Olly Mlamleli Councillor | |
---|---|
Mayor of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality | |
In office 18 August 2016 –14 August 2020 | |
Deputy | Lebohang Masoetsa |
Preceded by | Thabo Manyoni |
Succeeded by | Lebohang Masoetsa (acting) Mxolisi Siyonzana |
Free State MEC for Cooperative Governance,Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements | |
In office February 2012 –18 August 2016 | |
Premier | Ace Magashule |
Preceded by | Mamiki Qabathe |
Succeeded by | Limakatso Mahasa [1] |
Personal details | |
Nationality | South African |
Political party | African National Congress |
Profession | Educator Politician |
Sarah Matawana "Olly" Mlamleli (born 1957) 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. [2]
Mlamleli was born in 1957 in Viljoenskroon in the Orange Free State Province. She studied at the Mphohadi College where she obtained a teaching degree in 1976. She proceeded to work as a teacher and was later appointed a school principal. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts,a Bachelors in Education and a master's degree in education focusing on the education models of the United States and Japan. In 1996,she was employed as a manager in the Free State Department of Education. She was selected as a director in the Office on the Status of Women in 2001. Premier Beatrice Marshoff appointed her as a coordinator of the Municipal Infrastructure Grants. [3]
Mlamleli was elected as a Member of the Free State Provincial Legislature in 2009. [4] The legislature designated her as the chairperson of the corporate governance,traditional affairs and human settlements portfolio committee. In 2012,premier Ace Magashule appointed her as the MEC for that specific portfolio,succeeding Mamiki Qabathe. [5] She remained in the position following the 2014 general election. [6]
Mlamleli has served as the African National Congress Women's League provincial chairperson. She is described as someone who is aligned to ANC secretary-general and former premier Magashule. [7]
Mlamleli was selected as the ANC's mayoral candidate for the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality. [8] The ANC retained their majority in council in the August 2016 municipal election. Consequently,she was elected mayor when the council reconvened on 18 August. [9] She became the city's first female mayor. [10] An inauguration ceremony was held for her in September. [11] Mlamleli was appointed SALGA provincial chairperson in November 2016. [12]
During her mayoralty,the rating agency Moody's downgraded the municipality to B3 in August 2019,citing that the municipality's service delivery could collapse if there was no immediate intervention. [13] It was downgraded again to Caa1 in January 2020 over concerns of poor liquidity. [14] The regional ANC called for removal, [15] yet the provincial structure defended her. [16]
The provincial government placed the municipality under administration in December 2019. [17] Mlamleli had survived two motions of no-confidence. [18] On 7 August 2020,a third one was held,wherein opposition parties claimed that she had been removed. [19] The result was initially delayed due to a lack of quorum. [20] The speaker Mxolisi Ashford announced on 14 August that 31 councillors voted for the motion,28 against,while 9 spoilt their ballots,effectively removing Mlamleli as mayor. Lebohang Masoetsa is now the acting mayor until the council meets to elect new leadership. [21]
On 30 September 2020,members of South Africa's Hawks police unit arrested Mlamleli on criminal charges stemming from a controversial asbestos contract which was made during her time with the MEC and taken into custody at the Bainsvlei police station. [2] Other co-defendants of Mlameli would be arrested as well. [22] All seven people charged in the asbestos corruption case,including Mlamleli,were granted bail. [23]
The Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality which governs Bloemfontein and surrounding towns in the Free State province of South Africa. Mangaung is a Sesotho word meaning "place of cheetahs",as it was not uncommon for the Basotho to name warrior regiments after ferocious animals.
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.
Elias Sekgobelo "Ace" Magashule is a South African politician and former anti-apartheid activist who served as the Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC),South Africa's governing party,between December 2017 and his suspension on 3 May 2021. He served as the Premier of the Free State,one of South Africa's nine provinces,from 2009 until 2018,and was known to be influential in the ANC of his home province.
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.
Elizabeth Cornelia "Elzabe" Rockman is a South African African National Congress politician who has the been the Member of the Executive Council for Agriculture,Rural Development and Environmental Affairs since 2024. She was the Member of the Free State Executive Council for Finance during the premierships of Ace Magashule and Sisi Ntombela. She was first appointed to the post in March 2013 and left office in May 2019. She was also a Member of the Free State Provincial Legislature during that time. From 2010 to 2013,she was the Director-General of the Free State Provincial Government. In October 2019,she testified at the Zondo Commission.
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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.
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.
Mxolisi Siyonzana is a South African politician who served as the Executive Mayor of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality in the Free State Province from 16 August 2021 until 6 March 2023. He replaced Olly Mlamleli,who was removed in a motion of no confidence back in August 2020. Siyonzana is a member of the African National Congress and the former speaker of the metropolitan municipality. He has been described as an ally of former Free State premier and current suspended ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule.
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).
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.
Thabo Manyoni is a South African politician who was the Mayor of Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality from 2011 to 2016. He represented his party,the African National Congress (ANC),in the Free State Executive Council from 2009 to 2011 and in the National Assembly from 2016 to 2017. He was Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the ANC's Free State branch from 2008 to 2017. He was also Chairperson of the South African Local Government Association from 2011 to 2016 and in 2019 he was appointed to a five-year term as Chairperson of South Africa's Municipal Demarcation Board.
Motshidisi Agnes Koloi,also spelled Motshidise,is a South African politician and educator who served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Social Development in the Free State provincial government between March and October 2023. Before that,she was MEC for Public Works and Human Settlements from May 2019 until March 2023. She served in the Free State Provincial Legislature as an ANC representative from May 2019 until October 2023. Prior to her election to the Provincial Legislature,Koloi had served as the executive mayor of the Moqhaka Local Municipality.
Motlagomang Grazy "Mamiki" Qabathe is a South African politician from the Free State. She represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the Free State Provincial Legislature between January 2008 and May 2024. During that time she served in the Executive Council of the Free State continuously between 2008 and 2023,excepting a term as Speaker of the Free State Provincial Legislature from 2015 to 2019.
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Mlamleli is an ANC Women's League provincial chairperson and Magashule's staunch supporter.