Thandi Shongwe | |
---|---|
Member of the Mpumalanga Executive Council for Culture, Sport and Recreation | |
Assumed office 24 February 2021 | |
Premier | Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane |
Preceded by | Lindiwe Ntshalintshali |
In office March 2018 –28 May 2019 | |
Premier | Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane |
Preceded by | Norah Mahlangu |
Succeeded by | Lindiwe Ntshalintshali |
Member of the Mpumalanga Executive Council for Social Development | |
In office 28 May 2019 –24 February 2021 | |
Premier | Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane |
Preceded by | Busisiwe Shiba |
Succeeded by | Lindiwe Ntshalintshali |
Speaker of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature | |
In office May 2014 –March 2018 | |
Premier | David Mabuza |
Preceded by | William Lubisi |
Succeeded by | Violet Siwela |
Personal details | |
Born | Barberton,Transvaal South Africa |
Political party | African National Congress |
Blessing Thandi Shongwe (born 28 February 1962) is a South African politician who is currently serving as Mpumalanga's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Culture,Sport and Recreation. She formerly served as Speaker of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature from 2014 until March 2018,when she was first appointed to the Mpumalanga Executive Council. She is a member of the African National Congress (ANC).
Shongwe was born on 28 February 1962 in Barberton in the Transvaal,now part of Mpumalanga province. [1] She trained as a teacher. While working as a teacher and then as a headmaster at primary schools in Mpumalanga,she was active in the ANC's Ehlanzeni regional branch,in the ANC Women's League,and in the South African Democratic Teachers Union. [1] From 2000 to 2006,she was an ANC local councillor in Ehlanzeni and served as the Member of the Mayoral Committee responsible for finance and community safety. [1]
In 2009,she was elected to a seat in the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature,and she subsequently served Deputy Chief Whip of the Majority Party,the ANC,from 2010 to 2014. [1] In the 2014 general election,she was re-elected to the provincial legislature,ranked seventh on the ANC's party list,and was elected Speaker of the legislature. [2] [1] In 2018,the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters laid a complaint against Shongwe with the South African Police Service,alleging that as Speaker Shongwe had contravened the Public Finance Management Act in failing to ensure accountability after the Auditor-General found that two provincial government contracts had been improperly awarded. [3]
Shongwe left the Speaker's office in March 2018 when Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane was sworn in as Premier of Mpumalanga and appointed Shongwe to her Executive Council as MEC for Culture,Sport and Recreation. [4] In the 2019 general election,Shongwe was re-elected to the provincial legislature,ranked 11th on the ANC's party list, [2] and Mtsweni-Tsipane moved her to a new portfolio as MEC for Social Development. [5] She remained in that position until February 2021,when Mtsweni-Tsipane announced a reshuffle which saw Shongwe swop portfolios with Lindiwe Ntshalintshali and return to her earlier post as MEC for Culture,Sport and Recreation. [6] [7]
Refilwe Maria Tsipane,known as Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane,is a South African politician and a party member of the African National Congress (ANC),who has been serving as the 5th Premier of Mpumalanga since 20 March 2018. She succeeded former Premier David Mabuza after he was appointed Deputy President of South Africa. Mtsweni-Tsipane is also a Member of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature and previously served as the MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
Vusumuzi Robert Shongwe is a South African politician who is currently serving in the provincial legislature and Executive Council in Mpumalanga province. Between September and November 2015,Shongwe served as acting Premier of Mpumalanga while Premier David Mabuza was on sick leave. He is a member of the African National Congress and was formerly treasurer of the party's provincial executive committee in Mpumalanga,previously the chairperson of the ANC in the Gert Sibande region.
Leonah Lindiwe Ntshalintshali is a South African politician who is currently Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Social Development in the provincial government of Mpumalanga. She was previously MEC for Arts,Sports,Culture and Recreation from 2019 to 2021 and Mayor of Witbank's Emalahleni Local Municipality from 2015 to 2018.
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