Gwede Mantashe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gwede Mantashe
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Mantashe in November 2022
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| Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 3 July 2024 |
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| President | Cyril Ramaphosa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Judith Nemadzinga-Tshabalala | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Himself (for Mineral Resources and Energy) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of the National Assembly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 22 May 2019 |
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| National Chairperson of the African National Congress | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 18 December 2017 |
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| President | Cyril Ramaphosa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Baleka Mbete | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
Samson Gwede Mantashe
21 June 1955 Lower Cala, South Africa |
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| Political party | African National Congress | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other political affiliations |
South African Communist Party | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Nolwandle Mantashe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Tozama Mantashe (sister) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gwede Mantashe (born 21 June 1955) is a well-known South African politician. He used to be a trade unionist, which means he worked to protect workers' rights. Currently, he serves as the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources. This role means he is in charge of how South Africa uses its minerals and oil.
Mantashe has been involved in managing South Africa's mineral resources since 2018. He was first the Minister of Mineral Resources, then the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, and now focuses on Mineral and Petroleum Resources. He is also the national chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC), which is the ruling political party in South Africa.
Born in the Eastern Cape province, Mantashe became important in politics through the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). This union helps miners. He started working at a coal mine and quickly moved up in the union. He became a full-time organiser in 1988. Later, he became the NUM's general secretary from 1998 to 2006. During this time, he was also a key member of the South African Communist Party (SACP).
After leaving the NUM, Mantashe worked for a short time at the Development Bank of Southern Africa. In 2007, he was elected as the secretary-general of the ANC. This was a full-time job he held for ten years. He was also the national chairperson of the SACP from 2007 to 2012.
After serving two terms as secretary-general, Mantashe was elected as the ANC's national chairperson in 2017. Soon after, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed him to the cabinet. His role as minister has often focused on South Africa's ongoing energy crisis. He has also discussed how the country can move towards a "just energy transition". This means changing how energy is produced in a way that is fair to everyone. Mantashe has often supported using coal and natural gas, alongside renewable energy sources. He was re-elected as ANC national chairperson in 2022.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Gwede Mantashe was born in 1955 in a village called Cala in the Eastern Cape. He went to the University of South Africa (Unisa) in 1997. He earned a B.Com Honours degree in 2002. He also got a master's degree from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in 2008. In 2021, he completed his MBA through MANCOSA.
Early Career in Trade Unions
Mantashe worked in the mining industry for 13 years, starting in 1975. He began as a recreation officer at a gold mine. From 1975 to 1982, he was a welfare officer at Prieska Copper Mines. In 1982, he moved to the Matla Colliery. There, he helped start the Witbank branch of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). This new national union was led by Cyril Ramaphosa.
He was the chairperson of the Witbank branch from 1982 to 1984. In 1985, he became the regional secretary. In 1988, he became a full-time unionist, working as a national organiser for the NUM. He was promoted to regional coordinator in 1993.
In 1994, he was elected as assistant general secretary, working with Kgalema Motlanthe. During this time, he also served as a local councillor in Ekurhuleni from 1994 to 1999. In 1995, he joined the board of directors of Samancor, a company that produces chrome. This was unusual for a union leader then. Mantashe said it showed a new way for workers to have a say in company decisions.
Leading the NUM: 1998–2006
After four years as assistant general secretary, Mantashe was elected general secretary of the NUM in 1998. He took over from Kgalema Motlanthe, who had become the secretary-general of the African National Congress (ANC).
During Mantashe's eight years as leader, the NUM became very organised and disciplined. It grew into a powerful union.
Working with Political Parties
The NUM was the largest union in the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu). Cosatu worked closely with the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the ANC. This group was known as the Tripartite Alliance. Mantashe had been a member of the SACP's Central Committee since 1995. He was also a member of the ANC.
Mantashe left his leadership role at the NUM in May 2006. Frans Baleni took over from him. After that, Mantashe worked for two years at the Development Bank of Southern Africa.
In July 2007, Mantashe was elected national chairperson of the SACP. He served under general secretary Blade Nzimande.
ANC Secretary-General: 2007–2017
In December 2007, at the ANC's 52nd National Conference in Polokwane, Mantashe was elected as the ANC secretary-general. He again took over from Kgalema Motlanthe. Mantashe was part of the team that supported Jacob Zuma, who became the new president of the ANC.
One of his first big jobs was to manage the changes after the conference. In September 2008, Mantashe announced that the ANC had decided to ask President Thabo Mbeki to step down as President of South Africa. When some members left the ANC to form a new party, Mantashe helped the ANC win back support.
Mantashe was re-elected for a second term as secretary-general in December 2012. He won by a large number of votes.
