Joshua Matlou
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Leswafo Joshua Matlou is a
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n politician who has represented 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) in the
Limpopo Provincial Legislature The Limpopo Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Limpopo. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the Premier of Limpopo, premier and the provincial cabinet, the Executive Council (Sou ...
since 2019. He was formerly the Mayor of
Mopani District Municipality The Mopani District Municipality (; ) is one of the 5 districts of the Limpopo province of South Africa. The seat of the district is Giyani. According to the 2016 Community Survey, it had a population of 1,159,185. The district code is DC33. Aft ...
from 2009 until 2014, when the ANC asked him to resign. He also served as the chairperson of the ANC's influential Mopani branch from 2009 to 2013 and before that was the Provincial Chairperson of the
ANC 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 ...
in
Limpopo Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...
.


ANC Youth League

Matlou rose to prominence as the Provincial Chairperson of the Limpopo branch of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL). He was elected to that position in 2006 alongside ANCYL Provincial Secretary
Julius Malema Julius Sello Malema (born 3 March 1981) is a South African politician. He is the founder and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a communist political party known for the red berets and military-style outfits worn by its members. Be ...
. Matlou and Malema were still working alongside each other in 2008, when Matlou supported Malema's successful bid to be elected President of the national ANCYL. He became known as a close ally and friend of Malema and of
Cassel Mathale Cassel Mathale (born 23 January 1961) is a South African politician who was the third Premier of Limpopo between March 2009 and July 2013. He is currently the Deputy Minister of Police in the South African government and before that was Deputy ...
, who was from Mopani and who was elected ANC Provincial Chairperson in 2008.


Mayor of Mopani: 2009–2014

In 2009, Matlou was inaugurated as Executive Mayor of the Mopani District Municipality. Later that year, at a regional party elective conference in September, Matlou was elected as Regional Chairperson of the mainstream ANC's branch in the Mopani region, succeeding Matome Humphrey Mokgobi, who had held the position for 17 years. Matlou's candidacy was supported by Mathale, while the other candidate, Dimond Mushwana, was aligned to Mathale's rival Joe Maswanganyi. However, Mushwana withdrew from the race at the conference, leaving Matlou to stand unopposed. He was deputised by David Maake. The ANC caucus retained Matlou as Mayor of Mopani after the 2011 local elections. He was also re-elected unopposed as ANC Regional Chairperson in May 2012. Later in 2012,
amaBhungane AmaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism is an investigative journalism organisation focusing primarily on exposing political corruption in South Africa and neighbouring countries. They say that their name means “dung beetles” in is ...
and the '' Sunday Independent'' alleged that Matlou was implicated in procurement irregularities in Mopani, apparently also involving other associates of Mathale and Malema. In May 2013, Matlou lost his position as ANC Regional Chairperson when the ANC's provincial leadership – no longer led by Mathale – disbanded the entire leadership corps of Mopani and two other regional branches. When fresh leadership elections were held in November that year, Matlou did not run for re-election and he was succeeded as Regional Chairperson by Seaparo Sekoati. Then, on 24 June 2014, the ANC announced that Matlou was one of four Limpopo mayors whom the party had asked to resign; he was replaced by Nkakareng Rakgoale. Although the ANC said that the decision was based on an assessment of the municipality's performance, several newspapers reported that Matlou and the others had been dismissed because they were viewed as aligned to Mathale, to Malema, and to Malema's new party the
Economic Freedom Fighters The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a South African communist and black nationalist political party. It was founded by expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema, and his allies, on 26 July 20 ...
(EFF). In particular, sources told
News24 News 24 may refer to: * News 24 (Albania), a 24-hour news television channel in Albania *News24 (website), a South Africa-based news website * Rai News24, a 24-hour news television channel in Italy *BBC News 24, now known as BBC News, a UK 24-hour n ...
that Matlou was being punished because he had effectively helped fund the EFF by awarding Mopani municipal contracts to Malema's associates. Matlou confirmed that he was still Malema's close friend but said that there was "nothing wrong with that" and denied involvement in factionalism. After vacating the mayoral office, he additionally resigned from the Mopani local council in mid-July.


Provincial legislature: 2019–present

By early 2018, Matlou was campaigning to make a political comeback through election to a top leadership position in the Limpopo branch of the ANC; his supporters said that he would aim to be included on the
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
of Stan Mathabatha, who was running for re-election as ANC Provincial Chairperson. At the next party elective conference, held in June 2018, Matlou did not stand for a top leadership position but was elected to a four-year term as an ordinary member of the ANC Provincial Executive Committee. The following year, he stood in the 2019 general election as an ANC candidate for the Limpopo Provincial Legislature. He was ranked 39th on the ANC's provincial
party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...
, meaning that he narrowly failed to secure one of 38 seats won by the ANC in the election. However, later in 2019, a
casual vacancy ''The Casual Vacancy'' is a novel written by British author J. K. Rowling, published worldwide by the Little, Brown Book Group on 27 September 2012. It was Rowling's first publication since the ''Harry Potter'' series, her first novel apart fr ...
arose when Lehlogonolo Masoga resigned from the legislature; Matlou was sworn in to replace him in August. He failed to gain re-election to the ANC Provincial Executive Committee in 2022.


References


External links

* Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature African National Congress politicians Mayors of places in South Africa {{DEFAULTSORT:Matlou_Joshua