John Fikile Block (born 10 February 1968) was the Provincial Chairman of the

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 ...

in the Northern Cape Province,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, and was a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism in the Northern Cape Provincial Government. Block was found guilty of fraud, corruption and money laundering by the Northern Cape High Court in 2015. In December 2016 he was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment.

Political career

Block was Chairman of the

African National Congress Youth League The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) is the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC). As set out in its constitution, the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee (NEC) and a National Working Committee (NW ...

Upington Upington ( Nama: //Khara hais) is a town founded in 1873 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River. The town was originally called Olijvenhoutsdrift ('Olive wood drift'), due to the abundance of ...

Branch, from 1991 to 1992. Block became a Member Provincial Legislature in the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature in 1994. In 1999 he was appointed Member of Executive Council (MEC) for Transport, Roads and Public Works in the province, in which capacity he served until 2004 when he became MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism. On 14 October 2015, Block was found guilty of fraud, corruption and money laundering by the Northern Cape High Court. He subsequently resigned as Northern Cape African National Congress Chairman and MEC on 16 October 2015. The case against him stems from his relationship with Christo Scholtz, CEO of property company Trifecta Holdings, which Block was found to have assisted to lease properties to the Northern Cape Provincial Government at inflated costs and to have received kickbacks in return.'Court grants John Block leave to appeal' Diamond Fields Advertiser, 10 March 2017 https://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/court-grants-john-block-leave-to-appeal-8129229Former Northern Cape ANC chair John Block gets 15 years in jail, News24 16 Dec 2016, https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/former-northern-cape-anc-chair-john-block-gets-15-years-in-jail-20161206 On 10 March 2017 Block was granted leave to appeal the against his conviction but not against the sentence. He was succeeded by

Zamani Saul Zamani Saul (born 7 March 1972) is a South African politician who is the 5th and current Premier of the Northern Cape and a Member of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature. He has also been serving as the Provincial Chairperson of the Africa ...

as ANC Provincial Chairperson.

References

Living people People from Upington African National Congress politicians 1968 births Members of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature {{NorthernCape-politician-stub