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Lehlogonolo Masoga

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Lehlogonolo Masoga
Member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature
In office
2009–2019
Member of the Limpopo Executive Council for Roads and Transport
In office
July 2013 – May 2014
PremierStan Mathabatha
Preceded byPitsi Moloto
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Personal details
Born1975 or 1976 (age 48–49)
Jane Furse, Transvaal
South Africa
Political partyAfrican National Congress
Alma materUniversity of Limpopo
Leeds Beckett University

Matjie Lehlogonolo Alfred Masoga (born 1975/1976) is a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature from 2009 to 2019. He was Limpopo's Member of the Executive Council for Roads and Transport from July 2013 to May 2014 and he subsequently served as Deputy Speaker of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature from 2014 to 2019. He rose to prominence as the Provincial Chairperson of the Limpopo branch of the ANC Youth League, although he was expelled from the league in July 2010 after falling out with league president Julius Malema.

Early life and education

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Masoga was born in 1975 or 1976[1][2] in Jane Furse in Sekhukhune in present-day Limpopo province.[2] He has two Master's degrees, both earned in 2017, one in development studies from the University of Limpopo and one in leadership from Leeds Beckett University.[2]

ANC Youth League

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Masoga rose to political prominence as Provincial Chairperson of the Limpopo branch of the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League (ANCYL). He was viewed as the protégé of national ANCYL President Julius Malema and in 2008 was a key supporter of the successful bid to have Malema's ally Cassel Mathale elected as Provincial Chairperson of the mainstream ANC in Limpopo.[3] By 2009, Masoga was also a Member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature, and the ANCYL lobbied for him to be appointed to the Limpopo Executive Council under Mathale, who had been elected Premier of Limpopo.[4] However, Masoga was not appointed and, according to the Sowetan, this damaged his relationship with Malema, whom he accused of orchestrating his exclusion from the Executive Council.[5][6]

By early 2010, Frans Moswane had launched a campaign to oust Masoga as ANCYL Provincial Chairperson, apparently with Malema's backing.[6] At the league's next provincial elective conference in Makhado in April 2010, Moswane won the chairmanship in chaotic circumstances after the police entered the conference venue and Masoga and his supporters led a walk-out. After the conference, Masoga accused Malema of having intervened in support of Moswane – including by instructing the police to remove Masoga's supporters – and claimed that the election had been invalid and that he remained ANCYL Provincial Chairperson.[7][8]

In the aftermath, the disciplinary committee of the national ANCYL charged Masoga with several "serious" and "grave" disciplinary offences in respect of the Makhado conference and its aftermath. In July 2010, the committee ruled that he was guilty of provoking division and disunity in the ANCYL, of "engaging in organised factional activity", and of acting in a way "calculated to undermine the effectiveness of the organisation".[9][10] He was expelled from the ANCYL with immediate effect.[11] Elements of the Limpopo ANCYL refused to recognise the decision, calling the national disciplinary committee a "kangaroo court",[12] and for some time Masoga continued to lead parallel ANCYL structures from a separate office in Polokwane.[13]

Provincial legislature

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Masoga failed to gain reinstatement to the ANCYL,[14] though he remained a Member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature.[15] In October 2011, he was elected deputy chairperson of his local branch of the ANC, the Cuito Cuanavale branch in Flora Park, Polokwane.[14] He reportedly supported incumbent ANC President Jacob Zuma at the party's 53rd National Conference in December 2012.[16][1]

Member of the Executive Council: 2013–2014

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In July 2013, Mathale was succeeded as Premier by Stan Mathabatha, who immediately announced a major cabinet reshuffle in which Masoga was appointed Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Roads and Transport.[17] Masoga denied rumours that he had been appointed to the position because of his support for Zuma.[1] While he was in that office, in November 2013, he was elected Regional Chairperson of the ANC's Peter Mokaba region in Capricorn District.[18]

Deputy Speaker: 2014–2019

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Masoga vacated his post in the Executive Council after the 2014 general election. He was re-elected to his legislative seat, ranked third on the ANC's provincial party list,[19] but instead of being reappointed as an MEC he was named Deputy Speaker of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature, initially serving under Speaker Merriam Ramadwa.[20]