SACP Leadership
Mantashe continued to serve as SACP national chairperson while also being ANC secretary-general. Sometimes, having both roles caused some disagreements within the Tripartite Alliance. In July 2012, Mantashe decided not to run for re-election as SACP chairperson. He explained that it was too difficult to be an official in both parties at the same time. He said it made him an "absentee chairperson" in the SACP.
Senzeni Zokwana took over as SACP chairperson. Mantashe was still elected as a regular member of the SACP Central Committee.
Working with President Zuma
As secretary-general, Mantashe worked full-time at the ANC headquarters. He was seen as having a lot of power, especially during his second term. His time as secretary-general was during President Zuma's two terms as national president.
Mantashe often spoke to journalists about their reports. He was known for being very direct. He believed that party discipline was important for the stability of the ANC and the country. He also supported the ANC's practice of "cadre deployment," which means placing loyal party members in important government jobs. He argued this was needed to change the old government system from the apartheid era.
By mid-2017, Mantashe openly said that "state capture" was real. This referred to allegations that some businesses had too much influence over government decisions. He said these revelations were hurting the ANC's reputation. He also welcomed the "Gupta leaks," which were documents that showed more about these allegations.
Mantashe and other ANC leaders became concerned about the influence of the Gupta family after an incident in 2013. Tensions became more noticeable in 2015 when President Zuma made a controversial change to his cabinet. Mantashe was reportedly involved in getting Zuma to reverse a decision about the Finance Minister. He also supported Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan when he faced charges.
In 2017, when Gordhan was removed from the cabinet, Mantashe disagreed with President Zuma. He said that Zuma had to use his power as president to overrule the ANC's wishes. However, Mantashe later said the ANC had decided to accept Zuma's decision.
After the Nasrec Conference
At the ANC's 54th National Conference in December 2017, Mantashe did not run for secretary-general again. Instead, he was elected as the ANC's national chairperson. He won against Nathi Mthethwa. Mantashe was seen as supporting Cyril Ramaphosa, who won the presidential election at the conference. Mantashe had publicly said he preferred Ramaphosa for the chairmanship.
After the conference, Ramaphosa's supporters worked to have Zuma step down as President of South Africa. Mantashe said that if Zuma resisted, the ANC would have no choice but to support a vote of no confidence against him.
Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources: 2018–Present
After Cyril Ramaphosa became President of South Africa in February 2018, he appointed Mantashe to his cabinet. On 26 February, Mantashe became the Minister of Mineral Resources. This appointment was welcomed by mining and business groups. He was elected to the National Assembly in the May 2019 general election.
After the 2019 election, Ramaphosa combined some ministries. Mantashe then became the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy. In February 2023, because of the worsening electricity crisis, Ramaphosa appointed a new Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. This meant that electricity matters would be handled separately. On 30 June 2024, after the 2024 general election, Mantashe's role was changed to focus only on Mineral and Petroleum Resources.
Energy Transition in South Africa
When Mantashe became Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, South Africa was facing a long-standing energy crisis. This was due to not having enough electricity. One of his first tasks was to create a new energy plan. He said his ministry would look at all types of energy.
Mantashe has been a strong supporter of coal as a main source of energy in South Africa. He believes coal will continue to be important for a long time. He has linked his support for coal to the idea of a "just energy transition." This means changing how energy is produced in a way that is fair to society and good for the environment.
Mantashe agrees that South Africa needs to reduce carbon emissions to help with the global climate crisis. However, he believes this does not mean completely stopping the use of coal. He argues that South Africa has a lot of coal, and the coal industry helps the economy and creates jobs. He says closing coal power plants too quickly would hurt mining communities and make the energy shortage worse. For these reasons, Mantashe sees coal as an important part of a fair energy transition.
He has also supported gas exploration and plans to use powerships at major ports. In December 2021, he said that people opposing a gas project were acting like they were from the past, ignoring the need for energy.
In May 2023, President Ramaphosa gave the new Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, the job of finding new ways to generate electricity. This was previously Mantashe's department's job. On 30 June 2024, this change became permanent, with Ramokgopa becoming Minister of Electricity and Energy. Mantashe's role became focused on Mineral and Petroleum Resources. They were both sworn into their new roles on 3 July 2024.
ANC Chairmanship
Mantashe was re-elected to the SACP Central Committee in July 2022. In December 2022, he was re-elected for another five-year term as the ANC national chairperson. He won against Stan Mathabatha and David Masondo. The team supporting President Ramaphosa also supported Mantashe's re-election.
Personal Life
Gwede Mantashe is married to Nolwandle Mantashe, who is a nurse. They have four adult children, two sons and two daughters. In 2014, he told his children that they needed to study and work hard to succeed, rather than relying on his name.
His younger sister, Tozama Mantashe, who was also a politician, passed away in January 2021 due to complications from COVID-19.
See also
- Energy in South Africa
- Electricity sector in South Africa
- History of the African National Congress
Images for kids
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Mantashe with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in 2022
