Pemmy Castelina Pamela Majodina (born 24 December 1968) is a South African politician serving as a Member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

since 2019. 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 ...

, she is the party's chief whip in the assembly. She was formerly a Member of 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 ...

between 2004 and 2019 and a Member of the provincial Executive Council for five different portfolios from 2008 to 2019, respectively. Majodina was a permanent delegate to the

National Council of Provinces The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the (post-apartheid) constitution which came into full effect in 1997. It replaced the former Senate, but is very similar to that body, and to ma ...

from 1994 to 2004.

Early life and education

Majodina was born on 24 December 1968 in Sterkspruit,

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

. She studied to become an educator.

Political career

Majodina served on the regional executives, the provincial executives and the national executives of the

South African Student Congress The South African Students Congress (SASCO) is a South African student organisation currently led by Bamanye Matiwane as the organization's President. SASCO was founded in September 1991 at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, through t ...

, the

African National Congress Youth League The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) is the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC). As set out in its constitution, the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee (NEC) and a National Working Committee (NW ...

, the

African National Congress Women's League The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) is an auxiliary women's political organization of the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa. This organization has its precedent in the Bantu Women's League, and it oscillated from b ...

, the

South African Communist Party The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing Na ...

and the

. She was also an underground operative of uMkhonto we Sizwe. Following the April 1994 elections, Majodina was sworn in as a member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

(which became the National Council of Provinces in 1997). She served two terms in the NCOP until her election to the

in the June 2004 provincial election. She was appointed the Chairperson of Roads and Public Works Portfolio Committee after her swearing-in. Newly elected Premier Mbulelo Sogoni appointed her as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Health in August 2008. After the April 2009 provincial election,

Noxolo Kiviet Noxolo Kiviet is a South African politician, the former Premier of the Eastern Cape from 2009 to 2014 and former speaker of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature (2004–2009; 2014–2019). She is a member of the African National Congress. In ...

became Premier. She made her the MEC for Roads and Public Works. In November 2010, Kiviet moved Majodina to the Social Development and Special Programmes portfolio.

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 ...

was elected Premier after the May 2014 election. He appointed her MEC for Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture. In May 2018, Masualle appointed her MEC for Public Works. After the May 2019 elections, Majodina was selected to return to Parliament as a Member of the National Assembly. The

National Executive Committee of the African National Congress The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African National Congress (ANC) is the party's chief executive organ. It is elected every five years at the party national conference; the executive committee, in turn, elects a National Working Comm ...

named her the party's chief whip in the National Assembly, and she assumed the position upon her inauguration. She is the second woman to hold the post and Doris Dlakude deputises her.

Awards and accolades

Majodina was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in community development from the Arlington University of Australia in 2010. The next year, the Methodist Church of Southern Africa gave her their Reverend Baartman Award. In 2015, Reverend

Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senator ...

awarded her with a Global Humanitarian Award.

Incidents

In April 2015, Public Protector

Thuli Madonsela Thulisile Nomkhosi "Thuli" Madonsela (born 28 September 1962) is a South African advocate and professor of law, holding a chair in social justice at Stellenbosch University since January 2018. She served as the Public Protector of South Africa ...

recommended that Masualle take disciplinary steps against Majodina after an investigation found that funds were misappropriated towards her during a visit to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in September 2012. She later paid back the funds.

Personal life

Majodina has nine children, of which seven are adopted and two are biological. She is estranged from her husband. Majodina is a Christian.

References

External links

* ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Majodina, Pemmy Living people 1968 births People from Senqu Local Municipality People from Joe Gqabi District Municipality Xhosa people African National Congress politicians 20th-century South African politicians 21st-century South African politicians 20th-century South African women politicians 21st-century South African women politicians Members of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Members of the National Council of Provinces Women members of the National Council of Provinces Women members of provincial legislatures of South Africa