David Makhura facts for kids

Quick facts for kids David Makhura
Makhura in March 2019
6th Premier of Gauteng
In office 21 May 2014 – 5 October 2022
Preceded by	Nomvula Mokonyane
Succeeded by	Panyaza Lesufi
Provincial Chairperson of the African National Congress in Gauteng
In office 21 July 2018 – 27 June 2022
Deputy	Panyaza Lesufi
Preceded by	Paul Mashatile
Succeeded by	Panyaza Lesufi
Party offices 2001–2018 Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the African National Congress in Gauteng In office 4 October 2014 – 21 July 2018 Chairperson Paul Mashatile Preceded by Gwen Ramokgopa Succeeded by Panyaza Lesufi Provincial Secretary of the African National Congress in Gauteng In office November 2001 – 4 October 2014 Deputy Mandla Nkomfe Humphrey Mmemezi Chairperson Sam Shilowa Paul Mashatile Preceded by Obed Bapela Succeeded by Hope Papo
Personal details
Born	Manemolla David Makhura (1968-02-22) 22 February 1968 (age 57) Mara Buysdorp, Northern Transvaal South Africa
Political party	African National Congress
Spouse	Mpho Makhura
Alma mater	University of the North University of London

Manemolla David Makhura (born 22 February 1968) is a South African politician. He was the sixth Premier of Gauteng from May 2014 to October 2022. The Premier is like the leader of a province. After leaving this role, he started working for his political party, the African National Congress (ANC). He helps with political education for the party.

David Makhura was born and went to school in Limpopo. He became involved in politics as a student. He was the president of the South African Students Congress from 1994 to 1996. He also worked with a big union called the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union. He became well-known as the main secretary for the ANC in Gauteng. He held this job from November 2001 to October 2014.

He became Premier of Gauteng after the general election in May 2014. He was chosen for a second term after the May 2019 election. As Premier, he focused on making the economy modern and helping it grow. He especially worked on improving the economy in township areas. During his time, there were also some problems in the healthcare system. This included a sad event called the Life Esidimeni tragedy in 2016. Later, after the Covid-19 pandemic, there were issues with how money was spent on medical supplies.

While he was Premier, Makhura was also the ANC's provincial chairperson from July 2018 to June 2022. He decided not to run for this party leadership role again in June 2022. He then resigned as Premier in October of that year. This allowed Panyaza Lesufi, who took over his party role, to also become the new Premier. Soon after, Makhura was chosen for the ANC's National Executive Committee. He now works full-time at the ANC's main office, called Luthuli House. He leads political education, helps with how the party works with other groups, and is the head of the O. R. Tambo School of Leadership.

Early Life and Education

David Makhura was born on 22 February 1968. This was in a place called Mara Buysdorp in the Soutpansberg area. This region was part of the old Northern Transvaal and is now in Limpopo Province. His parents later moved to what is now Gauteng for work.

Student Activism

When he was a teenager, around 1984, he became active in student politics. He joined groups that were part of the movement against apartheid. Apartheid was a system of unfair laws in South Africa. In 1986 and 1987, he joined secret groups of the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP). These parties were not allowed at the time.

He studied at the University of the North at Turfloop. He was the president of the student council twice, in 1990 and 1992. He then became a leader in the South African Students Congress (SASCO). He was their secretary general and later their national president from 1994 to 1996. He did not finish his degree at Turfloop. However, he later earned a Master of Science degree in public policy and management from the University of London.

Early Political Career

From 1997 to 2001, Makhura was active in the trade union movement. These are groups that help workers. He was a leader in the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu). He started as the union's national education secretary. In April 1998, he was chosen as the union's deputy general secretary. During this time, he was also part of the main committee of the Congress of South African Trade Unions. In 2000, a newspaper called the Mail & Guardian named him one of its "top 100 stars of the future."

Youth Politics and ANC Roles

At the same time, Makhura stayed involved in youth politics. He was a member of the National Executive Committee of the ANC Youth League from 1998 to 2004. He also helped start the SACP's National Youth Desk. In November 2001, Makhura was chosen as the provincial secretary for the ANC in Gauteng. This was a full-time job. He held this position until October 2014. He worked closely with Paul Mashatile, especially as the party in Gauteng became more critical of President Jacob Zuma.

