Mavhungu Maureen Lerule-Ramakhanya is a South African politician. A member 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 ...

, Lerule-Ramakhanya is a former mayor of the

Vhembe District Municipality Vhembe is one of the 5 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa. It is the northernmost district of the country and shares its northern border with Beitbridge district in Zimbabwe and on the east with Gaza Province in Mozambique. Vhembe co ...

. She was elected as a Member of the

Limpopo Provincial Legislature The Limpopo Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Limpopo. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet, the Limpopo Executive Council, from among the ...

in May 2019. She was then elected as the speaker of the legislature. In March 2020, Lerule-Ramakhanya was appointed as 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 Transport and Community Safety. She was moved to the Education portfolio of the executive council in June 2022.

Political career

Lerule-Ramakhanya is a long-standing member the

. She took office as mayor of the

Makhado Local Municipality Makhado Local Municipality is located in the Vhembe District Municipality of Limpopo province, South Africa. The seat of Makhado Local Municipality Louis Trichardt. Main places The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main pla ...

on 1 December 2008, succeeding Glory Mashaba. In April 2012, the ANC provincial executive committee resolved to remove three mayors. The party reasoned that poor service delivery was behind its decision. Lerule-Ramakhanya was one of the three and she stepped down as mayor on 22 April. Farisani Mutavhatsindi was appointed as her successor. On 14 December 2018, Lerule-Ramakhanya was elected mayor of the

. She succeeded

Florence Radzilani Fulufhelo Florence Radzilani (; born 21 April 1971) is a South African politician who is currently serving as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Transport and Community Safety in Limpopo province. She was formerly the executive mayor of ...

, who resigned following her involvement in the VBS Mutual Bank controversy. She was sworn in by High Court Judge Frans Kgomo on the same day. For the provincial election that was held on 8 May 2019, Lerule-Ramakhanya was placed 13th on the party's provincial list. She was elected to the

as the ANC won 38 seats. She was sworn in as an MPL on 22 May 2019. The ANC selected her as their candidate for speaker, and she was elected. On 23 March 2020, premier

Stanley Mathabatha Chupu Stanley Mathabatha (born 21 January 1957) is a South African politician who is currently the Premier of Limpopo. He was elected to the position in July 2013 after the resignation of Cassel Mathale. He was previously a public servant in L ...

appointed Lerule-Ramakhanya as the

responsible for the provincial Department of Transport and Community Safety, succeeding

Dickson Masemola Namane Dickson Masemola (born 1967 or 1968) is a South African politician who has been a Delegate to the National Council of Provinces since October 2022. Between 2009 and 2022, he was a Member of the Provincial Legislature in the Limpopo provi ...

. The changes came into effect on the same day. Rosemary Molapo succeeded her as speaker of the legislature. On 29 June 2022, Mathabatha conducted a reshuffle of his executive, in which he moved Lerule-Ramakhanya to the Education portfolio and appointed the outgoing Education MEC Polly Boshielo as the new MEC for Transport and Community Safety.

Personal life

Lerule-Ramakhanya married Dr Happy Ramakhanya in July 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lerule-Ramakhanya, Mavhangu Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Politicians from Limpopo 21st-century South African politicians 21st-century South African women politicians African National Congress politicians Members of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature Women members of provincial legislatures of South Africa