Babalo Madikizela is a South African urban planner and politician who served as the Eastern Cape MEC for Public Works from May 2019 to July 2022 and as a Member of the

Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature The Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Eastern Cape. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the members of the leading pa ...

from November 2018 to August 2022. Madikizela served as the provincial treasurer of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

(ANC) from October 2017 to May 2022.

Early life and education

Madikizela was born in village of Mbhongweni, Mbizana in the former

Transkei Transkei ( , meaning ''the area beyond Great Kei River, he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei (), was an list of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa f ...

, which became the northeastern part the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

in 1994. He attended St. John's College from which he matriculated. He obtained a national diploma in town and regional planning from the ML Sultan Technikon, now the

Durban University of Technology The Durban University of Technology (DUT) is a multi-campus university situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was formed in 2002 following the merger of Technikon Natal and ML Sultan Technikon and it was initially known as the Durban In ...

Career

Madikizela started his career as a planner for the Municipal Mentoring Programme (MMP) and later found employment as a housing manager at the Ingquza Hill Local Municipality. He then worked for a

fast-food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...

Mthatha Mthatha ( , ), alternatively rendered Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known ...

and soon after started working in the construction industry. Madikizela joined the

African National Congress Youth League The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) is the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC). As set out in its constitution, the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee (NEC) and a National Working Committee (N ...

(ANCYL) at a young age. He served on the youth league's regional and provincial structures. He proceeded to serve on an ANC regional structure as an additional member and was later elected treasurer. On 1 October 2017, Madikizela was elected provincial treasurer of the ANC. He was deployed to the provincial legislature in November 2018 and took office as an MPL on 13 November. On 18 November, premier Phumulo Masualle appointed Madikizela as MEC for Human Settlements. He assumed office on 21 November. Following the May 2019 provincial election, premier Oscar Mabuyane appointed Madikizela as the

Member of the Executive Council In South Africa, the Executive Council of a province is the cabinet of the provincial government. The Executive Council consists of the Premier and five to ten other members,'' Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996'', Chapter 6: "P ...

for Public Works. After his swearing-in, he availed himself for a lifestyle audit as he was accused of fraud and corruption by businessman Lonwabo Bam. Madikizela denied the allegations. In May 2022, Madikizela challenged Oscar Mabuyane for provincial chairperson of the ANC in the Eastern Cape. He lost to Mabuyane, receiving 662 votes to Mabuyane's 812 votes. Zolile Williams replaced him as provincial treasurer. After his defeat, Madikizela announced that he would be resigning from the provincial government, and vacated his office on 29 July 2022. He said that he would remain a Member of the Provincial Legislature. Premier Mabuyane appointed Xolile Nqatha as the acting MEC for the portfolio until a permanent replacement had been appointed. Madikizela resigned from the Provincial Legislature on 2 August 2022. On 16 August, Ntombovuyo Nkopane became the new MEC for Public Works.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Madikizela, Babalo Living people African National Congress politicians Xhosa people Members of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature People from Mbizana Local Municipality People from Alfred Nzo District Municipality People from Bizana 20th-century South African politicians 21st-century South African politicians Year of birth missing (living people)