Nkenke Kekana | |
---|---|
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communications | |
In office 16 August 1999 –2003 | |
Preceded by | S. E. Moeti |
Succeeded by | Mpetjane Lekgoro |
Member of the National Assembly | |
In office 1994–2003 | |
President | |
Personal details | |
Born | Nkenke Nathaniel Kekana April 20, 1962 |
Citizenship | South Africa |
Political party | African National Congress |
Alma mater | University of South Africa |
Nicknames |
|
Nkenke Nathaniel "Nat" Kekana (born 20 April 1962) is a South African politician and businessman. He is a former Member of Parliament.
Formerly an anti-apartheid activist in Alexandra, he represented the African National Congress (ANC) as a Member of the National Assembly from 1994 to 2003 and was a longstanding member of the Provincial Executive Committee of the ANC in Gauteng. He was elected to two consecutive five-year terms on the ANC National Executive Committee in 2017 and 2022 and was the committee's head of communications from 2018 to 2022. He is also known for his ties to ANC Deputy President Paul Mashatile.
Kekana was born on 20 April 1962. [1] In the 1980s, he was active in anti-apartheid politics in the township of Alexandra in the Transvaal, now part of Gauteng province; [2] [3] he was a founding member of the South African Youth Congress in 1987 and belonged to the organisation's national executive. [4] Also in the 1980s, he studied computer programming, [5] and in later years he completed a postgraduate diploma in telecommunications policy from the University of South Africa. [4] [5]
In the anti-apartheid movement of Alexandra, Kekana worked with Paul Mashatile, Mike Maile, Bridgman Sithole, and others. [2] In post-apartheid Gauteng, members of this group rose to influential positions in business and politics and were generally seen as politically aligned to Mashatile, a one-time Premier of Gauteng; the media labelled them the "Alex mafia". [2] [3] [6]
Kekana was elected as a Member of Parliament in South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994. [7] [5] [8] He was re-elected to the seat in 1999 and in August 1999 he was elected Chairperson of the National Assembly's Portfolio Committee on Communications. [9] Ferial Haffajee labelled him "a leading light in the parliamentary caucus". [10] Nkenke was a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and a member of the National Executive Committee of the ANC Youth League. [4] During the same period, Kekana launched his business career. In 1996 he launched an information technology firm, Business Connexion Solution, with twin brothers Benjamin and Isaac Mophatlane. The company merged with Comparex Africa in 2003 and was subsequently listed as Business Connexion (BCX). [5]
Although Kekana's term in Parliament was not due to end until the 2004 general election, he announced in April 2003 that he would resign his seat in order to join Telkom, where he replaced Victor Moche as group executive for regulatory affairs and public policy. [10] [7] [11] The Communications Users Association of South Africa expressed concern that, because of Kekana's political connections, his appointment would stifle competition in the telecommunications industry. [7] He resigned from Telkom at the end of June 2005 in order to "pursue other career opportunities". [8]
Upon leaving Telkom, Kekana established Mowana 5 Mile, a consortium formed with the Mophatlane twins and others to bid on black economic empowerment (BEE) deals. Mowana was shortlisted for a major R7.5 billion BEE transaction with Vodacom but, following a prolonged and politically charged bidding process, lost out to Thebe Investments and Royal Bafokeng Holdings in 2008. [5] [12] [13] Also in 2005, Kekana – with his former comrades Paul Mashatile, Mike Maile, and Bridgman Sithole – launched an investment vehicle called Dibata Bata Investments. [3]
Business Connexion remained among Kekana's most significant projects: it was subject to a failed takeover bid by Telkom in 2007 and by 2008 it was one of the largest information technology firms in South Africa, with 4,500 employees and revenues just below R4 billion. [5] It received several lucrative tenders from the Gauteng provincial government through the Gauteng Shared Services Centre. [2] As of 2008, Kekana (still in partnership with the Mophatlane brothers) was a director and major shareholder of Galdex Holdings, which owned 25.1% of Business Connexion. [5]
At the same time, by 2007, Kekana was Deputy Chairperson of the Gauteng Film Commission, which reported to the government office of Paul Mashatile, Kekana's business partner and by then a Member of the Executive Council in Gauteng. [3] Kekana was also a member of the Provincial Executive Committee of the ANC in Gauteng [5] [14] [15] and for a period was its spokesperson. [16] By 2017, Kekana was the head of communications for the Gauteng ANC. [17] [18]
Kekana left his post in the Gauteng ANC pursuant to the ANC's 54th National Conference in December 2017, when he was elected for the first time to the ANC National Executive Committee; by number of votes received, he was ranked 41st of the 80 candidates elected to the committee. [19] He was also appointed as the head of the National Executive Committee's subcommittee on information and publicity (communications), a full-time role based out of the party's headquarters at Luthuli House in Johannesburg. [20]
In the run-up to the ANC's 55th National Conference in December 2022, Kekana was identified as a key ally and lobbyist for Paul Mashatile, who ran successfully for election as ANC Deputy President. [21] Sources told the Sunday Independent that Kekana's role became an obstacle to cooperation between the Mashatile campaign and the presidential campaign of Zweli Mkhize: Kekana was reportedly an associate of Mdumiseni Ntuli, who was running for the ANC Secretary-General position, but Mkhize's backers in KwaZulu-Natal preferred Phumulo Masualle to Ntuli. [22] At the conference, Kekana was re-elected to another term on the National Executive Committee; he was ranked 57th of the 80 elected candidates by popularity, receiving the support of 1,158 (28.7%) of the 4,029 delegates who voted in the election. [23]
Kekana is married. [24]
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African National Congress (ANC) is the political party's highest decision-making body in between its party conferences. It serves as the primary executive organ responsible for leading and governing the ANC, directing the party’s policies, strategies, and overall operations. The NEC is elected every five years at the ANC’s National Conference and consists of 87 members, including the party's top officials, such as the president of the ANC, deputy president, chairperson, secretary-general, two deputy secretaries-general, and treasurer-general.