Premier of Gauteng: 2014–2022

In the May 2014 general election, David Makhura was elected to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. On 20 May, the ANC announced that he would be chosen as Premier of Gauteng. This was a bit of a surprise to many people. He was sworn into office on 21 May. He was the youngest Premier of Gauteng at that time. He stayed in this job until October 2022. He was chosen again as Premier after the May 2019 election.

Economic Plans

In his first speech as Premier in June 2014, Makhura talked about his main goals. These included changing the economy, improving how cities are planned, and making the economy more modern. He especially wanted to help the economies in township areas. After a meeting in October 2014, Makhura announced a plan to invest a lot of money in township areas. The goal was for economic growth in townships to make up 30 percent of the province's growth. This plan, called the Township Economy Revitalisation Programme, was very important during his time as Premier.

One part of this plan was to direct government money to businesses in townships. Between 2014 and 2018, the Gauteng Government spent much more money on contracts with township businesses. In February 2018, Makhura also said they would check on businesses owned by people from other countries in townships. They would close down any businesses that were not operating legally.

Another idea Makhura announced was to look into the e-tolling policy. E-tolls are fees for using certain roads. He later became very against this policy. In November 2018, Makhura even joined a march to ask the national government to get rid of e-tolls. He said he was marching as a member of the ANC, not as a government official. However, the e-tolls stayed in place during his time as Premier.

Makhura also worked on setting up special economic zones. These are areas where businesses get special benefits. During his first term, Gauteng attracted a lot of new money from other countries. The province also saw more jobs created.

Healthcare Challenges

One of the biggest challenges during Makhura's time was the Life Esidimeni scandal. This happened in 2016. Many patients with mental health issues died after being moved to private care homes that were not properly set up. An investigation found that Makhura was not responsible for the policy that led to this. He also did not know about the deaths. He and the national Health Minister appointed a team to help fix the problems in the Gauteng Department of Health. In May 2018, some opposition parties tried to remove Makhura from his position because of this tragedy, but they were not successful. Makhura continued to say he was not responsible for the tragedy.

Makhura was also Premier during the Covid-19 pandemic. At first, he was praised for his leadership during this time. However, in 2021 and 2022, there were problems with how money was spent on medical supplies during the pandemic. Investigations found "structural and systemic problems" in how the health department bought things. Makhura said he did not know about any wrongdoing.

Party Leadership Role

When he first became Premier, Makhura was still the provincial secretary of the ANC. But in October 2014, he was elected as the deputy provincial chairperson. In December 2017, the provincial chairperson, Paul Mashatile, was elected to a national role. So, Makhura became the acting provincial chairperson. On 21 July 2018, Makhura was officially elected as the ANC provincial chairperson. He ran without anyone opposing him. Panyaza Lesufi was elected as his deputy.

After Makhura was re-elected as Premier in 2019, he said he only planned to serve one term as ANC provincial chairperson. So, he did not run for re-election in 2022. At the next party meeting on 27 June 2022, Lesufi was elected as the new provincial chairperson.

Resignation as Premier

In early September 2022, Makhura announced that he would resign as Premier. He said he would leave once the ANC chose his replacement. He officially resigned on 4 October. Lesufi was then elected to take over as Premier on 6 October.

Luthuli House: 2023–Present

In December 2022, Makhura attended the ANC's 55th National Conference. He was elected to a five-year term on the party's National Executive Committee. This committee has 80 members. At the committee's first meeting in February 2023, Makhura was named the party's head of political education. This job involves working full-time at the ANC's main office, Luthuli House. He was also appointed to help with writing party documents and to lead a new committee on how the party works with other groups in government. In October 2023, he also became the head of the O. R. Tambo School of Leadership, which is the ANC's political school.

In these roles, Makhura has worked to make important changes within the party. He supports President Cyril Ramaphosa's idea of party "renewal." In April 2023, he released rules for how the ANC should work with other parties to form governments. After the May 2024 general election, the ANC lost its majority in some areas. Makhura helped lead the talks that led to the formation of a new government with other parties. In October 2024, he started a new course in political education that all ANC members must take.

Personal Life

David Makhura is a trustee for the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation. His wife is Mpho Makhura, and they have three children.

On 10 July 2020, he announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19. He was one of several leaders to get the virus around that time.