | |
Premier | Supra Mahumapelo |
Preceded by | Nono Maloyi (for Human Settlement,Public Safety and Liaison) |
Succeeded by | Wendy Nelson (acting) Fenny Gaolaolwe |
Member of the North West Provincial Legislature | |
In office 21 May 2014 –June 2015 | |
Premier | Supra Mahumapelo |
Personal details | |
Born | Mokone Collen Maine 1980or1981(age 42–43) |
Political party | African National Congress |
Mokone Collen Maine is a South African politician who was the president of the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League between 2015 and 2019. He was formerly a Member of the Executive Council and Member of the Provincial Legislature in North West province during the premiership of Thandi Modise and Supra Mahumapelo,and he has served in both houses of the national Parliament of South Africa. In December 2017,he was elected to a five-year term on the ANC's National Executive Committee.
Maine was born during apartheid, [1] in 1980 or 1981, [2] and is from the region that is now the North West province of South Africa. [3] In his account,he was a member of the Congress of South African Students in his youth,joined the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League (ANCYL) in 1996,and served as a regional organiser for the ANC Youth League in Bophirima in the North West until he became deputy provincial chairperson of the league in the North West in 2008. [4] The Daily Maverick reported that,according to the North West provincial leader of the rival Congress of the People (COPE),Maine was a member of COPE until 2009; [5] Maine denied this. [2]
Pursuant to the 2009 general election,Maine was elected as a North West delegate to the National Council of Provinces,the upper house of the South African Parliament. [6] [7] In June 2013, [4] [8] he was appointed a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) in the provincial government of North West Premier Thandi Modise;his portfolio was social development and women,children and people with disability. [9] In the next general election in 2014,he was elected as a Member of the North West Provincial Legislature. [10] He was also appointed MEC for local government and human settlements under newly elected Premier Supra Mahumapelo. [11] [12] [13] In addition,during this period he disclosed financial interests in several companies. [6]
By 2015,Maine was the provincial chairperson of the ANC Youth League in the North West, [14] which supported his candidacy for the national presidency of the league. [4] On 4 September 2015,at the league's 25th national elective conference in Midrand,he was elected unopposed as national president of the ANC Youth League,with Desmond Moela as his deputy. [12] [14] Pule Mabe,Ronald Lamola,and Lesego Makhubela were all viewed as Maine's competitors, [15] but none made it to the final ballot;declining a nomination to stand for the deputy presidency,Lamola said that the electoral process was "a farce". [14] Maine's candidacy was reportedly supported by the so-called Premier League,comprising the Premiers and ANC provincial chairpersons of the North West (Mahumapelo),Free State (Ace Magashule),and Mpumalanga (David Mabuza). [12] [14] Mahumpelo had reportedly supported Maine's rise through the North West Youth League in earlier years. [16]
Maine's age attracted media interest,given the Youth League's rule that only persons under 35 were eligible for membership and leadership positions:he insisted that he was "34.5" at the time of the conference. [1] [17] [18] [19] [20] His MEC position also attracted interest,since the Youth League presidency is typically a full-time job based out of Luthuli House,the ANC's headquarters in Johannesburg. After his election,Maine initially signalled his willingness to resign from the North West government,but in October he reversed his position;the league's newly elected provincial secretary,Njabulo Nzuza,said the Youth League's national executive committee had decided that the presidency would no longer be a full-time position and that Maine could hold retain his MEC post simultaneously. [21] In early November 2015,however,Maine resigned from the Executive Council and was replaced by Wendy Nelson in an acting capacity;he did not publicly explain his reasons for resigning. [22]
While Maine was Youth League president,he and the league under him became outspoken supporters of incumbent ANC president Jacob Zuma,then serving his second term as President of South Africa. [23] [24] For example,amid the Public Protector's investigation into allegations of state capture by Zuma's associates,Maine attended a "Hands Off Zuma" rally in Durban,where he urged veterans of the ANC's anti-apartheid armed wing,Umkhonto we Sizwe,to "bring your guns. Now is the time to defend the revolution". [25] Maine also publicly supported some of Zuma's left-wing populist policy proposals,particularly free higher education and an assault on so-called "white monopoly capital". [26] [27] Ahead of the ANC's 54th National Conference,which would elect Zuma's successor as ANC president,the Youth League endorsed Zuma's favoured candidate,Nkosazana Dlamina-Zuma. [27] Maine personally was a strong supporter of Dlamini-Zuma. [28]
At the conference in December 2017,Dlamini-Zuma was beaten by Cyril Ramaphosa,who became national president in February 2018. [29] Maine subsequently appeared to temper his pro-Zuma activism; [30] he publicly pledged the league's loyalty to Ramaphosa as ANC president. [31] [32] In April 2018,the deputy secretary of the ANC Youth League,Thandi Moraka,told a gathering that Maine had approached Ramaphosa after the 54th National Conference to "apologise" on behalf of the Youth League for supporting Dlamini-Zuma. Moraka said of Maine that "he doesn't deserve to be called a comrade,because he is a sellout of note" and called for him to resign from the league. [29]
As president of the Youth League,Maine automatically became an ex officio member of the ANC National Executive Committee,the party's top decision-making body;at the 54th National Conference in December 2017,he was directly elected onto the committee for a five-year term,receiving the votes of 1,572 of the 4,283 delegates who submitted ballot papers. [33] In the 2019 general election,in which the ANC renewed its majority,he was included on the party's electoral list and was elected to a seat in the National Assembly,the lower house of the national Parliament. [10] He was sworn in on 22 May 2019 and became a member of the portfolio committee on public service and administration;despite speculation to the contrary,he was not appointed to Ramaphosa's cabinet. [34] [35]
On 5 July 2019,Maine announced that he would resign from his seat in the National Assembly due to "private matters". [34] News24 reported that his resignation was effective immediately. [36]
The ANC Youth League failed to hold its elective conference in September 2018 as planned. [37] In 2019,some members within the league,led especially by a group calling itself the Revive ANCYL Movement, [34] began calling for the election of a new leadership corps,including by protesting outside an ANC National Executive Committee meeting [38] and threatening a lawsuit. [39] They argued both that many of the league's incumbent leaders were over the age of 35 and therefore ineligible to represent the ANC's youth and that they had overstayed their term (three years in terms of the league constitution). [39]
In late July 2019,just weeks after Maine's resignation from Parliament,the ANC National Executive Committee disbanded the national executive of the Youth League,ending the terms of Maine and other league officials. [38] Maine was nonetheless among the several former ANC Youth League presidents who were appointed as members of the interim task team that was installed to lead the League until it could hold fresh leadership elections. [40]
Maine's defence of Zuma occasionally extended to a defence of Zuma's associates in the controversial Gupta family,who were alleged to be involved in state capture under Zuma's administration. In February 2016,for example,Maine was quoted as saying "an attack on the Guptas is an attack on the ANC". [30] In May 2016,amaBhungane reported that there was evidence to "suggest" that Maine "received a generous helping hand from the Gupta family" through a loan which helped he and his wife to purchase a R5.4 million house on a golf estate outside Pretoria. They had bought the house in October 2015,weeks after Maine's election as ANC Youth League president. [41] Dismissing allegations that he had personal ties to the Guptas,Maine said,"If engaging stakeholders is being captured,then I am captured... but mainly I am captured by the responsibility I was given by the ANCYL". [42] He also clarified that in his defence of the Guptas,"I was dealing with those issues as a matter of principle,not that I have anything to do with them". [41] In June 2017,amaBhungane further reported that the so-called Gupta Leaks suggested that Maine and other Youth League leaders had been assisted by Bell Pottinger,a public relations firm retained by a Gupta-owned company,in devising public remarks. [43] [44]
In April 2018,during a speech at a memorial service for ANC stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela,Maine admitted that he had met the Guptas at their home. He said that he had not intended to go but had been "taken there",and that he had been taken not by Zuma but by Supra Mahumapelo. [30] [45] At the time Mahumapelo was confronting fierce opposition,in which Maine was thought to be involved,to his leadership of the North West. [30] In connection with Maine's allegation,Mahumapelo said,"Reckless drivers who cause accidents on the roads must never blame the driving school for introducing them to driving". [3] News24 described Maine's remarks as his "Damascus moment,turning against a man [Mahumapelo] who had long been seen as his political mentor". [3]
Investigating allegations of state capture under Zuma's administration,the Zondo Commission found that Zuma supporters within the State Security Agency had set up a VIP protection unit in the agency's Special Operations division,technically usurping a function of the South African Police Service. The protection unit offered special protection to Zuma and various associates,including Maine. [46]
He is married to Kelebogile Maine [41] [47] and as of 2015 had three children. [2]
The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) is the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC). As set out in its constitution,the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee (NEC) and a National Working Committee (NWC).
Fikile April Mbalula is a South African politician who has been the Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC) since December 2022. He was a cabinet minister between 2010 and 2023,most proximately as Minister of Transport from 2019 to 2023.
David Mabuza is a South African politician who served as deputy president of South Africa from February 2018 to February 2023. He was the deputy president of the African National Congress (ANC) from December 2017 to December 2022 and was previously the premier of Mpumalanga from 2009 to 2018,throughout the presidency of his former political ally Jacob Zuma. Mabuza served as a Member of Parliament from 2018 until his resignation in 2023.
Thandi Ruth Modise is a South African politician who is currently serving as the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans. She was previously the Premier of the North West from 2010 to 2014,Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces from 2014 to 2019,and Speaker of the National Assembly from 2019 to 2021.
