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Mervyn Dirks
Mervyn Alexander Dirks is a South African politician who served as a Member of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature from June 2023 until February 2024. A former member of the African National Congress, he previously served as a member of the National Assembly from May 2014 to January 2023. During his tenure in parliament, he was the ANC's chief whip in the Standing Committee on Public Accounts until his suspension in January 2022. Dirks was a municipal councillor of the Msunduzi Local Municipality where he served as the deputy mayor. Early life Dirks grew up in the previous Transkei bantustan. He had to use a passport to cross the Umzimkulu River to attend school in the former Natal Province. He soon completed matric. Political career Dirks began his political activism by participating in the Happy Valley rent boycotts. He joined the United Democratic Front in the 1980s and became the organisation's head organiser in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal. In 1995, Dirks was elec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Member Of The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature
The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is unicameral in its composition and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the leading party or coalition members in the parliament. Powers The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature chooses the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, the head of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive. The legislature can impel the Premier to resign by passing a motion of no confidence. Although the Premier appoints the members of the Executive Council (cabinet), the legislature may pass a motion of no confidence to force the Premier to reshuffle the Council. The legislature also designates the KwaZulu-Natal's delegates to the National Council of Provinces, allocating delegates to parties in proportion to the number of seats each party holds in the legislature. The legislature has the power to pass legislation in numerous fields set out in the national constitution; in some fields, the legis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mkhuleko Hlengwa
Mkhuleko Hlengwa (born 12 June 1987) is a South African politician who serves as a Member of the National Assembly for the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). He is the Chairperson of parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA). He became a Member of the National Assembly in February 2012 and has served on the SCOPA committee since 2014. Hlengwa was previously the National Chairperson of the IFP Youth Brigade. Life and career Hlengwa was born in Durban. His father, Mhlabunzima Hlengwa, served as an IFP MP from 1994 until 2004. He became a party activist at the young age of 10 in 1997 and soon became National Chairperson of the IFP Youth Brigade. He was sworn in as a Member of the National Assembly in May 2012 and consequently became one of the youngest parliamentarians. Following his re-election in May 2014, Hlengwa became a member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. In June 2019, the African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tozama Mantashe
Priscilla Tozama Mantashe (23 October 196031 January 2021) was a South African politician from the Eastern Cape. A member of South Africa's governing party, the African National Congress, she served as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa from 2014 until her death in 2021. She was the sister of Gwede Mantashe, the ANC's national chairperson and the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy. Background Mantashe was born on 23 October 1960. She was the sister of Gwede Mantashe, who is the national chairperson of the African National Congress and the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy. She served on the ANC's provincial executive committee in the Eastern Cape from 2010 to 2014. Mantashe was also the provincial chairperson of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union before she became the second vice president of the trade union responsible for international work. Parliamentary career In 2014, she stood for election to the South African National Assem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phumzile Van Damme
Phumzile Van Damme (born 20 July 1983) is a South African consultant and former Member of Parliament representing South Africa’s official opposition, the Democratic Alliance described by the United Nation’s Africa Renewal as a “Young MP with a mission.” She was first elected at the 2014 South African general election and re-elected in 2019. She served as a Whip in the National Assembly and was the Shadow Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Committee. On 20 May 2021, Van Damme resigned as a MP. She later revealed that she had resigned because the party had told her to stop criticising Facebook. “I could not do that and compromise my values so I resigned,” tweeted Van Damme. Van Damme works as an independent consultant on anti-misinformation and communications strategy and digital rights advocacy. In September 2021, she founded and coordinated South Africa’s first electoral disinformation monitoring and combatting project. Early life Van Damme was b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Finger
In Western culture, "the finger", or the middle finger (as in giving someone the (middle) finger, the bird or flipping someone off) is an obscene hand gesture. The gesture communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent in meaning to "fuck you", "fuck me", "shove it up your ass/arse", "up yours" or "go fuck yourself". It is performed by showing the back of a hand that has only the middle finger extended upwards, though in some locales, the thumb is extended. Extending the finger is considered a symbol of contempt in several cultures, especially in the Western world. Many cultures use similar gestures to display their disrespect, although others use it to express pointing without intentional disrespect. The gesture is usually used to express contempt but can also be used humorously or playfully. The gesture dates back to ancient Greece and it was also used in ancient Rome. Historically, it represented the phallus. In the early 1800s, it gained increasing r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UMkhonto We Sizwe (political Party)
, abbreviated as MK, and often referred to as the MK Party, is a nominally left-wing populist South African political party, founded in December 2023. The party is named after uMkhonto weSizwe (also shortened to MK), the paramilitary wing of the African National Congress (ANC) which was active during the apartheid regime in South Africa. However, the ANC has threatened legal action over the usage of the name, and the formation has been criticised by original MK veterans. The party rose to prominence in December 2023, when former president Jacob Zuma announced that, while planning to remain a lifelong member of the ANC, he would not be campaigning for the ANC in the 2024 South African general election, and would instead be voting for MK. He stated that "I cannot and will not" campaign for the ANC of current president Cyril Ramaphosa, Zuma's successor, and that to do so would be a "betrayal". On 21 May 2024, a week before the 2024 general election, the Constitutional Court ru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-apartheid activist, member of Umkhonto we Sizwe, and president of the African National Congress (ANC) between 2007 and 2017. Zuma was born in the rural region of Nkandla, which is now part of the KwaZulu-Natal province and the centre of Zuma's support base. He joined the ANC at the age of 17 in 1959, and spent ten years in Robben Island Prison as a political prisoner. He went into exile in 1975, and was ultimately appointed head of the ANC's intelligence department. After the ANC was unbanned in 1990, he quickly rose through the party's national leadership and became deputy secretary general in 1991, national chairperson in 1994, and deputy president in 1997. He was the deputy president of South Africa from 1999 to 2005 under President Thabo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kwazi Mshengu
Kwazikwenkosi Innocent Mshengu (born 10 November 1984) is a South African lawyer and African National Congress politician who served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Education in KwaZulu-Natal until 11 August 2022 when he was replaced with Mbali Frazer by the new KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube, and has also been a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature since May 2019. Mshengu is the provincial chairperson of the African National Congress Youth League. Early life and education Mshengu was born on 10 November 1984 in Mooi River in the former Natal Province. He attended farm schools in the area for his primary education. In 2001, he matriculated at Dabulamanzi Combined School. In 2002, Mshengu started university at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and graduated with a bachelor of laws (LLB) degree. He also obtained an honours degree in policy and development studies at the university. In 2017, Mshengu received a master of laws (LLM) degree, also from the un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casual Vacancy
In politics, a casual vacancy (''casual'' in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualification of the sitting member, or for other reasons. Casual vacancies have the effect of eliminating or reducing the representation for the member's constituency. Accordingly, many jurisdictions provide by law for the speedy filling of vacant seats. Casual vacancies can also occur in non-governmental assemblies, such as boards of directors and committees of voluntary organisations. Australia The methods used to fill casual vacancies vary between jurisdictions. On the federal level, casual vacancies in the Australian House of Representatives are filled using by-elections. Casual vacancies for the Australian Senate are required to be filled by someone of the same party as the departing senator, and a joint sitting of the departing senator ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KwaZulu-Natal Legislature
The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is unicameral in its composition and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the leading party or coalition members in the parliament. Powers The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature chooses the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, the head of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive. The legislature can impel the Premier to resign by passing a motion of no confidence. Although the Premier appoints the members of the Executive Council (cabinet), the legislature may pass a motion of no confidence to force the Premier to reshuffle the Council. The legislature also designates the KwaZulu-Natal's delegates to the National Council of Provinces, allocating delegates to parties in proportion to the number of seats each party holds in the legislature. The legislature has the power to pass legislation in numerous fields set out in the national constitution; in some fields, the legisl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tshilidzi Munyai
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. Biography Munyai holds a Bachelor of Administration (Honours) in Public Policy as well as a certificate in International Relations and Political Economy from the London School of Economics. A member of the African National Congress, he served as head of election research and as chair of the ideology, political education and training sub-committee at the Walter Sisulu Leadership Academy. Munyai has also served as the regional secretary of the ANC in the party's Ekurhuleni region in Gauteng. He is currently a member of the Provincial Executive Committee of the ANC in Gauteng. Parliamentary career He stood as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology or the will of their donors or constituents. Whips are the party's "enforcers". They try to ensure that their fellow political party legislators attend voting sessions and vote according to their party's official policy. Members who vote against party policy may "lose the whip", being effectively expelled from the party. The term is taken from the "whipper-in" during a hunt, who tries to prevent hounds from wandering away from a hunting pack. Additionally, the term "whip" may mean the voting instructions issued to legislators, or the status of a certain legislator in their party's parliamentary grouping. Etymology The expression ''whip'' in its parliamentary context, derived from its origins in hunting terminology. The ''Oxford English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
