Mbhazima Shilowa facts for kids

Mbhazima Samuel Shilowa, born on April 30, 1958, is a South African politician who is now retired. He used to be a leader in workers' unions. He served as the Premier of Gauteng province from 1999 to 2008. The Premier is like the head of the government for a province.

Before that, he was the top leader of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), a big group for workers, from 1993 to 1999. Later, he helped start a political party called the Congress of the People (COPE).

Born in a rural area called Northern Province (now Limpopo), Mbhazima Shilowa started working with unions in 1981. He was a "shop steward" in Johannesburg, which means he represented workers in his workplace. He quickly moved up in the Transport and General Workers' Union. Then, he became a deputy leader of Cosatu in 1991 and its main leader in 1993.

During this time, he also fought against apartheid, a system of unfair racial separation. He joined the South African Communist Party (SACP) in 1991 and the African National Congress (ANC) in 1994. Both were important groups fighting apartheid.

After the 1999 election, Shilowa became the Premier of Gauteng for the ANC. His government started big projects like building the Gautrain railway. He was re-elected in 2004. However, he resigned in 2008 to protest the ANC's decision to remove President Thabo Mbeki.

In October 2008, he left the ANC and helped create COPE with Mosiuoa Lekota. He became COPE's first deputy president. After the 2009 election, he became the party's chief whip in the National Assembly. But soon, COPE faced problems with a leadership fight between Shilowa and Lekota. In 2011, Shilowa was removed from the party.

Early Life and Work

Mbhazima Shilowa was born on April 30, 1958, in Olifantshoek, Limpopo, a village in what was then the Northern Province. He was the youngest of seven children. Only three of them lived past being babies.

He had to take time off school because his family was poor. He later went to Akani High School. But in 1978, he left school after an argument with a teacher. In 1979, he moved to Johannesburg to find work. He lived in the Dobsonville township and worked in different jobs, including at a hardware store and a cement company.

Starting in Trade Unions

Shilowa became involved in the trade union movement in 1981. He was chosen as a "shop steward" at his workplace. This meant he represented his fellow workers. Over the next ten years, he quickly rose in the union ranks.

In 1991, he was elected as the deputy general secretary of Cosatu. He worked alongside the general secretary, Jay Naidoo. He also served as a leader for the Transport and General Workers' Union, which was part of Cosatu.

At the same time, Shilowa was active in the anti-apartheid movement. This movement worked to end the unfair system of apartheid in South Africa. After the African National Congress (ANC) and South African Communist Party (SACP) were allowed to operate again in 1990, he joined their temporary leadership teams in Gauteng.

In 1991, he was elected to the Central Committee of the SACP. The next year, he was part of the ANC's team that negotiated to end apartheid. He was involved in important talks like CODESA and the Multi-Party Negotiating Forum.

Leading Cosatu: 1993–1999

Shilowa was chosen to be the general secretary of Cosatu in 1993. He took over from Jay Naidoo. He held this important position for six years, being re-elected in 1994 and 1997.

Under Shilowa's leadership, Cosatu played a big role in helping the ANC campaign for the first post-apartheid elections in 1994. Cosatu and the ANC worked closely together. Shilowa also helped set up the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac). This council brings together government, business, and labour to discuss economic issues.

He was also a close friend and informal advisor to Deputy President Thabo Mbeki. Some people in the unions thought he was too close to the government. He was seen as not fully agreeing with Cosatu's strong stance against privatisation.

During his time as Cosatu general secretary, Shilowa was twice a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ANC. This is a very important leadership group within the party. He was first elected in 1994. He was re-elected in 1997 and served his full term.

Premier of Gauteng: 1999–2008

On April 23, 1999, the ANC announced that Shilowa would be their candidate for Premier of Gauteng. This was for the upcoming general election. Many people thought he would become a national minister. He also started using his first name, Mbhazima, instead of Sam.

He resigned from Cosatu after the June 2 election. The ANC had won a strong majority in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. He was officially elected as Premier on June 15, 1999. He was re-elected for a second term after the April 2004 general election.

Key Projects and Policies

When Shilowa became Premier in 1999, he made some new appointments to his team. Some people said he was causing divisions in the provincial ANC. However, over the next nine years, he generally managed to keep the party united in the province. He became a fairly popular Premier.

One of the most famous projects of his time was the Gautrain express rail system. People often called it the "Shilowa Express." The contract for building the railway was signed in 2006. His government also adopted a forward-thinking policy on HIV/AIDS. They started programs to prevent the virus from passing from mothers to children in 2001. A general treatment program began in 2004. These policies were not yet popular with the national government at the time.

Leading the ANC in Gauteng

In November 2001, Shilowa was elected as the provincial chairperson of the Gauteng ANC. He took over from the previous Premier, Mathole Motshekga. He was seen as the preferred choice of the national leadership of the ANC. David Makhura became the provincial secretary, and Angie Motshekga became the deputy provincial chairperson. Shilowa and his team served two terms, being re-elected easily in December 2004.

At the end of his second term in October 2007, Shilowa decided not to run for a third term. He supported Paul Mashatile to take over from him, which Mashatile successfully did. Shilowa was then elected as a regular member of the ANC's Provincial Executive Committee.

Resigning as Premier

In 2008, the ANC leadership decided to remove President Thabo Mbeki from his position. Shilowa was one of the people who publicly supported Mbeki. On September 29, 2008, Mbeki resigned. Later that same day, Shilowa announced his own resignation as Premier of Gauteng. He did this to protest how the party treated Mbeki.

He explained that he believed the decision to remove Mbeki was not based on strong facts. He felt he could not honestly defend the ANC's decision. He said Mbeki's removal was "the straw that broke the camel's back." This meant it was the final problem after other concerns he had about the ANC. Paul Mashatile was elected to take his place as Premier.

Soon after, Shilowa was linked to rumors of a new political party. On October 15, 2008, he announced that he had resigned from the ANC. He would work to help start a new initiative with Mosiuoa Lekota.

Congress of the People: 2008–2014

Starting a New Party

In late 2008, Shilowa and Lekota, often called "Shikota" by the media, led the creation of a new political party. This party was made up of Mbeki's supporters from the ANC. Shilowa officially announced their plans to start a party on November 1, 2008. The next week, he announced the party would be called the Congress of the People (COPE).

Although he was named the interim deputy chairperson, Shilowa quickly became a prominent face of the new party. When COPE held its first national meeting in December 2008, Shilowa became the party's deputy president. Mosiuoa Lekota became the president.

The 2009 Election

COPE took part in the April 2009 general election. Mvume Dandala was their candidate for president. After the election, Shilowa was elected to a seat in the National Assembly. This is the lower house of the South African Parliament. He was named the party's chief whip. He said COPE wanted to be a "patriotic opposition party." This meant they would challenge the ruling party in a fair way.

Party Problems and Leaving COPE

During its first year in Parliament, COPE faced serious problems due to leadership fights. Shilowa's supporters wanted him to replace Lekota as COPE president. Divisions were clear by the end of 2009. A party meeting in May 2010 ended in chaos.

In October 2010, Lekota's group tried to suspend Shilowa from his role as COPE chief whip. They claimed he had mismanaged money. However, a court said his suspension was not valid. The court ruled he was not given a fair chance to respond to the accusations.

In December 2010, another COPE meeting became chaotic. Shilowa announced that the meeting had elected him as the new party president. But Lekota strongly disagreed. For months, both Lekota and Shilowa claimed to be the leader of COPE. In January 2011, Lekota's group tried to suspend Shilowa from the party.

Shilowa was later expelled from the party in February 2011. The group that expelled him found he had mismanaged the party's money in Parliament. Shilowa denied these claims and refused to take part in the process.

Lekota's group told the Speaker of the National Assembly that Shilowa could no longer represent COPE in Parliament. But the Speaker did not accept this. A court later ordered Shilowa not to attend Parliament or claim to lead COPE. The lawsuit finally ended in October 2013. The court ruled that Lekota was the rightful leader of COPE.

In January 2014, COPE held another national meeting. Willie Madisha was elected to replace Shilowa as Lekota's deputy. Before the May 2014 general election, Shilowa publicly announced he would support the United Democratic Movement (UDM). This was another party that broke away from the ANC. However, he did not officially join the UDM himself.

Retirement and Personal Life

After losing the fight to lead COPE, Shilowa stepped back from active politics. However, he still shares his opinions as a political commentator and writes columns for News24. In 2024, he said he was "a man of leisure."

He also owns a wine company called Epicurean. He started it in 2003 with other businessmen. His company makes red wines at the Rupert & Rothschild cellars in Paarl.

He is married to businesswoman Wendy Luhabe. She was one of the early supporters and fundraisers for COPE. Shilowa also has two sons from a previous customary marriage.