Early in his tenure as Deputy Speaker, Masoga allegedly incurred a large telephone bill at state expense while on an official trip to the United States in August 2014. City Press reported that Masoga had incurred the bulk of the expenses while watching pornography,[21] though Masoga denied this, saying that the claims were part of a politically motivated smear campaign.[22] In 2015, the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters lodged an official complaint against Masoga with the Public Protector,[23] and the report of the Public Protector's investigation was released in June 2018. Busisiwe Mkhwebane, the incumbent Public Protector, found that Masoga had indeed incurred an "exorbitant or unreasonable" telephone bill of R138,700 while on the official trip;[21] she did not adjudicate the further claim, which Masoga continued to deny, that he had incurred the bill watching pornography.[22] She recommended that Masoga should pay back a portion of the bill.[21][22] Masoga was cleared of wrongdoing several years later, in July 2022, when the Pretoria High Court declared the Public Protector's report unlawful and invalid.[24]

However, the initial release of the Public Protector's report coincided with Masoga's campaign to succeed Nocks Seabi as Provincial Secretary of the Limpopo ANC.[23] At a party elective conference in June 2018, a fortnight after the Public Protector's report was published, he was defeated in a vote by Soviet Lekganyane, who received 931 votes against Masoga's 618.[25] The same conference nonetheless elected Masoga to a four-year term as an ordinary member of the Limpopo ANC's Provincial Executive Committee.[26]

Resignation

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In the 2019 general election, Masoga was re-elected to his seat in the provincial legislature, ranked 37th on the ANC's party list.[19] However, during the legislature's first session, he was appointed chief executive officer of the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone.[27][28] He resigned from the provincial legislature in order to take up the position, which he retained as of September 2022.[29] He was not re-elected to the ANC Provincial Executive Committee in 2022.[30]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Payback time for new Limpopo MECs?". eNCA. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Two masters in a year no small feat for deputy speaker Lehlogonolo Masoga". Sowetan. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Zuma's premiers". Sunday Times. 3 May 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Fierce battle for MEC post". Sowetan. 14 August 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  5. ^ "ANC youth league boots out Masoga". Sowetan. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Tussle for ANCYL top post in Limpopo is hotting up". Sowetan. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Defiant ANCYL leader to reconvene Limpopo conference". The Mail & Guardian. 13 April 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Malema accused of hijacking Youth League´s provincial conference". Zoutpansberger. 16 April 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  9. ^ "ANCYL: Statement by the National Disciplinary Committee, on the outcome of the hearing of Lehlogonolo Masoga". Polity. 19 July 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  10. ^ "ANCYL finds Masoga guilty". Sunday Times. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  11. ^ "ANCYL's Masoga expelled". News24. 19 July 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Limpopo ANCYL behind Masoga". Sunday Times. 22 July 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Cosatu helps out Malema's rivals". The Mail & Guardian. 6 August 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Axed Masoga gets ANC leadership job". The Mail & Guardian. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Four young lives lost in gruesome accident". Zoutpansberger. 15 January 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Limpopo cabinet: Who's who". News24. 21 July 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  17. ^ "New premier Stan Mathabatha fires 8 of 10 Limpopo MECs". News24. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  18. ^ "ANC Limpopo conference interdicted". Business Day. 17 November 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  19. ^ a b "Matjie Lehlogonolo Alfred Masoga". People's Assembly. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  20. ^ Import, Pongrass (21 May 2014). "Premier waves 6 MEC's goodbye". Polokwane Observer. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  21. ^ a b c "Public protector: Limpopo deputy speaker to pay back phone bill". The Mail & Guardian. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  22. ^ a b c "Tussle for top posts in Limpopo". The Mail & Guardian. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  23. ^ a b Matlala, Alex Japho (13 June 2018). "'Old-aged' leaders must make way for young blood - ANC Youth League". The Citizen. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  24. ^ Dube, Mpho (17 July 2022). "Masoga cleared after six-year porn bill saga". Sunday World. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  25. ^ "Florence new deputy chairperson of ANC in Limpopo". Limpopo Mirror. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  26. ^ "Additionals on ANC's new provincial executive announced". Polokwane Observer. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  27. ^ "Masoga appointed CEO of Musina-Makhado SEZ". Capricorn FM. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  28. ^ Yende, Sizwe Sama (12 July 2020). "'Highly educated, but not for this post'". City Press. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  29. ^ Yende, Sizwe Sama (7 September 2022). "Limpopo SEZ abandons plans for coal-fuelled power station in favour of solar energy". City Press. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  30. ^ Import, Pongrass (10 June 2022). "Smooth sailing at ANC Limpopo's 10th elective conference". Review. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
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