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
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 who served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Education in the Free State from 2023 until 2024. 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 was 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 served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Sport,Arts,Culture and Recreation in the Free State from 2019 until 2024. A member of the African National Congress,she previously served as the MEC for Economic,Small Business Development,Tourism &Environmental Affairs from 2018 until 2019 and before that,as the MEC for Social Development from 2016 to 2018.
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.
Nakedi Sibanda-Kekana is a South African politician who is currently serving as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Sports,Arts and Culture in the Limpopo provincial government. She was appointed to that position in October 2022,shortly after she was elected Provincial Treasurer of the Limpopo branch of her political party,the African National Congress (ANC). She was first elected as a Member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature in the 2019 general election and before that was Mayor of Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality from August 2016 until December 2018,when the ANC asked her to resign during the corruption scandal at VBS Mutual Bank.
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 May 2024 by Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae 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 served as the speaker of the Free State Provincial Legislature since June 2024. He was elected Provincial Chairperson of the Free State branch of his political party,the African National Congress (ANC),in January 2023. He was the seventh Premier of the Free State from February 2023 until June 2024. 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).
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.
Moses Ketso “Toto”Makume is a South African politician who has been a Member of the Free State Executive Council for Finance,Tourism and Economic Development since 2024 and a Member of the Free State Provincial Legislature since March 2023. He was previously the Free State MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements from 2023 until 2024. Makume was elected as the Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the African National Congress in January 2023.
Nokwanje Selina "Mathabo" Leeto is a South African politician who was elected to the Free State Provincial Legislature in the 2014 general election. She was appointed as the Member of the Executive Council for Sports,Arts,Culture and Recreation. Leeto left the provincial legislature at the 2019 general election. She was elected provincial treasurer of the African National Congress in January 2023 and returned to the Provincial Legislature in March 2023. She was then appointed as the MEC for Health. Following the 2024 general election,Leeto took over as the MEC for Social Development.
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.
