Mondli Gungubele

Previously, Mondli Gungubele was the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee of Social Development and a Convener of the Social Transformation Cluster Committee since the commencement of the 6th Term of Parliament in June 2019. Prior to that, Gungubele was the Deputy Minister of Finance from February 2018 till May 2019.^[1]

GAt the time, Gungubele was one of only two deputy ministers who did not make it into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet. Although details about his exclusion were unclear, some political commentators speculated that his implication in a number of scandals at the PIC could have contributed to his exclusion.

The widespread resignation of the PIC board appeared to have backfired and contributed to his exclusion. Gungubele testified under oath that he had not been put under pressure to resign; however, conflicting testimony alleged that this was not the case and that Gungubele had received a phone call from Finance Minister Tito Mboweni, during a PIC board meeting, instructing him to resign or be fired.

The instruction from Mboweni is said to have led to the widespread resignation of the board, which some interpreted as undermining the finance minister.^[2]

Previously Held Positions

Gungubele has experience in the public sector and is a product of the trade union movement. He became actively involved in worker struggles in 1973. In 1982, he became a member of the National Union of Mine Workers (NUM). It was during this time that he sharpened his political and negotiation skills.

In 1989, he was elected to the position of chairperson of COSATU Local. In 1992, he took up the position of Chairperson of the ANC Vosloorus branch, and later became the founding Chairperson of the ANC East Rand Region. In the same year, he was elected to the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) of the ANC in Gauteng.

Mondli Gungubele became a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature after the 1994 democratic breakthrough until 1997. In 1997, he took up the challenging and exciting task of MEC of Health in the Gauteng Provincial Government, a position he held until 1999. Gungubele played a pivotal role in the transformation of the health sector in Gauteng.

In 1999, he was deployed to lead Gauteng’s Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture agenda. Gungubele worked tirelessly to unite all sporting codes and contributed immensely to the development of grassroots sports in Gauteng. He held the position of Sports MEC until 2004 – the same year – FIFA awarded the 2010 World Cup Soccer showpiece to South Africa.

After the 2004 national and provincial elections, Gungubele became the Chairperson of the Economic Affairs Portfolio Committee in the Gauteng Legislature. He served in this portfolio until 2007, where he was responsible for political oversight and ensuring the Department of Economic Affairs fulfils its mandate.

In 2009, Mondli Gungubele was deployed to Parliament as an ANC MP. He served as the Whip of the Justice and Constitutional Development Portfolio Committee. He was then redeployed to the City of Ekurhuleni wherein he served a full 5-year term as the City’s Executive Mayor. It is in Ekurhuleni where Mr Gungubele impelled the City’s Governance and administrative record to clean audits and other cumulous awards on good governance.

In 2016, he was deployed back to Parliament and served on the Portfolio Committees on Communications and Public Enterprises respectively. Mr Gungubele was part of the collective that led SABC Inquiry and the Eskom Inquiry – both processes that paved the way for the turnaround of these two State-Owned Enterprises.

He also serves on the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress as elected in December 2017.^[1]

Corruption Allegations

References