GOVERNMENT PROFILE

Speaking at the National Energy dialogue, Minister Mantashe said South Africa needs a discussion on how to balance protection of the environment and development of the economy, to be a great economy again

Mr Samson Gwede Mantashe was born on 21 June 1955 in Lower Cala village in the then Transkei (now Eastern Cape Province). He started his political career as an activist in the Student Christian Movement. In 1975, he was employed as a Recreation Officer at the Western Deep Levels Mine and, in the same year, moved to Prieska Copper Mines where he served as the Welfare Officer until 1982. Working at the Matla Colliery in 1982, Mantashe co-founded and became the Witbank branch Chairperson of the National Union of Mine Workers (NUM). In 1985, he was elected NUM Regional Secretary. A skilled mineworker and leader, Mantashe was the NUM’s National Organiser from 1988 to 1993; and became the Regional Coordinator between 1993 and 1994.

From 1994 to 1998, Mantashe was the Assistant General Secretary of the NUM. He was elected General Secretary at the union’s congress in 1998.

He was also appointed the Executive Director at the Development Bank of Southern Africa for two years and served as the Chairperson of the Technical Working Group of the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition. In 2007, Mantashe was elected Chairperson of the South African Communist Party and also served as a member of the party’s Central Committee. In December 2007, he was elected Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC) at the party’s 52nd National Conference. He was re-elected to the same position in 2012. At the ANC’s 54th National Conference, in 2017, Mantashe was elected as the National Chairperson.

Following the 6th democratic elections in South Africa, Mr Gwede Mantashe was appointed Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy of South Africa in May 2019, when his earlier portfolio of Minister of Mineral Resources was merged with the energy portfolio.

Mantashe has a great passion for education and holds a master’s degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree from the University of South Africa, where he also completed a BCom Honours. In 2021, Mantashe achieved a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at the Management College of Southern Africa (MANCOSA) at 65 years of age. He said the MBA required discipline more than intelligence as well as hard work and the ability to meet deadlines.

“When you achieve your MBA, you don’t feel the length of the journey, you enjoy the qualification and you go about telling people that I’ve got a new qualification, the MBA,” Mr Mantashe said. “It takes courage and it’s quite an important qualification.”

As a result of Covid-19, Mantashe graduated virtually and “received” his degree via his laptop from the comfort of his home. He used his online graduation speech to encourage young people to study. “For young people and other people who want to do it, I would encourage them to do that because it will give them tools of execution, which is what the strength of the MBA is, rather than theory,” he said.

In 2021, the Zondo Commission recommended that Minister Mantashe should be probed for corruption after he received security installations for no charge from the facilities management company Bosasa. During his testimony before the state capture commission, Minister Mantashe refuted the claims, saying the upgrades were an entirely innocent contribution from a family friend for a traditional ceremony. In addition, Minister Mantashe was then the ANC’s Secretary General and did not hold any position in government.

To clear his name, the minister has indicated he will take the findings of the State Capture Inquiry on judicial review. He hastened to add that his actions should not be misconstrued as a judgement on the committee’s integrity. “By saying it should be taken on judicial review, I am not saying the commission’s findings should be defied or that the R1-billion invested in it was wasted,” he said. As Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Mantashe is acutely aware of the need to balance environmental concerns with economic growth. Speaking at the National Energy dialogue, hosted by the Central Energy Fund in partnership with the Financial Mail and Mkokeli Advisory, Mantashe said discoveries of gas in the Outeniqua basin offshore of Mossel Bay is evidence that South Africa does have gas and possibly even oil resources akin to those significant resources discovered in neighbouring Mozambique and very recently in Namibia.

Warning against environmental concerns standing in the way of progress to the detriment of South African citizens, the minister said the Constitution provides guidance for the responsible development of the country’s resources, which still protects the environment.

“This country needs a discussion on how to balance protection of the environment and development of the economy,” he said. “If we get that balance right, we are going to be a great economy again.”