Marius Llewellyn Fransman (born 15 August 1969) is a retired South African politician and teacher. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament from 2014 to 2016,and as Chairperson of the Western Cape African National Congress from 2011 to 2016. He served as Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation in the cabinet of Jacob Zuma. From 2009 to 2014,he was a Member of the National Assembly. Fransman served as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament from 1999 to 2009,and again from 2014 to 2016.
Fransman was born on 15 August 1969 in Blackheath on the Cape Flats. He served as head boy of Bishop Lavis Secondary School and matriculated in 1987. He played a crucial role in creating awareness while he served as the chairperson of the school's student representative council (SRC). He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Cape. Later on,he achieved a Higher Diploma in Education from the same university. [1]
After completing his studies at university,he worked as a teacher in the town of Vredendal. In that same period,he joined the African National Congress. [1]
He worked as a regional recruiter for the ANC and later took up the position of Farm Dweller Project Manager at Surplus People's Project. He served as Provincial Deputy Secretary of the Western Cape African National Congress branch from 1997 until 2004,while he concurrently worked as head of the fishing desk. He was the party's rural elections co-ordinator from 1995 until he became the party's provincial elections coordinator in 1999. [1]
Despite holding many internal party positions,he served as Deputy Mayor and Mayor of the Vredendal Municipality. He was elected to the Western Cape Provincial Parliament in 1999 and held many positions in the Western Cape provincial government. He was named Provincial Minister of Social Services and Poverty Alleviation in 2001 but was then deployed to the position of Provincial Minister of Local Government and Housing in 2004. [2] [3] In 2005,Rasool reshuffled his executive and designated Fransman as Provincial Minister of Transport and Public Works. [4] He served until 2008 when Premier Lynne Brown announced that Fransman would become Provincial Minister of Health. [5]
In May 2009,he was elected to the National Assembly and served as Parliamentary Chairperson of the Higher Education and Training Committee. President Jacob Zuma reconfigured the national cabinet in October 2010 and named Fransman as Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation,succeeding Sue van der Merwe. [6] [7]
Fransman was a candidate for the post of Chairperson of the Western Cape African National Congress. The incumbent,Mcebisi Skwatsha,decided to stand down. Fransman was unanimously elected chairperson on 12 February 2011 at the party's conference in Cape Town. [8]
As Chairperson of the African National Congress in the Democratic Alliance-led Western Cape,Fransman came under fire on several occasions before the 2014 general election for his controversial canvassing methods. [9] The methods included distributing food parcels to potential voters and promising large sums of cash to Coloured voters before the election. [10] Fransman was the party's premier candidate. The party retained all its seats in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament and he returned to the Western Cape Provincial Parliament as Leader of the Opposition,succeeding Lynne Brown. He challenged incumbent Helen Zille of the Democratic Alliance for the position of Premier at the first sitting of the Fifth Provincial Parliament. He subsequently lost to Zille as the Democratic Alliance held a majority in the Provincial Parliament. Fransman received 14 votes compared Zille's 27 votes. [11]
Fransman had also challenged and criticised the Western Cape Government and the Democratic Alliance on its policy positions. Fransman won re-election unopposed to a second term at the party's conference in 2015. [12]
Fransman was accused of sexual assault by his assistant,Louisa Wynand. Fransman was alleged to have sexually assaulted Wynand while en route to the African National Congress's 104th birthday celebrations in Rustenburg in January 2016. [13] Fransman strongly denied these claims. [14] The Democratic Alliance,as well as party officials from the African National Congress,called for him to step down. [15] [16] The party quickly suspended Fransman as chairperson pending an investigation into the alleged assault claims. Deputy Chairperson,Khaya Magaxa,was designated as Fransman's acting successor. On 16 February 2016,it was announced that Magaxa would succeed Fransman as Leader of the Opposition in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. The ANC said that Magaxa would replace Fransman until all the internal processes had been completed. [17]
Fransman had received quite a lot of support during this period. In February 2016,a Facebook page was created with the name,Friends of Marius Fransman. On the page,a prayer service was organised for the Fransman family. The service was later held in Vredendal. In April 2016,the secretary of the provincial ANC Youth League called for the reinstatement of Fransman. [18] [19]
