Tshitereke Baldwin Matibe is a South African politician who has served as Deputy Speaker of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature since October 2022. 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 ...

(ANC), he was sworn in to the provincial legislature in January 2022 after serving in 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 ...

since 2019. Before that, he was the Executive Mayor of

Vhembe District Municipality Vhembe is one of the 5 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa. It is the northernmost district of the country and shares its northern border with Beitbridge district in Zimbabwe and on the east with Gaza Province in Mozambique. Vhembe co ...

from June 2012 to August 2016, and he has chaired the ANC's regional branch in Vhembe since 2012.

Education and early career

From 1987 to 1990, Matibe attended the

University of Venda The University of Venda (Univen; ve, Yunivesithi ya Venḓa, af, Universiteit van Venda) is a South Africa, South African comprehensive rural-based institution, located in Thohoyandou in Limpopo, Limpopo province. It was established in 1982 u ...

, where he completed a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in education. In the 1990s, he was a

steward Steward may refer to: Positions or roles * Steward (office), a representative of a monarch * Steward (Methodism), a leader in a congregation and/or district * Steward, a person responsible for supplies of food to a college, club, or other ins ...

in 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 ...

. At the same time, beginning in the early 1990s, he rose through the local and regional ranks of the ANC in

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

, holding leadership roles in his local party branch and the

Mutale Mutale is a main town in Vhembe District Municipality in the Limpopo province of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south b ...

subregional branch. In 2010, he was elected chairperson of the latter. He also served a stint as Mayor of Mutale Local Municipality. In May 2012, while still Mutale chairperson, Matibe was elected Regional Chairperson of the ANC's branch in Vhembe. He defeated the incumbent, Falaza Mdaka, to take the position, earning 177 votes against Mdaka's 143. Nandi Ndalane was elected as his deputy. Weeks later, on 12 June 2012, Matibe was sworn in as Executive Mayor of Vhembe District Municipality. He succeeded

Florence Radzilani Fulufhelo Florence Radzilani (; born 21 April 1971) is a South African politician who is currently serving as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Transport and Community Safety in Limpopo province. She was formerly the executive mayor of ...

, who had been appointed to the

Limpopo Executive Council The Executive Council (South Africa), Executive Council of Limpopo is the cabinet of the executive branch of the Provincial governments of South Africa, provincial government in the South African Provinces of South Africa, province of Limpopo. T ...

. He remained in the mayoral office until the 2016 local elections, when Radzilani returned to replace him. The following year, at a party elective conference in July 2017, he narrowly defeated Makonde Mathivha to retain his party office as ANC Regional Chairperson, receiving 161 votes against Mathivha's 153.

Legislative career

In the 2019 general election, Matibe was elected as a Delegate to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), ranked 47th 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 ...

for Limpopo. While in the NCOP he served as the

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

for the caucus of ANC delegates representing Limpopo. In December 2021, he was re-elected as ANC Regional Chairperson in Vhembe, beating Dowelani Nenguda, the incumbent Mayor of Vhembe and Matibe's outgoing deputy, with 204 votes to Nenguda's 174. In January 2022, the ANC announced that Matibe would be moved to the

Limpopo Provincial Legislature The Limpopo Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Limpopo. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet, the Limpopo Executive Council, from among the ...

to fill a

casual vacancy In politics, a casual vacancy (''casual'' in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualifi ...

arising from the resignation of Goodman Mtileni; he was sworn in as a

Member of the Provincial Legislature Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) is a title given to the members of eight of the nine provincial legislatures in South Africa. The Western Cape provincial constitution specifies that its provincial legislature be given the title of "P ...

on 20 January. In October of that year, the party named Matibe as the new Deputy Speaker of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature; he succeeded

Jerry Ndou Azwindini Jeremiah "Jerry" Ndou is a South African politician and diplomat who has served as a Delegate to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) since October 2022. Before that, he represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the Lim ...

, who was sworn in to the NCOP. Ahead of the ANC's 55th National Conference in December that year, Matibe was an outspoken supporter of incumbent ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matibe, Tshitereke Living people Members of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature Members of the National Council of Provinces Mayors of places in South Africa African National Congress politicians Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century South African politicians