Sello Lehari | |
|---|---|
| Member of the North West Executive Council for Health | |
| Assumed office 21 June 2024 | |
| Premier | Lazarus Mokgosi |
| Preceded by | Madoda Sambatha |
| Member of the North West Executive Council for Community Safety and Transport Management | |
| In office 28 May 2019 –14 June 2024 | |
| Premier | |
| Preceded by | Mpho Motlhabane |
| Member of the North West Executive Council for Education and Sport Development | |
| In office May 2016 –28 May 2019 | |
| Premier |
|
| Preceded by | Wendy Matsemela |
| Succeeded by | Wendy Matsemela (for Education) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 February 1969 |
| Citizenship | South Africa |
| Political party | African National Congress |
Jonas Sello Lehari (born 22 February 1969) is a South African politician who is currently serving as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Health in the North West. He formerly served as MEC for Community Safety and transport Management from May 2019 until June 2024,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).
Lehari was born on 22 February and grew up in Moeka,a village near Moretele in present-day North West province. [1] His father was Amos Lehari (died August 2022). [2] By 2015,Lehari was the Mayor of Moretele Local Municipality and the Regional Chairperson of the ANC's branch in Bojanala. [3]
In February 2015,at an ANC elective conference in Mahikeng,he was elected as Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the ANC's North West branch,serving under Supra Mahumapelo. China Dodovu had been expected to contest the position,on an opposing slate of candidates aligned to Mahumapelo's rival Nono Maloyi,but Lehari was ultimately elected unopposed. [3] The Mail &Guardian said that Lehari was viewed as a close political ally of Mahumapelo,and critics accused Lehari of interfering improperly in the ANC's process for selecting election candidates ahead of the 2016 local government elections,an accusation denied by Lehari. [4]
On 8 May 2016,Mahumapelo,in his capacity as Premier of the North West,announced a cabinet reshuffle in which Lehari was appointed MEC for Education and Sport Development. [5] He remained in that position throughout the rest of Mahumapelo's term in office and into the term of Premier Job Mokgoro. [6] In 2017,his house in Moeka was burned down when a protest about access to clean water turned violent. [7] [8]
Lehari's term as ANC Deputy Provincial Chairperson ended prematurely in 2018 when the ANC National Executive Committee disbanded the entire leadership corps of the provincial party. [9] By that time,he was viewed as a likely contender to succeed Mahumapelo as ANC Provincial Chairperson. [10] [11]
In the 2019 general election,Lehari was ranked fifth on the ANC's provincial party list and was elected to a seat in the North West Provincial Legislature. [12] Pursuant to the election,on 28 May 2019,Premier Mokgoro announced his new Executive Council,in which Lehari was moved to the Community Safety and Transport Management portfolio. [13] [14] In August 2022 in Rustenberg,he was elected Provincial Treasurer of the North West ANC,serving under new Provincial Chairperson Nono Maloyi,whose candidacy was endorsed by Mahumapelo. [15] [16] Lehari won in a vote against Lenah Miga,earning 380 votes to Miga's 280. [17]
Former North West Education MEC Sello Lehari’s successor was instructed to apologize for Lehari's conduct after Lehari was found to have falsely accused teacher Elana Barkhuizen of racism. [18]
Sambatha was appointed as the MEC for Health following the 2024 general election. [19]
Madoda Sambatha is a South African politician serving as the North West MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development since 2024. 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 and the MEC for Health from 2018 until 2024. Sambatha is also the provincial secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP).
Boitumelo Theodora Moiloa is a South African politician from the North West who served as the MEC for Social Development from May 2019 until May 2024. She was sworn in as a Member of the North West Provincial Legislature in August 2013. Moiloa is a member of both the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party.
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.
Kaobitsa Abel Bushy Maape is a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist who served as the 7th Premier of the North West and as member of the North West Provincial Legislature from September 2021 until May 2024. Maape is a member of the African National Congress and a former Robben Island prisoner.