In May 2016,the National Prosecuting Authority announced that the charges against Fransman had been dropped due to a lack of evidence. The African National Congress continued with its own party investigation. [20]
In June 2016,the African National Congress Women's League stated that the organisation would not support Fransman,as well as his accuser. [21]
In July 2016,an ANC official claimed that Fransman had returned to his position. ANC Secretary-General,Gwede Mantashe,criticised the party official who made the false announcement. Fransman brought forward a court application to get reinstated as chairperson. [22]
In August 2016,the African National Congress's support in the Western Cape significantly decreased. The party lost many wards and municipalities to the Democratic Alliance. [23]
In September 2016,Fransman resigned as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament,yet he did not step down from the position of provincial chairperson. [24]
In November 2016,the National Disciplinary Committee of the African National Congress found Fransman guilty on two counts of misconduct and suspended his party membership for five years,consequently removing him as chairperson of the provincial branch. [25]
In March 2017,Fransman threw his support behind chairperson of Nelson Mandela Bay African National Congress branch,Andile Lunigsa,as senior ANC party officials called for Lungisa's resignation. [26]
Fransman,who is an avid supporter of Jacob Zuma,also announced in March 2017,that he is elated that Zuma reshuffled his cabinet and praised the appointments of the new ministers. He challenged the disgruntled ministers and MPs to resign their respective posts. [27]
In September 2018,the South African Jewish Board of Deputies made public statements,in which they stated that Fransman had not yet apologised for the defamatory comments he made in 2013. [28]
In December 2018,the National Prosecuting Authority announced that sexual assault claims made by Fransman's accuser,Louisa Wynand,would be investigated. [29]
The sexual assault charges against Fransman were officially dropped in September 2019,after the two parties came to an agreement to settle out of court. [30] The ANC responded with the lifting of Fransman's suspension as a party member. Interim ANC Western Cape Chair,Lerumo Kalako,has said that Fransman is welcome to become a member of the party again. [31]
In November 2023,Fransman launched a new political party,the People's Movement for Change. [32]
Fransman is married to Philida Fransman. They have two children together. Fransman is a Christian and regularly attends church. He is a fluent speaker of Afrikaans and English.
On 31 March 2020,Fransman announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19. [33] [34]
Otta Helene Maree,known as Helen Zille,is a South African politician. She has served as the Chairperson of the Federal Council of the Democratic Alliance since 20 October 2019. From 2009 until 2019,she was the Premier of the Western Cape province for two five-year terms,and a member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. She served as Federal Leader of the Democratic Alliance from 2007 to 2015 and as Mayor of Cape Town from 2006 to 2009.
Samson Gwede Mantashe is a South African politician and former trade unionist who is currently serving as the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy. He was Minister of Mineral Resources from February 2018 to May 2019,when his current portfolio was created. He is also serving his second term as the national chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC).
Lynne Brown is a South African politician who is a former Minister of Public Enterprises and former Premier of the Western Cape Province. She was born in Cape Town and grew up in Mitchells Plain. She was appointed Premier of the Western Cape following the resignation of Ebrahim Rasool in July 2008. Previously,she was Minister for Economic Development and Tourism. She is a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and an elected member of its National Executive Committee in 2007 and 2012. She is from a coloured background and was the fourth coloured premier of the Western Cape,the second from the ANC,and the first openly gay person to be appointed to a cabinet post in any African government.
Tina Monica Joemat-Pettersson was a South African politician who served as the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police from July 2019 until her death in June 2023. A member of the African National Congress,Joemat-Petterson had previously served as the Minister of Agriculture,Forestry and Fisheries from 2009 until 2014 and as the Minister of Energy from May 2014 until March 2017 under President Jacob Zuma.
Daniel Plato,known as Dan Plato,is a South African politician and a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since January 2022,previously serving from June 2011 until October 2018. He is the former mayor of Cape Town,a position he held for two nonconsecutive terms from May 2009 until June 2011 and again from November 2018 until October 2021. From June 2011 to October 2018,he was the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Community Safety.