Gwen Malegwale Ramokgopa is a South African politician who was elected the Treasurer-General of the governing African National Congress (ANC) in December 2022. She was formerly the Deputy Minister of Health under President Jacob Zuma from October 2010 to May 2014.
Paulus Shipokosa Mashatile is a South African politician who is the 9th Deputy President of South Africa. He became Deputy President of the governing African National Congress (ANC) in December 2022. Before his election to that position, he was ANC Treasurer-General from December 2017 and acting ANC Secretary-General from January 2022.
Nomvula Paula Mokonyane is a South African politician who is currently the First Deputy Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC). She was the first female Premier of Gauteng from 2009 to 2014 and subsequently served in the national government as Minister of Water and Sanitation from 2014 to 2018, Minister of Communications in 2018, and Minister of Environmental Affairs from 2018 to 2019.
Mathole Serofo Motshekga is a retired South African politician and lawyer. He represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly of South Africa between May 2009 and May 2024, during which time he was the Chief Whip of the Majority Party from 2009 to 2013. Before that, he was the second Premier of Gauteng from 1998 to 1999.
Lindiwe Daphney Zulu is a South African politician and communications strategist who served as Minister of Social Development from May 2019 to May 2024. Before that she was the Minister of Small Business Development from 2014 to 2019. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), she has served on the party's National Executive Committee since December 2007.
Kopeng Obed Bapela is a South African politician who is currently serving as the Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises since 6 March 2023. Before that, he was Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs from 2014 to 2023. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), he has been a member of the National Assembly since 2002 and a deputy minister since 2010.
Pinky Sharon Kekana is a South African politician from Limpopo who is currently the Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), she has served in the National Assembly of South Africa since May 2014 and in the national executive since February 2018.
Mondli Gungubele is a South African politician and trade unionist who is the current Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies and a member of the National Assembly of South Africa for the African National Congress. He previously served as Executive Mayor of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (2010–2016), as Deputy Minister of Finance (2018–2019), as Chairperson of the Social Development Committee (2019–2021) and as Minister in the Presidency (2021–2023).
Mathume Joseph Phaahla is a South African politician who served as the Minister of Health from August 2021 until the elections of 29 May 2024. He was formerly the Deputy Minister of Health from May 2014 to August 2021, and on 30 June 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa reappointed back to Deputy Minister of Health. He had been a deputy minister since May 2009, when he joined the National Assembly. He is also a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress (ANC).
Ntombi Lentheng Mekgwe is a South African politician who was Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature from 2014 until 2024. Before that, she was a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) in the Gauteng provincial government from 2010 to 2014 and the third Mayor of Ekurhuleni from 2008 to 2010. She is a member of the African National Congress (ANC).
Tshilidzi Bethuel Munyai is a South African politician who was elected as an African National Congress Member of the National Assembly of South Africa in 2019. In August 2021, Munyai served as the acting chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Health. He resigned from Parliament in January 2023 and was subsequently sworn in as a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.
The 55th National Conference of the African National Congress (ANC) was a party conference of the African National Congress, a political party in South Africa, that took place from 16 to 20 December 2022, at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec, Gauteng. Attended by 4,426 voting delegates, the conference elected the party's 87-member National Executive Committee, including the top officials – for the first time referred to as the "Top Seven," rather than the "Top Six," following an amendment to the party's constitution to introduce a second deputy secretary-general position. Delegates also adopted resolutions on governance and policy, informed by the outcomes of the ANC's 6th National Policy Conference held in July 2022.
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.
Fébé Potgieter-Gqubule is a politician from Eastern Cape, South Africa. She has held various positions in public entities and in her political party, the African National Congress (ANC).
Lindiwe Michelle Maseko is a South African politician who was appointed South African Ambassador to Venezuela in July 2022. She previously served as a Member of the National Assembly from 2014 to 2019 and as a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature from 1994 to 2014; she was Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature from 2009 to 2014. She is a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and was Provincial Treasurer of the ANC in Gauteng from 2001 to 2010.
Kgosientsho David "Sputla" Ramokgopa is a South African politician who was the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity from 2023, and the Minister of Electricity and Energy from 3 July 2024. He was the Mayor of Tshwane from 2010 to 2016. He was also a Member of the Executive Council in the Gauteng provincial government in 2019 and worked in the Presidency of South Africa as head of infrastructure from 2019 to 2023.
Humphrey Mmemezi is a South African politician and civil servant who has served as a Member of the National Assembly from March 2023. He previously served in the National Assembly between 2014 and 2019 and served as Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works from 2017. He was formerly a Member of the Executive Council for Local Government and Housing in the Gauteng provincial government from 2010 to 2012. He resigned from the provincial government in July 2012 when he was found guilty of contravening the legislature's code of conduct and ethics, including in using his government credit card for personal expenses.
Firoz Cachalia is a South African lawyer and politician who was a Member of the Gauteng Executive Council from 2004 to 2010. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist in the Transvaal, he first joined the Gauteng Provincial Legislature in 1994, representing the African National Congress, and he served as Speaker of the provincial legislature from 1999 to 2004. After he left the provincial government he was appointed as a law professor at Wits University and, from 2022, as the chairperson of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council.