Motlalepula Ziphora Rosho is a South African politician. A member of the African National Congress,she was elected deputy speaker of the North West Provincial Legislature in 2010. In 2012 she was appointed as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Economic Development,Environment,Conservation and Tourism in the North West Provincial Government. Rosho was discharged from the executive council in 2014 and then served in the provincial legislature as a committee chairperson until December 2018,when she returned to the executive as MEC for Local Government and Human Settlement. Rosho was appointed as MEC for Finance after the 2019 elections. After the 2024 election,she became the chief whip of the house in the legislature.
Patrick Dumile Nono Maloyi is a South African politician who served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Human Settlement,Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in the North West province from November 2022 until June 2024. 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.
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 June 2024 by Lazarus Mokgosi of the African National Congress (ANC).
Thamsanqa Simon 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.
Sebonta Desbo Mohono is a South African politician who is currently serving as the speaker of the North West Provincial Legislature. Since 2009,she has served continuously in the North West Provincial Legislature and the Executive Council of the North West,including as MEC for Tourism from 2014 to 2018 and as the MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development from December 2018 until June 2024.
Nomtsama Lenah Miga is a South African politician who served as a Member of the North West Provincial Legislature from September 2020 until May 2024. From January 2024 until May 2024,she served as the deputy speaker of the provincial legislature. She was formerly the North West's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Cooperative Governance,Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs from August 2021 until November 2022,when she was fired by Bushy Maape.
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.
Gaoage Oageng Saliva Molapisi,sometimes also known as Oagile Saliva Molapisi,is a South African politician who is currently serving as the North West's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Cooperative Governance,Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs since June 2024. He previously served as MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management from 2014 to 2016,before spending two years as an ordinary Member of the North West Provincial Legislature from 2016 to 2018. In December 2018,he returned to the Executive Council as the MEC for Public Works and Roads He is a member of the African National Congress (ANC).
Keobiditse Evelyn "Bitsa" Lenkopane is a South African politician who has represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the North West Provincial Legislature since 2019. She was formerly the Mayor of Kagisano–Molopo Local Municipality until she was removed by a motion of no confidence in July 2018.
Ontlametse Regina Mochware is a South African politician who served as the North West's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Culture,Arts and Traditional Affairs from May 2016 to May 2019. She represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the North West Provincial Legislature from January 2016 until May 2019.
Kgakgamatso Jeanette Nkewu,also known as Kgakgamatso Morwagaswe,was a South African politician who served as the North West's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Social Development from May 2016 until her death in July 2016. She also served as Provincial Treasurer of the ANC's North West branch from February 2015 until her death. A member of the African National Congress (ANC),she was formerly a local councillor in Greater Taung Local Municipality.
Galaletsang Fenny Gaolaolwe,formerly known as Fenny Motladiile,is a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the North West Provincial Legislature until May 2019,when she failed to gain re-election to her seat. Between 2014 and 2019,she served in the North West Executive Council under Premiers Supra Mahumapelo and Job Mokgoro:she served as the North West's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Social Development from 2014 to 2016 and 2018 to 2019 and as MEC for Local Government and Human Settlement from 2016 to 2018.
Goatlhotsemang Hoffman Galeng is a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the North West Provincial Legislature until 2019. He served as the North West's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Social Development from November 2017 to December 2018.
Mokgantshang Nicholas "Mpho" Motlhabane is a South African politician who served as the North West's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Community Safety and Transport Management from May 2016 until May 2019,when he failed to gain re-election to the North West Provincial Legislature. He is a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and of the South African Communist Party (SACP).
Magome Albanos Masike is a South African politician and businessman who served as the North West's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Health from November 2010 to December 2018,becoming the province's longest-serving Health MEC. He was fired from the Executive Council by Job Mokgoro and did not seek re-election to the North West Provincial Legislature in 2019. He is a member of the African National Congress (ANC).