Supra Obakeng Ramoeletsi Mahumapelo is a South African politician who was Premier of North West from May 2014 to May 2018 during the 5th North West Provincial Legislature. He formerly served as Speaker of the North West Provincial Legislature from April 2012 to May 2014.
Puleng Peter "Pule" Mabe is a South African politician who served as the national spokesperson of the African National Congress (ANC),South Africa's governing party,from 2018 to 2023. He formerly represented the ANC in the National Assembly from 2014 to 2017.
Ronald Ozzy Lamola is a South African lawyer and politician,Minister of Justice and Correctional Services,and a member of the African National Congress (ANC). He has also been serving as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since 22 May 2019. He is a member of the ANC's National Executive Committee and National Working Committee. Lamola had previously been involved in the African National Congress Youth League.
Madoda Sambatha is a South African politician serving as the North West MEC for Health since 2018. He has served as a Member of the North West Provincial Legislature for the African National Congress (ANC) since 2014. He was the MEC for Public Works and Roads from 2014 to 2017. Sambatha is also the provincial secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP).
Mmoloki Saviour Cwaile is a South African politician who served as the North West MEC for Cooperative Governance,Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs from November 2020 to August 2021. A member of the African National Congress,he has been a Member of the North West Provincial Legislature since February 2019. Cwaile had previously served as the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Premier,Finance,Cooperative Governance,Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs in the legislature.
Njabulo Bheka Nzuza is a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal currently serving as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs. He has been a Member of Parliament since 2019. Nzuza is a member of the African National Congress.
Tandi Mahambehlala is a South African politician who has served as the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Tourism since 2021. A member of the African National Congress (ANC),she served as the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation from 2019 to 2021. Mahambehlala was Deputy Minister of Communications between 2017 and 2018. She has been a Member of Parliament since 2014.
Siboniso Armstrong Duma is a South African politician who is the provincial chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal. He is also Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Economic Development,Tourism and Environmental Affairs in the KwaZulu-Natal government.
Patrick Dumile Nono Maloyi is a South African politician who has been Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Human Settlement,Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in the North West province since November 2022. In August 2022,he was elected Provincial Chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC) in the North West,a position he formerly held from 2008 to 2009.
Thandi Moraka is a South African politician who is currently serving as a Member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature. She was Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Sports,Arts and Culture in the Limpopo provincial government between July 2018 and October 2022. She is a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and in 2022 was elected to a five-year term on the party's National Executive Committee. She formerly served as Deputy Secretary-General of the ANC Youth League from 2015 to 2019 and as a member of the Limpopo ANC's Provincial Executive Committee from 2018 to 2022.
Dakota Legoete is a South African politician and strategist,known for his work for the African National Congress (ANC). A former local councillor in his home province,the North West,Legoete was the North West ANC's Provincial Secretary from 2013 to 2017,serving under his ally Supra Mahumapelo. In early 2018 he was appointed the deputy head of the ANC's internal organising department,a full-time job based out of the party's headquarters at Luthuli House. In 2022,he was elected to his second successive five-year term on the ANC National Executive Committee.
Jonas Sello Lehari is a South African politician who is currently serving as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Community Safety and Transport Management in the North West. He formerly served as MEC for Education and Sports Development from May 2016 to May 2019,and before that as Mayor of Moretele Local Municipality. In August 2022,he was additionally elected Provincial Treasurer of the North West branch of his political party,the African National Congress (ANC).
The Executive Council of the North West is the cabinet of the executive branch of the provincial government in the South African province of the North West. The Members of the Executive Council (MECs) are appointed from among the members of the North West Provincial Legislature by the Premier of the North West,an office held since September 2021 by Bushy Maape of the African National Congress (ANC).
Thamsanqa China Dodovu is a South African politician who is currently serving as a Delegate to the National Council of Provinces since May 2019. He was formerly the Mayor of Klerksdorp's Matlosana Local Municipality and served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Local Government and Traditional Affairs in the North West provincial government from May 2012 until June 2013. Dodovu is a member of the African National Congress and served as the party's Deputy Provincial Chairperson in the North West from 2011 to 2015.
Mmaphefo Lucy "Wendy" Matsemela is a South African politician who was Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Education in the North West from May 2019 to December 2022. She represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 2004 to 2009 and in the North West Provincial Legislature from 2009 to 2022. While in the provincial legislature,she served almost continuously in the North West Executive Council,excepting two gaps from 2010 to 2013 and from 2016 to 2018. She resigned from the provincial legislature in December 2022 after Premier Bushy Maape fired her as an MEC.
Daniel Kabelo Mataboge is a South African politician who has represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the North West Provincial Legislature since 2019. He was formerly the Provincial Secretary of the ANC's North West branch from 2011 to 2013;in 2013,after a hostile fallout with Supra Mahumapelo,he was suspended from the party for two years.