Thandi Shongwe
MPL
Member of the Mpumalanga Executive Council for Culture, Sport and Recreation
Assumed office
24 February 2021
PremierRefilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane
Preceded byLindiwe Ntshalintshali
In office
March 2018 – 28 May 2019
PremierRefilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane
Preceded byNorah Mahlangu
Succeeded byLindiwe Ntshalintshali
Member of the Mpumalanga Executive Council for Social Development
In office
28 May 2019 – 24 February 2021
PremierRefilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane
Preceded byBusisiwe Shiba
Succeeded byLindiwe Ntshalintshali
Speaker of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature
In office
May 2014 – March 2018
PremierDavid Mabuza
Preceded byWilliam Lubisi
Succeeded byViolet Siwela
Personal details
BornBarberton, Transvaal
South Africa
Political partyAfrican 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).

Early life and career

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]

Career in the legislature

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]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Former MEC Profile". Mpumalanga Department of Social Development. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Blessing Thandi Shongwe". People's Assembly. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  3. ↑ Yende, Sizwe sama (22 August 2018). "Senior Mpumalanga officials face R30m tender corruption charges". City Press. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  4. ↑ Import, Pongrass (23 March 2018). "Premier Refilwe Mtsweni reshuffles cabinet". Lowvelder. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  5. ↑ "Mpumalanga premier Refilwe Mtsweni announces 'mixed bag' cabinet". Sowetan. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  6. ↑ "Mpumalanga premier removes Mabuza loyalists from her cabinet". The Mail & Guardian. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  7. ↑ Ndlovu, Siyanda (24 February 2021). "Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane reshuffles Provincial Cabinet fire four members". The Citizen. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
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