Mthawelanga Webster Mfebe (born 14 July 1959) is a South African businessman, politician, and former trade unionist. He has been the chief executive officer of the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors since 2013. Before entering business full-time, Mfebe represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1994 to 1996 and then in the

Free State Provincial Legislature The Free State Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Free State. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the premier and the executive council from among the members of the leading party ...

from 1996 to 2004. He was the Free State's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Sports, Arts, Culture, Science and Technology from 1997 to 2004.

Early life and career

Born on 14 July 1959, Mfebe rose to political prominence during apartheid through the

trade union movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

and Mass Democratic Movement.

Legislative career

In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, Mfebe was elected to an ANC seat in the National Assembly. He remained in the seat until 1996, when he resigned in order to join the Free State Provincial Legislature; he was sworn in on 18 December. He was also appointed to Premier

Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri Ivy Florence Matsepe-Casaburri (18 September 1937 – 6 April 2009) was a South African politician. She was the second premier of the Free State and South Africa's Minister of Communications from 1999 until her death. She served briefly as ...

Executive Council Executive Council may refer to: Government * Executive Council (Commonwealth countries), a constitutional organ that exercises executive power and advises the governor * Executive Council of Bern, the government of the Swiss canton of Bern * Ex ...

as MEC for Sport, Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. During his first year in the portfolio, his department held the inaugural Mangaung African Cultural Festival (Macufe), an arts festival that thereafter became an annual event. In the 1999 general election, Mfebe was elected to a full term in the provincial legislature, and newly elected Premier

Winkie Direko Isabella Winkie Direko (27 November 192917 February 2012) was a South African politician born in the Free State (province), Free State province of South Africa. She was a member of the African National Congress and served as Premier of the Free S ...

retained him in his position as MEC. He left the provincial government after the next general election in 2004.

Later career

From 2005 to 2009, Mfebe worked at the SABC, where, among other positions, he was head of sport. From 2009 to 2012, he was executive director for stakeholder relations at Basil Read, a construction company. He also had his own consulting company, Phendula Consulting, as well as non-executive directorships in other companies. On 1 January 2013, he took office as chief executive officer of the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (SAFCEC; since renamed the South African Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors), a not-for-profit employers' organisation in the civil engineering sector. In this capacity, Mfebe has occasionally attracted media attention as a critic of government policies, for example through a 2019 open letter he wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa about the power of extortion rackets targeting the construction sector.

References

Living people 1959 births African National Congress politicians 21st-century South African businesspeople 21st-century South African politicians 20th-century South African politicians South African trade unionists Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Members of the Free State Provincial Legislature {{DEFAULTSORT:Mfebe, Webster