Albert Theo Fritz is a South African politician and advocate. He was the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Community Safety for two nonconconsecutive terms from 2010 to 2011 and again from 2019 until his dismissal from the position amid sexual misconduct allegations in 2022. He was a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament from 2010 until his resignation from the DA in 2022. He served as the interim Leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Western Cape from the suspension and resignation of Bonginkosi Madikizela in April 2021 until his resignation from the party in March 2022. He was also the deputy DA provincial leader 2017 to 2021. Fritz previously served as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Social Development from 2011 to 2019. From 2009 to 2010,he was a Member of the National Assembly and the Shadow Deputy Minister of Correctional Services.
Bonginkosi Success Madikizela is a South African politician.
Godfrey Phumulo Masualle is a South African politician from the Eastern Cape who has represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly since May 2019. He was Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises from May 2019 to March 2023,and before that he was the sixth Premier of the Eastern Cape from May 2014 to May 2019.
Phillip David Dexter is a South African politician,activist,and entrepreneur. He has held many positions in various organisations. Dexter was a senior researcher in the Social Cohesion and Integration Research Programme of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). Before joining the HSRC,he was an executive director of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac). Dexter holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Religious Studies,a BA in Philosophy and Politics,and a Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Cape Town. He entered politics as a student activist;after spending seven years in exile,he returned to South Africa in 1990. He served as general secretary of the National Education,Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) until elected to Parliament as an African National Congress (ANC) MP in 1994,where he served on the Labour,Public Service and Administration,and Finance Portfolio committees.
General elections were held in South Africa on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President,National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would become the next President of South Africa.
Mcebisi Skwatsha is a politician from the Western Cape. He is currently serving as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture,Land Reform and Rural Development since May 2019. Before that portfolio was established,he was Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform from 2014 to 2019.
Cameron Muir Dugmore is a South African politician who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. A member of the African National Congress,he has been serving as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since 2014. He previously served in the provincial parliament from 1994 to 2009. He served as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport from 2008 to 2009,and as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Education from 2004 to 2008.
The 2019 Western Cape provincial election was held on 8 May 2019 to elect the 6th Western Cape Provincial Parliament. It was the sixth provincial election held since the establishment of the provincial legislature in 1994.
Ivan Henry Meyer is a South African politician who has been serving as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Agriculture since 2019. He has held multiple positions in the provincial cabinet. Meyer was elected to the Western Cape Provincial Parliament in 2009. He has also been the Federal Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance (DA) since November 2020,a position he previously held in an acting capacity from November 2019 to November 2020. Meyer had served as the First Deputy Federal Chairperson of the DA from 2010 to 2012,and again from 2015 to 2019. He was also the provincial leader of the party in the Western Cape from 2012 to 2015.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) announced on 20 March 2019 that a record number of 48 parties had registered candidates for the national parliamentary election. This is 19 more parties that contested the 2014 national elections. In the provincial legislature elections,the total number of parties registering candidates were:
Maurencia Natalie Gillion was a South African politician who served as a permanent delegate to the National Council of Provinces,the upper house of the South African Parliament. She was a member of the Western Cape provincial delegation,representing the African National Congress (ANC). She was also the chairperson of the legislature's Select Committee on Health and Social Services. Gillion served as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament from 2014 to 2019.
Nobulumko Degracia Nkondlo is a South African African National Congress politician who has served as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since November 2016. She succeeded former ANC provincial leader Marius Fransman.
Enoch Godongwana is a South African politician and former trade unionist who is currently serving as the Minister of Finance since August 2021. He is a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress (ANC).
The Provincial Executive Committees (PECs) of the African National Congress (ANC) are the chief executive organs of the party's nine provincial branches. Comprising the so-called “Top Five”provincial officials and up to 30 additional elected members,each is structured similarly to the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) and is elected every four years at party provincial conferences.
Susan Comber van der Merwe is a South African politician who served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from April 2004 to November 2010. Before that,she was parliamentary counsellor to President Thabo Mbeki from January 2001 to April 2004. Formerly a Black Sash activist in the Cape Province,she represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from January 1996 until her resignation in October 2013.