Mzoleli Mrara is a South African politician who has represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the

Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature The Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Eastern Cape. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the members of the leading par ...

since 2009. He was formerly the Chief Whip of the Majority Party in the legislature from 2013 to 2018. He also serves as the Provincial Chairperson of 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 ...

branch of the South African Communist Party.

Political career

He was elected to an ANC seat in the provincial legislature in the 2009 general election, ranked 27th on the ANC's provincial party list. Near the end of the legislative term, in August 2013, the ANC named him as

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

of the Majority Party in the provincial legislature. He replaced

Humphrey Maxegwana Comely Humphrey Maqocwa Maxegwana is a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 2014 until 2019, when he failed to gain re-election. Before that, he represented the ANC in the E ...

, who was removed in line with an ANC resolution that Chief Whips should be selected from among the members of the party's internal Provincial Executive Committee. In the 2014 general election, Mrara was ranked 11th on the ANC's party list and retained both his legislative seat and his position in the Chief Whip's office. In 2015, there was a minor

nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...

scandal when the '' Daily Dispatch'' reported that he had hired the mother of his child as a researcher in his office. In February 2018, the ANC announced that it had removed Mrara from the Chief Whip position, replacing him with Fundile Gade; Mrara remained an ordinary Member of the Provincial Legislature and succeeded Gade as chairperson of the legislature's Portfolio Committee on Education. He was re-elected to his seat in the 2019 general election, ranked 42nd on the ANC's list, and was subsequently elected chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on the Office of the Premier. In addition to his legislative career, Mzala is a former Provincial Chairperson of the

South African Democratic Teachers Union The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) is the largest trade union for teachers in South Africa. It is allied to the African National Congress and is an affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). History The ...

and a current provincial leader of the South African Communist Party (SACP). He has been the Provincial Chairperson of the SACP's Eastern Cape branch since at least 2015, and he was re-elected unopposed to that position in June 2022 alongside Provincial Secretary Xolile Nqatha and Deputy Provincial Chairperson

Mpumelelo Saziwa Mpumelelo Saziwa is a South African politician and trade unionist who has represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature since 2014. He also serves as the Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the South Afr ...

Personal life

Mzara has at least one child. His father, Thembile Ebby Mrara, died 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 ...

in 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mrara, Mzoleli African National Congress politicians Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature 21st-century South African politicians Members of the South African Communist Party