Zamani Saul (born 7 March 1972) is a South African politician who is the 5th and current

Premier of the Northern Cape The Premier of the Northern Cape is the head of government of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The current Premier of the Northern Cape is Zamani Saul, a member of the African National Congress, who was elected in the 2019 election. ...

and a Member of the

Northern Cape Provincial Legislature The Northern Cape Provincial Legislature is the legislature of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is a unicameral body of 30 members elected every five years. The current legislature was elected on 8 May 2019 and has an African Natio ...

. He has also been serving as the Provincial Chairperson of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

(ANC) since his election on 12 May 2017. He previously served as the Provincial Secretary and as the Deputy Provincial Secretary of the party.

Life and education

Zamani Saul completed his Grade 12 at Umso High School in

Colesberg Colesberg is a town with 17,354 inhabitants in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, located on the main N1 road from Cape Town to Johannesburg. In a sheep-farming area spread over half-a-million hectares, greater Colesberg breeds many ...

. He obtained a master's degree in Development Studies from the

University of the Free State The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in ...

and a Master of Laws degree from the

University of the Western Cape The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is a public research university in Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the South African government as a university for Coloured people only. Other un ...

. He, later on, also achieved a Doctorate of Laws degree in Public Law and Jurisprudence from the same university. Saul is currently studying towards a Doctorate of Philosophy in Multi-Disciplinary Studies through the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

. He is married to Tapsy Saul, and they have children together. Their one son matriculated in 2018.

Political career

Saul served as the municipal manager of the

Pixley ka Seme District Municipality Pixley ka Seme is one of the five districts of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The seat of Pixley ka Seme is De Aar. The majority (77%) of its 186,351 people speak Afrikaans as first language (2011 Census). The district code is DC7. ...

from 2000 to 2008. He served as ANC Deputy Provincial Secretary from 2004 until his election as Provincial Secretary in 2008. He won re-election to a second term in 2012. On 12 May 2017, Saul was elected unopposed as the Provincial Chairperson of the African National Congress in the Northern Cape after Premier

Sylvia Lucas Sylvia Elizabeth Lucas (born 22 April 1964) is the current Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces in the Republic of South Africa, after having taken office on 23 May 2019. From 2013 to 2019, she served as the 4th Premier of the ...

had withdrawn her nomination for the position. Saul succeeded John Block, who had resigned from the position in October 2015. Deshi Ngxanga succeeded Saul as Provincial Secretary. Saul is seen as someone who is aligned with the Ramaphosa faction of the

, as he endorsed

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

to become ANC President in 2017. On 8 May 2019, the ANC retained their majority in the

. Saul was selected as the party's premier candidate on 13 May 2019. He assumed the office on 22 May 2019. In his first few months, he pledged to cut what he called "wastage" from the Northern Cape government; citing as Premier he would get a bowl of fresh fruit every morning and that his car would be replaced after 120,000 km while ambulances in the province would run at 952,000+km. Accordingly he banned Northern Cape ministers from getting new cars and used the money to buy 63 new ambulances instead.

References

External links

People's Assembly profileZamani Saul, Dr – South African GovernmentProfile: Dr Zamani Saul – Northern Cape GovernmentProfile: Dr Zamani Saul – NCPLEGDr Zamani Saul: The Northern Cape's new 'activist premier'
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Saul, Zamani Living people University of the Western Cape alumni University of the Free State alumni Premiers of the Northern Cape People from the Northern Cape African National Congress politicians South African politicians 21st-century South African politicians University of South Africa alumni Members of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature 1972 births