Makashule Gana (born 11 August 1983) is a South African politician who served as a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature for the opposition Democratic Alliance. He was previously a member of the National Assembly, where he was Shadow Minister of Human Settlements between 2014 and 2016. Gana also served as the Deputy Federal Chairperson of the DA until 2015. He was previously leader of the DA Youth and DA councillor in the

City of Johannesburg The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite services for the city. Z ...

, he holds a BSc degree and is currently registered for a Postgraduate Diploma in Management at the

Wits Business School The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The univer ...

Childhood and education

Gana was born in Lefara Village in the town of

Tzaneen Tzaneen () is a large tropical garden town situated in the Mopani District Municipality of the Limpopo province in South Africa. It is situated in a high rainfall fertile region with tropical and subtropical agriculture taking place in a region ...

on 11 August 1983. He has two siblings and was raised by his late mother, Gavaza. Gana was a herd boy in his village. He started primary school at Mushoti Primary in 1988. He attended N'wahungani Junior Secondary in 1995 and thereafter moved schools plenty of times. He moved to Lefara School in July 1996, before moving to DZJ Secondary School later on in 1996. Gana matriculated from Giyani High School in 1999. In 2000, Gana enrolled for his undergraduate degree at the then University of the North (now known as the

University of Limpopo The University of Limpopo is a university in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2005, by the merger of the University of the North and the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA). These previous institutions form ...

), where he attained a Bachelor of Science Degree in 2003, with majors in mathematics and computer science. He also achieved a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from Wits Business School in 2012.

Political career

Gana joined the South African Students Congress at the

(then University of the North) in 2000. He joined the Democratic Alliance (DA) and DA Youth in 2002. He was elected Limpopo Provincial Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance Students Organization in 2003. and moved to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

in 2005, where he continued to be very active in the DA and DA Youth. Gana was elected Branch Youth Chairperson for the Johannesburg Innercity in 2006 and was soon advanced to the post of DA Youth Chairperson for the Johannesburg Central Constituency in 2007. He participated in the DA Young Leaders programme in 2008, and was elected Gauteng South DA Youth Chairperson in 2008. Gana became a DA city councillor in June 2009 when he was elected to the Johannesburg Metropolitan Council, and later on, became DA Youth Federal Leader in July 2010. At the 2012 DA Federal Congress, he was elected as one of the three Deputy Federal Chairpersons of the party. As a result of this, he resigned as Youth Leader in May 2013.

Mbali Ntuli Mbali Ntuli (born ) is a South African politician and a former member of the Democratic Alliance. She is the former Provincial Campaigns Director for the party in KZN. She resigned as a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature in March 2022, wh ...

was appointed as his successor. He was elected to Parliament for the DA in 2014 and served as the Shadow Minister of Human Settlements until November 2016, when he left the National Assembly to fill a DA vacancy in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. His move was part of a broader strategy to win the province in the

2019 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2019. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems has a calendar of upcoming elections around the world, and the National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections in coun ...

. Gana has been active in campaigning for a national youth subsidy in South Africa, and helped to establish a DA political school with fellow leader Khume Ramulifho in Gauteng’s southern region. In October 2019, Gana declared his candidacy to succeed

Mmusi Maimane Mmusi Aloysias Maimane (born 6 June 1980) is a South African politician, businessman, and Leader of Build One South Africa, a political party. Maimane is also the former Leader of South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) political ...

as leader of the DA. He faced John Steenhuisen for the position. The election was held on 17 November 2019. Gana lost to Steenhuisen. He has resigned from the DA and as a member of the Gauteng Legislature on 4 August 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gana, Makashule Living people Democratic Alliance (South Africa) politicians 1983 births University of Limpopo alumni University of the Witwatersrand alumni Members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature