Gwen Malegwale Ramokgopa is a South African politician who was elected the Treasurer-General of the governing
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
(ANC) in December 2022. She was formerly the Deputy
Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services.
Some governments have separate ministers for mental health.
Coun ...
under President
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-aparth ...
from October 2010 to May 2014.
A
medical doctor
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
by training, Ramokgopa began her political career in the
provincial government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
of
Gauteng
Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'.
Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
. She was the
Member of the Executive Council
In South Africa, the Executive Council of a province is the cabinet of the provincial government. The Executive Council consists of the Premier and five to ten other members,''Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996'', Chapter 6: "Pro ...
(MEC) for Health in Gauteng from 1999 to 2006 and again from 2017 to 2019. She was also the first female
Mayor of Tshwane
The Mayor of Tshwane is the head of the local government of Pretoria, South Africa; currently that government takes the form of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality
The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (also known as the City ...
from 2006 until 2010, when she was elevated to national office. At the same time, she was a member of the ANC
Provincial Executive Committee in Gauteng, serving as ANC Deputy
Provincial Chairperson to
Paul Mashatile
Paul Shipokosa Mashatile (born 21 October 1961) is a South African politician who is currently the Deputy President of the governing African National Congress (ANC). Before his election to that position in December 2022, he was ANC Treasurer Ge ...
(2010 to 2014) and then as ANC Deputy
Provincial Secretary to
Hope Papo
Hope Papo is a South African politician from the African National Congress. He is a member of the National Assembly of South Africa
The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, ...
(2014 to 2018). She was elected to the party's
National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties:
* National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa
* Australian Labor Party National Executive
* Nationa ...
for the first time
in 2017.
Early career and education
Ramokgopa was born and raised in
Atteridgeville
Atteridgeville is a township located to the west of Pretoria, South Africa. It is located to the east of Saulsville, to the west of West Park; to the north of Laudium and to the south of Lotus Gardens. The settlement was established in 1939, and ...
, a
township
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
outside
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
in what is now
Gauteng province
Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'.
Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only 1. ...
(then the
Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal.
* South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...
).
She qualified as a
medical doctor
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
in 1989 at the
Medical University of South Africa
Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) is a university in Pretoria North, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Its current incarnation was formed on 1 January 2015. Previously it was known as ''Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA)' ...
and worked as a medical officer at
Ga-Rankuwa
Ga-Rankuwa is a large settlement located about 37 km north-west of Pretoria. Provincially it is in Gauteng province, but it used to fall in Bophuthatswana during the apartheid years, and under the North West province until the early 2000s.
...
Hospital until 1992.
In subsequent years she held several positions in
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
,
and later, in 2007, she received a
Master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in public health.
Career in government
Health MEC: 1998–2006
In 1999, she was appointed
Member of the Executive Council
In South Africa, the Executive Council of a province is the cabinet of the provincial government. The Executive Council consists of the Premier and five to ten other members,''Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996'', Chapter 6: "Pro ...
(MEC) for Health in the Gauteng
provincial government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
of
Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa
Mbhazima Samuel (Sam) Shilowa, correct Tsonga spelling "Xilowa" (born 30 April 1958) is a South African politician. A former Premier of Gauteng province while a member of the African National Congress, Shilowa left the party to help form the op ...
,
with whom she was reported to be close.
In 2003, she caused mild controversy by insisting that the Ga-Rankuwa Hospital (where she previously worked) should be renamed after a local doctor and activist named George Mukhari; the opposition
Democratic Alliance claimed that Ramokgopa had not consulted the community about the decision and that she was motivated by her personal friendship with the Mukhari family.
She vacated the MEC position in 2006.
Tshwane Mayor: 2006–2010
In March 2006, pursuant to the
2006 local elections, Ramokgopa was elected the first female
Mayor of Tshwane
The Mayor of Tshwane is the head of the local government of Pretoria, South Africa; currently that government takes the form of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality
The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (also known as the City ...
, leading the
City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality
The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (also known as the City of Tshwane) () is the metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of northern Gauteng Province, South Africa. The Metropolitan area is centred on the city of Pr ...
.
While mayor she pursued a stubborn campaign to rebrand
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
– the administrative capital of South Africa and part of the Tshwane municipality – as Tshwane.
The ''
Daily Maverick
''Daily Maverick'' is a South African daily online publication and weekly print newspaper, with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Its readership is spread across South Africa and the world, with approximately 8 million readers per month. I ...
'' said she was "a disaster" as Mayor. She left the job in November 2010 and was replaced by her nephew,
Kgosientso "Sputla" Ramokgopa.
Deputy Minister of Health: 2010–2014
Ramokgopa left the mayoral office because President
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-aparth ...
, in a
cabinet reshuffle
A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parlia ...
on 31 October, had appointed her national Deputy
Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services.
Some governments have separate ministers for mental health.
Coun ...
under Minister
Aaron Motsoaledi
Pakishe Aaron Motsoaledi (born 7 August 1958, in Transvaal, now Limpopo) is the Minister of Home Affairs in the Cabinet of South Africa. He was previously the Minister of Health from 2009 to 2019. He was a MEC in Limpopo province for agriculture ...
. In May 2014, after the
2014 general election, she was replaced as Deputy Minister by
Joe Phaahla
Mathume Joseph Phaahla (born 11 July 1957) is a South African politician currently serving as Minister of Health in South Africa. He holds a medical degree and was previously the Deputy Minister of Health, Deputy Minister of Rural Development a ...
.
The following year, during the
#FeesMustFall student protests, she was appointed the
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of the
Tshwane University of Technology
Tshwane University of Technology (TUT; af, Tshwane-Universiteit vir Tegnologie) is a higher education institution in South Africa that came into being through a merger of three technikons — Technikon Northern Gauteng, Technikon North-West and ...
, a primarily ceremonial position; she remained Chancellor as of November 2021.
Health MEC: 2017–2019
In February 2017, Ramokgopa was returned to her earlier position as Gauteng MEC for Health, this time by Premier
David Makhura
Manemolla David Makhura (born 22 February 1968) is a South African politician. He served as the 6th Premier of Gauteng following his election in 2014 until his resignation in October 2022. He was also a member of the Member of the Gauteng Provin ...
. She succeeded
Qedani Mahlangu
Qedani Dorothy Mahlangu (born 12 May 1968) is a South African politician who served continuously in the Gauteng Executive Council from 2004 to 2017. She is best known for her tenure as Gauteng's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Health f ...
, who had resigned shortly after the
Life Esidimeni scandal broke.
Upon taking office, Ramokgopa promised of the tragedy that her department would "reflect on this experience, as difficult as it is, and find ways to restore the confidence of our people in our health system".
In the May
2019 general election she was not re-elected to a seat in the
Gauteng provincial legislature
The Gauteng Provincial Legislature is the legislature of the South African province of Gauteng. It is a unicameral body of 73 members elected every five years. The current legislature, the sixth, was elected on 8 May 2019 and has an African Natio ...
and she vacated her seat on the Executive Council.
Career in the ANC
Provincial Executive Committee: 2010–2018
In May 2010, while still Tshwane Mayor, Ramokgopa was elected Deputy
Provincial Chairperson of the ANC in Gauteng, deputising
Paul Mashatile
Paul Shipokosa Mashatile (born 21 October 1961) is a South African politician who is currently the Deputy President of the governing African National Congress (ANC). Before his election to that position in December 2022, he was ANC Treasurer Ge ...
. She beat Bafana Sibisi to be elected to the position, receiving 513 votes against Sibisi's 364, and was viewed as having run on an informal
slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
aligned to Mashatile.
At the party's next provincial elective conference in October 2014, she was elected ANC Deputy
Provincial Secretary, serving under
Hope Papo
Hope Papo is a South African politician from the African National Congress. He is a member of the National Assembly of South Africa
The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, ...
, and completed a four-year term in that office before she was succeeded by
Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko in 2018.
Secretary-General's office: 2022
At the ANC's
54th National Conference in December 2017, Ramokgopa was elected to the party's
National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties:
* National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa
* Australian Labor Party National Executive
* Nationa ...
(NEC). She was later
co-opted
Co-option (also co-optation, sometimes spelt coöption or coöptation) has two common meanings.
It may refer to the process of adding members to an elite group at the discretion of members of the body, usually to manage opposition and so maintai ...
onto the NEC's
National Working Committee
The PDP National Working Committee, also known by its acronym NWC, is the executive committee of the People's Democratic Party in Nigeria. The NWC is composed of 12 members, all of whom are elected to a four-year term at the party's National Conve ...
.
In 2022 she assumed additional duties at the ANC's headquarters at
Luthuli House
Chief Albert Luthuli House in Johannesburg, more simply known as Luthuli House, is the headquarters of the African National Congress (ANC) and other subsidiary organizations. The name "Luthuli House" is frequently used as a metonym
Metonymy () ...
: as ANC Secretary-General
Ace Magashule
Elias Sekgobelo "Ace" Magashule (born 3 November 1959) is a South African politician and former anti-apartheid activist who was Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC) until his suspension on 3 May 2021. He served as the Premier ...
was suspended and Deputy Secretary-General
Jessie Duarte
Yasmin "Jessie" Duarte (; 19 September 1953 – 17 July 2022) was a South African politician and acting secretary-general of the African National Congress. A longtime anti-apartheid activist, she served variously as a special assistant to Nels ...
was ill, she was recruited as a coordinator in the Secretary-General's office to assist acting Secretary-General Paul Mashatile (who was simultaneously fulfilling his main role as Treasurer-General).
Ramokgopa was generally described as a political ally of incumbent
national President
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
and ANC President
Cyril Ramaphosa
Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...
.
ANC Treasurer-General: 2022–
Ahead of the ANC's
55th National Conference, Ramokgopa was viewed as a likely candidate for the position of ANC Secretary-General.
In October 2022, she was listed as the preferred Treasurer-General on a slate of candidates endorsed and circulated by figures in the party's pro-Ramaphosa faction.
During the nominations phase, however, local party branches were not sufficiently supportive of her campaign for her to appear on the provisional ballot.
When the conference began in December 2022, Ramokgopa received two last-minute nominations from the floor of the conference. She declined a nomination to stand as Deputy Secretary-General,
but accepted a nomination to stand as Treasurer-General.
On 19 December, it was announced that she had won the election with 41.76% of the vote in a crowded race: she received 1,809 votes, compared with 1,652 to
Pule Mabe
Puleng Peter Mabe (born 19 March 1980) is a South African politician and a member of the African National Congress.
Mabe is the current national spokesperson for the African National Congress, the current ruling party of South Africa. Mabe succee ...
, 590 to
Bejani Chauke, and 281 to
Mzwandile Masina.
Personal life
She is married to Allen Lephoko, with whom she has three children.
References
External link
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramokgopa, Gwendoline
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
People from the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality
Mayors of Pretoria
Women mayors of places in South Africa
Members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature
Academic staff of Tshwane University of Technology
21st-century South African women politicians
21st-century South African politicians
Women members of provincial legislatures of South Africa