Michael Mabuyakhulu (born 31 March 1964) is a South African politician and former trade unionist who represented 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 ...

(ANC) in 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 ...

between 1994 and 2016. He also served for seventeen years in the KwaZulu-Natal Executive Council, most prominently as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Economic Development and Tourism from 2009 to 2016. Mabuyakhulu was the

Provincial Treasurer In Canadian politics the Provincial Treasurer is a senior portfolio in the Executive Council (or cabinet) of provincial governments. The position is the provincial equivalent of the Minister of Finance and is responsible for setting the provinc ...

of the ANC's

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

branch from 1998 to 2008 and later served as the party's Deputy Provincial Chairperson from 2018 to 2021; he stepped aside from the latter position in May 2021 after he was charged with corruption.

Early life and career

Mabuyakhulu is from rural Ingwavuma on the

North Coast North Coast or Northcoast may refer to : Antigua and Barbuda * Major Division of North Coast, a census division in Saint John Parish Australia *New South Wales North Coast, a region Canada *The British Columbia Coast, primarily the communiti ...

of present-day

, formerly part of

Natal province The Province of Natal (), commonly called Natal, was a province of South Africa from May 1910 until May 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. During this period rural areas inhabited by the black African population of Natal were organized into ...

. His Zulu clan name is Ndiyema. He was formerly a

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

, first in the engineering sector of the Metal and Allied Workers' Union and then as a regional leader of its successor organisation, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa. His brothers – former Amajuba Mayor Dan Mabuyakhulu, former Member of Parliament Vincent Mabuyakhulu, and former

Empangeni Empangeni is a city in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is approximately 157 kilometres north of Durban, in hilly countryside, overlooking a flat coastal plain and the major harbour town of Richards Bay 16 kilometres away. The N2 freeway runs east ...

councillor John Mabuyakhulu – were also active in the trade union movement and ANC.

Political career

Mabuyakhulu joined the

in 1994, the year that

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

ended. He led the ANC's caucus in the legislature's committee on economic development and tourism until 1999, when he was appointed to the KwaZulu-Natal Executive Council for the first time. Over the next decade he served as MEC in the economic development and tourism, public works, finance, and local government portfolios.

ANC Provincial Treasurer: 1998–2008

In 1998, he was elected

of the ANC's KwaZulu-Natal branch, serving under Provincial Chairperson S'bu Ndebele. Both Mabuyakhulu and Ndebele were re-elected in September 2002, with Mabuyakhulu comfortably defeating a challenge from businessman Don Mkhwanazi; he earned 320 votes against Mkhwanazi's 152. He was re-elected to a third term as ANC Provincial Treasurer in May 2005, again alongside Ndebele, but was succeeded by

Peggy Nkonyeni Neliswa Peggy Nkonyeni (born 8 September 1961) is a South African politician and educator. A member of the African National Congress, she has been the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Finance in KwaZulu-Natal since 2022. In November 20 ...

in June 2008.

MEC for Economic Development: 2009–2016

Pursuant to Mabuyakhulu's re-election to the legislature in the 2009 general election, newly elected Premier Zweli Mkhize appointed him as MEC for Economic Development and Tourism. He was re-elected to the legislature in the 2014 general election, ranked fifth on the ANC's provincial

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...

, and remained in office as MEC until 2016, with environmental affairs added to his portfolio from May 2014 onwards.

Intaka donation scandal

In 2011, Mabuyakhulu faced criminal charges in connection with his role in securing a R1-million donation paid to the ANC in 2008. The donation came from Uruguayan businessman Gaston Savoi and Savoi's company, Intaka Holdings, which had received a large state contract – to supply the provincial government with water purification and oxygen equipment – shortly before the donation was made. The

National Prosecuting Authority The National Prosecution Authority (NPA) is the agency of the South African government responsible for state prosecutions. Under Section 179 of the Constitution and the National Prosecuting Authority Act of 1998, which established the NPA in 199 ...

therefore alleged that the donation had constituted a bribe. Mabuyakhulu's supporters claimed that the prosecution was politically motivated, given that he was viewed as possible candidate to stand against Zweli Mkhize for the ANC provincial chairmanship in 2012. The charges against him were dropped in August 2012, and, when the matter was reopened at the

Zondo Commission The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, better known as the Zondo Commission or State Capture Commission, is a public inquiry established in Janu ...

in 2021, he continued to deny any wrongdoing.

Succession

On 6 June 2016, Mabuyakhulu was fired as MEC in a reshuffle by

Willies Mchunu Willies Mchunu (born 11 May 1948) was the 7th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. He was previously a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for the Department of Transport, Community Safety, and Liaison in the province. He is a memb ...

, who had recently replaced

Senzo Mchunu Edward Senzo Mchunu (born 21 April 1958) is a South African politician currently serving as Minister of Water and Sanitation. He served as Minister of Public Service and Administration from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as Premier of KwaZul ...

as Premier. Later the same day, Mabuyakhulu announced that he would also resign from the provincial legislature with immediate effect. Peggy Nkonyeni was also sacked and resigned alongside Mabuyakhulu; their legislative seats were filled by Sifiso Sonjica and Nomakiki Majola later in June.

ANC Deputy Chairperson: 2018–2022

In January 2018, Mabuyakhulu was appointed as the interim leader of the KwaZulu-Natal ANC after the incumbent provincial leadership corps – then led by

Sihle Zikalala Sihle Zikalala (born 6 August 1973) is a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal who has been a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since 2023, representing the African National Congress. Before his redeployment to the National P ...

– was disbanded by the party's National Executive Committee. He held that position until July, when fresh leadership elections were held and Mabuyakhulu was elected Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal ANC. He defeated the longstanding incumbent, Willies Mchunu, in a vote, and served under

, who was re-elected to the party chair at the same conference.

Corruption charges

Mabuyakhulu's tenure as Deputy Provincial Chairperson was marked with controversy over pending

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

charges against him. The charges pertained to the 2012 North Sea Jazz Festival, which had never taken place but which the provincial government had allegedly paid for nonetheless. The National Prosecuting Authority alleged that Mabuyakhulu, then Economic Development MEC, had authorised the payments for the festival and had personally received a R300,000 kickback. The case had been under investigation since 2012 or 2013 and Mabuyakhulu had first appeared in court in February 2018, before he was elected ANC Deputy Provincial Chairperson. He and 15 others (eight persons and seven companies) were charged with corruption, theft, and

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

in relation to an amount of R28 million; he denied the charges and was released on R50,000 bail.

Succession

Ahead of the 2019 general election, the provincial party ranked Mabuyakhulu third on its list of nominees for deployment to leadership positions, and the ANC said that he was in line for a position in the Executive Council. However, due to the ongoing legal proceedings, Mabuyakhulu withdrew his name from consideration. In August 2020, according to News24, he told the party's provincial leadership that he intended to resign as ANC Deputy Provincial Chairperson, but his resignation was rejected and he was instead referred to the provincial party's internal Integrity Commission. The Integrity Commission cleared him to remain in his party office in October 2020. However, in May 2021, Mabuyakhulu formally stepped aside from the deputy chairmanship. At the party's next provincial elective conference in July 2022,

Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu (born 22 August 1976) is a South African lawyer and African National Congress (ANC) politician who has been serving as the KwaZulu-Natal MEC (Member of the Executive Council) for Health since May 2019. She became a Member o ...

was elected to succeed him. At that time his corruption trial was ongoing in the

Durban High Court The KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law with general jurisdiction over the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The main seat of the division is at Pietermaritzburg, while a subordinate local se ...

References

External links

* Living people Members of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature African National Congress politicians 21st-century South African politicians 1964 births 20th-century South African politicians South African trade unionists Politicians from KwaZulu-Natal Zulu people {{DEFAULTSORT:Mabuyakhulu, Mike