Jackson Mthembu
Jackson Mthembu (born 5 June 1958 in Witbank, Nkangala District Municipality) is the Minister in the Presidency of South Africa's government, and parliamentarian for the African National Congress (ANC). Previously, he served as the Whip of Parliament for the ruling ANC and as well as the national spokesperson for the ANC.[1] He served as the MEC for Transport in Mpumalanga from 1997–1999, during which he was criticized for spending R2.3 million on ten BMWs.[2][3][4]
Jackson Mthembu MP | |
---|---|
Minister in the Presidency | |
Assumed office May 2019 | |
President | Cyril Ramaphosa |
Personal details | |
Born | Jackson Mthembu 5 June 1958 Witbank, Mpumalanga |
Citizenship | South Africa |
Nationality | South African |
Political party | African National Congress |
Spouse(s) | Thembi Mthembu |
Relations | Married |
Children | Six |
Parents | Rosie Nantoni Mthembu (d. 25 February 2018) |
Residence | Cape Town |
Profession | Politician |
Controversies
On 28 November 2017, Mthembu was criticized by some of the ANC colleagues that he intentionally "colluded" with the DA to schedule a debate on state capture in Parliament. Mthembu has been seen to have deliberately defied President Jacob Zuma and his own colleagues in the ANC caucus who had already called for a more inclusive process to investigate state capture.[5]
During an interview with Newzroom Afrika on 26 April 2020, the minister mistakenly said “vibrators” instead of “ventilators” while explaining what equipment hospitals will need in preparation for the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Personal life
Mthembu is married to Thembi Mthembu. He has six children. One of their children, 25-year-old Nokhwezi Mthembu committed suicide on 20 March 2019 at their Pelican Park parliamentary village home in Cape Town.
Mthembu was born in Ackerville, Witbank, Emalahleni Local Municipality, in the Mpumalanga province on 5 June 1958. His mother was the late Gogo Nantoni Mthembu who died at the age of 79 on 25 February 2018. Gogo Nantoni was buried during a funeral service attended by deputy president David Mabuza who thanked her role in raising a political figure like Jackson[6] [7] [8]
References
- "ANC names new national spokesperson". news24. 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
- Lodge, Tom (2003). Politics in South Africa: From Mandela to Mbeki (2nd ed.). Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 38–39. ISBN 978-0-253-21587-1.
- Heidenheimer, Arnold J. (2002). Political Corruption: Concepts and Contexts (3rd ed.). Piscataway, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. p. 420. ISBN 978-0-7658-0761-8.
- "Jackson Mthembu to be ANC parliamentarian, he was also declared as a new chief whip of the ruling party". news24. 2014.
- "Mthembu slams ANC MPs' accusations that he 'colluded' with DA in state capture motion". News24. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
- Jackson Mthembu shares pain of finding daughter's body, IOL, 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2020
- Mabuza speaks land expropriation at Gogo Nantoni's funeral, 013News, 5 March 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2020
- Jackson Mthembu tweets that daughter committed suicide, IOL, 20 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020
External links
- Interview with Jackson Mthembu on ANC centenary celebrations - broadcast by Radio France Internationale