Mcebisi Hubert Jonas (born 1960) is a former Deputy Finance Minister of the

Government of South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary republic with three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authority ...

who served from 2014 to 2016. He has also been a

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: "P ...

for Economic Development and Environmental Affairs in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

province of

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under the

Premier of the Eastern Cape The Premier of the Eastern Cape is the head of government of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The current Premier of the Eastern Cape is Oscar Mabuyane, a member of the African National Congress, who was elected in the 2019 election. ...

Phumulo Masualle Phumulo Masualle is a South African politician. He was the Premier of the Eastern Cape province in South Africa, following his appointment in 2014. Masualle, member of the African National Congress (ANC) and SA Communist Party (SACP) stalwart, wa ...

, and was a Member of the

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from 2014 to 2017. He graduated from

Vista University Vista University, South Africa was established in 1981 by the apartheid government to ensure that urban black South Africans seeking tertiary education would be accommodated within the townships rather than on campuses reserved for other populatio ...

with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Sociology, and a Higher Diploma in Education from

Rhodes University Rhodes University is a public university, public research university located in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, ...

. Jonas alleges that in 2015 the

Gupta family The Gupta family is a wealthy Indian-born family with business interests in South Africa, whose most notable members are brothers Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh "Tony" Gupta—as well as Atul's nephews Varun, and US-based Ashish and Amol. The family ow ...

offered him 600 million

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to be the next finance minister, as long as he followed their agenda. In December 2019, Jonas was appointed as the Board Chairperson of South Africa's

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, a

n multinational mobile

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company.

Early life

Mcebisi Jonas was born in 1960 in

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

in the

Province. He matriculated at Newewell High School in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

and achieved a Bachelor of Arts in History & Sociology at

. He expanded his studies with a Higher Diploma in Education at Rhodes University. When Jonas was 14, he became active in politics. He led political activities in the Port Elizabeth area and started underground structures in the Eastern Cape and beyond. He was motivated by the politics of the Black Consciousness Movement in the early 1980s and was an organiser of AZASO (Azanian Students Organisation). He played an important role in the founding of the United Democratic Front (UDF) structures in the

. He was later sent into exile to finish military training in Angola and Uganda for the People’s Army, Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK). While in exile, he was hired by the United Nations to run an education program for the Mkhonto Wesizwe (MK) cadres. Upon his return in the '90s, Mr Jonas played a crucial role in creating the structures of the ANC and the SACP in the Eastern Cape. Identifying his outstanding skills, the ANC implemented him to form the new Provincial administration in the Eastern Cape in 1994. He was a member of the Eastern Cape ANC Provincial Executive Committee for two terms (1997-2004 and 2007-2009
Deputy Finance Minister
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State Capture Report testimony

On 24 August 2018, during an inquiry into state capture, Mcebisi testified that the

Gupta Family The Gupta family is a wealthy Indian-born family with business interests in South Africa, whose most notable members are brothers Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh "Tony" Gupta—as well as Atul's nephews Varun, and US-based Ashish and Amol. The family ow ...

had informed him that former 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 ...

does "whatever we say". A few days later, Finance minister Nene was fired.https://m.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/live-day-3-of-statecaptureinquiry-mcebisi-jonas-to-testify-20180824 , LIVE: 'This is what a true patriot does' - Gordhan on Jonas' testimony at #StateCaptureInquiry , News24

References

https://www.gibs.co.za/news-events/events/forums/pages/deputy-finance-minister-mcebisi-jonas.aspx {{DEFAULTSORT:Jonas, Mcebisi 1960 births Living people Rhodes University alumni African National Congress politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa People from Uitenhage Members of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature