Rejoice Thizwilondi Mabudafhasi (born 23 May 1943) is a South African politician who 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 1994 until her resignation in April 2017. She was appointed as South Africa's Ambassador to Zimbabwe in 2021. Mabudafhasi previously served as Deputy Minister for Environmental Affairs and Tourism from 1999 to 2009 under President

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served as the 2nd democratic president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Cong ...

and then, under President

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...

, as Deputy Minister for Water and Environmental Affairs from 2009 to 2014 and as Deputy Minister for Arts and Culture from 2014 to 2017. She resigned from Parliament after Zuma fired her from the latter position in 2017. A former

trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

and

anti-apartheid activist Several independent sectors of South African society opposed apartheid through various means, including social movements, passive resistance, and guerrilla warfare. Mass action against the ruling National Party (NP) government, coupled with So ...

, she also served on the ANC's National Executive Committee between 2007 and 2022.

Early life and career

Mabudafhasi was born on 23 May 1943. She served a brief stint as a teacher at Tshilidzi School in

Soweto Soweto () is a Township (South Africa), township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western T ...

from 1962 to 1963 before becoming a librarian at the

University of the North The University of Limpopo () is a public university in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2005, by merger of the University of the North and the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA). These previous institutio ...

in 1965. While working at the university, she was active in the

anti-apartheid movement The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-white population who were oppressed by the policies ...

, including through the United Democratic Front and Federation of Transvaal Women. From 1992 to 1994, she also served as national treasurer of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union, an affiliate of the ANC-allied

Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU or Cosatu) is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the largest of the country's three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions.One Union ...

(COSATU).

Career in government

Mabudafhasi left the University of North after the 1994 general election, in which she was elected to an ANC seat in the first post-apartheid

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. With

Susan Shabangu Susan Shabangu (born 28 February 1956) is a South African politician and former trade unionist. She represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly of South Africa between May 1994 and June 2019. During that time she was ...

and Elizabeth Thabethe, she was one of three women who represented COSATU on the ANC's list of candidates.

Environmental Affairs and Tourism: 1999–2009

After her re-election to Parliament in the 1999 general election, President

appointed Mabudafhasi as Deputy Minister for Environmental Affairs and Tourism. She retained that office from June 1999 until May 2009, throughout Mbeki's tenure and the brief term of his successor,

Kgalema Motlanthe Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe (; born 19 July 1949) is a South African politician who served as the 3rd president of South Africa from 25 September 2008 to 9 May 2009, following the resignation of Thabo Mbeki. Thereafter, he was deputy president und ...

; she served under Ministers

Valli Moosa Valli Moosa is a veteran of the South African freedom struggle. He worked closely with Nelson Mandela during the settlement talks, served as negotiator for the ANC, and participated in drafting the South African Constitution. Valli served in Pr ...

and

Marthinus van Schalkwyk Marthinus Christoffel Johannes van Schalkwyk (born 10 November 1959) is a South African politician, academic, and lawyer, who serves as High Commissioner to Australia. He previously served as MP and Minister of Tourism in the Cabinet of South Af ...

. In addition, at the ANC's 52nd National Conference in December 2007, she was elected to her first five-year term on the party's National Executive Committee; by popularity, she was ranked 42nd of the 80 candidates elected, receiving 1,698 votes across the roughly 4,000 ballots cast.

Water and Environmental Affairs: 2009–2014

After the 2009 general election, newly elected President

reconfigured the executive and Mabudafhasi was appointed Deputy Minister for Water and Environmental Affairs under Minister

Buyelwa Sonjica Buyelwa Patience Sonjica (born 23 March 1950) is a South African politician who served as Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs from May 2009 until November 2010.WASH News AfricEdna Molewa replaces Buyelwa Sonjica as Water and Environmen ...

(later replaced by

Edna Molewa Bomo Edith Edna Molewa (23 March 195722 September 2018), formerly known as Edna Sethema, was a South African politician and member of the African National Congress. Molewa became the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs of South Africa ...

). Midway through the legislative term, at the ANC's 53rd National Conference in December 2012, she was re-elected to the ANC National Executive Committee, ranked 27th of the 80 members by popularity.

Arts and Culture: 2014–2017

In the 2014 general election, Mabudafhasi was re-elected to her final term in Parliament, ranked 44th on the ANC's national party list. After the election, Zuma moved her from the Water and Environmental Affairs portfolio, appointing her Deputy Minister for Arts and Culture under Minister

Nathi Mthethwa Emmanuel Nkosinathi Mthethwa (born 23 January 1967) is a South African politician who is currently serving as South African Ambassador to France. He represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly of South Africa betwee ...

. However, less than three years later, Zuma fired her in a cabinet reshuffle announced in late March 2017. Shortly afterwards, she announced that she would also resign as an ordinary Member of Parliament, effective from 30 April 2017.

Late career

Despite her resignation from Parliament, Mabudafhasi was re-elected to another five-year term on the ANC National Executive Committee at the party's next elective conference in December 2017.' In 2021, she was appointed South African Ambassador to Zimbabwe by Zuma's successor, President

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

. She did not stand for re-election to the ANC National Executive at the 55th National Conference in December 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mabudafhasi, Rejoice Living people 1943 births 20th-century South African women politicians 21st-century South African women politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 1994–1999 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 1999–2004 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2004–2009 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2009–2014 African National Congress politicians