Neo Harrison Masithela (born 20 March 1966) is a South African politician and businessman who served in the Executive Council of the Free State from 2005 to 2009. Before that, he 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

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

from 1999 to 2005. As of 2022, he was the chairperson of the African Farmers Association of South Africa.

Legislative career: 1999–2009

Masithela was elected to the National Assembly in the 1999 general election. He stood as a candidate on the ANC's national party list in his capacity as a member of the executive 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 ...

's North West branch. In the next general election in 2004, he was re-elected to a second term, on that occasion as a member of the ANC's Free State caucus. On 18 May 2005, Masithela resigned from his seat in order to join the

Free State Provincial Legislature The Free State Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Free State. It is unicameral in its composition and elects the Premier of the Free State, who in turn selects the members of the Executive ...

, where he was appointed by Premier Beatrice Marshoff as

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 ...

(MEC) for Tourism, Environment and Economic Affairs; he succeeded Benny Malakoane, whom Marshoff had sacked in April. He remained in that portfolio until October 2008, when, in a reshuffle, he was moved to replace Mamiki Qabathe as MEC for Agriculture. He left the provincial legislature and Executive Council after the 2009 general election.

References

External links

2020 interview with ''Farmer's Weekly''
Living people African National Congress politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 1999–2004 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2004–2009 Members of the Free State Provincial Legislature 1966 births {{DEFAULTSORT:Masithela, Neo