Seaparo Charles Sekoati (born 28 June 1967), sometimes misspelled Seaparo Sekwati, is a South African politician who has been a

Member of the National Assembly of South Africa Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

since 2024. He was a Member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature from 2004 until 2024 and served in the Limpopo provincial government 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 ...

(MEC) for Health and Social Development from 2004 to 2009 and, before serving as the MEC for Finance from 2019 until 2024, MEC for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism from 2013 to 2019. From 2013 to 2017, he was also Regional Chairperson of the Mopani branch of his political party, 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 ...

Early life and education

Sekoati was born on 28 June 1967 in

Sekhukhuneland Sekhukhuneland or Sekukuniland () is a natural region in north-east South Africa, located in the historical Transvaal zone, former Transvaal Province, also known as Bopedi (meaning “land of Bapedi”). The region is named after the 19th-century ...

and grew up in Mopani, now part of

Limpopo province Limpopo () is the northernmost 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 group of Tsonga settlers ...

. He matriculated at Vuxeni High School in 1988. He later earned a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

from 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 1993 and a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

from the

University of Limpopo 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 institution ...

in 2011; he also earned a tertiary diploma at the

University of Zambia The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...

in 1996. During apartheid, he was active in the

South African Youth Congress The South African Youth Congress (SAYCO) was a pro-African National Congress youth organization, active in the struggle against Apartheid. The organization was formed in 1987. The motto of SAYCO was "Victory is Certain - Freedom or Death". In 199 ...

, the

South African Students Congress The South African Students Congress (SASCO) is a South African student organisation currently led by Alungile Kamtshe as the organization's president. SASCO was founded in September 1991 at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, through t ...

, the

Congress of South African Students The Congress of South African Students (COSAS) is an anti-apartheid student organisation established in 1979 in the wake of the June 16 Soweto Uprisings in 1976 in South Africa. Background COSAS was formed in June 1979 after the South African Stu ...

, and the United Democratic Front. After the

(ANC) was unbanned in 1990, he became involved in 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 new branch in Limpopo, ultimately becoming its Deputy Provincial Chairperson. Later, from 2003 to 2008, he was a member of the Provincial Executive Committee of the mainstream ANC's Limpopo branch.

Career in government

Health MEC: 2004–2009

Sekoati served on the Limpopo Executive Council from 2004 to 2009 during the tenure of Sello Moloto as

Premier of Limpopo The premier of Limpopo is the head of government of Limpopo province of South Africa. The current premier of Limpopo is Phophi Ramathuba, a member of the African National Congress, who was elected on 14 June 2024, following the 2024 national a ...

; he was

(MEC) for Health and Social Development. However, he was dropped from the Executive Council in 2009 by

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 succeeded Moloto as Premier. Sekoati thus served the next few years, from 2009 to 2013, as an ordinary

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of 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 ...

Economic Development MEC: 2013–2019

On 19 July 2013, Sekoati was reappointed to the Executive Council by Stan Mathabatha, who had recently succeeded Mathale as Premier after the ANC asked Mathale to resign. Mathabatha appointed Sekoati as MEC for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism. In the 2014 general election, Sekoati was ranked fifth on the ANC's

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 ...

and gained re-election to the provincial legislature, and Mathabatha reappointed him to his earlier portfolio. Sekoati ultimately served as MEC for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism until 2019, throughout Mathabatha's first full term as Premier.

ANC Regional Chairperson: 2013–2017

In late November 2013, at a party regional elective conference in

Phalaborwa Phalaborwa (translated to English as ''better than the south; phala'' means ''better than and borwa'' means ''south'') is a town in the Mopani District Municipality, Limpopo province, South Africa. Name The place was called "Phalaborwa" by the S ...

that was later challenged in court, Sekoati was elected to succeed Joshua Matlou as Regional Chairperson of the ANC's Mopani branch. He beat David Maake, the outgoing Deputy Regional Chairperson, with 99 votes to Maake's 72. At the next regional elective conference in September 2017, held in

Tzaneen Tzaneen () is a town situated in the Mopani district of the Limpopo Province in South Africa. It is situated in a high rainfall fertile region with tropical and subtropical agriculture taking place in a region. It is Limpopo's second largest to ...

, Sekoati ran for re-election but was defeated by Pule Shayi, who received 155 votes to his 131. With the national ANC's own elective conference upcoming, Sekoati and Shayi were viewed as supporting opposing contenders: while Shayi was viewed as an ally of

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma (; born 27 January 1949), sometimes referred to by her initials NDZ, is a South Africa, South African politician, medical doctor and former anti-apartheid activist. A longstanding member of the African National Con ...

, Sekoati was viewed as supporting

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 ...

ANC Provincial Executive: 2018–2022

In the months after he was ousted as Mopani Chairperson, Sekoati stood for election as

Provincial Treasurer In Canadian politics the Provincial Treasurer is a senior portfolio in the Executive Council (or cabinet) of provincial governments. The position is the provincial equivalent of the Minister of Finance and is responsible for setting the provincia ...

of the ANC's Limpopo branch. At the provincial elective conference in June 2018, he was beaten by Danny Msiza, who received 848 votes to his 688. However, delegates at the conference elected Sekoati to a four-year term as an ordinary member of the ANC Provincial Executive Committee. At the ANC's next provincial elective conference in 2022, Sekoati failed to gain re-election to the ANC Provincial Executive Committee.

Finance MEC: 2019–2024

In the 2019 general election, Sekoati was re-elected to the provincial legislature, ranked 35th on the ANC's party list. Shortly after the election, Mathabatha announced his newly constituted Executive Council, in which Sekoati assumed the senior position of MEC for Finance, the political head of the Limpopo Treasury.

Member of Parliament

Sekoati was elected to the

National Assembly of South Africa The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation sy ...

in the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

Personal life

Sekoati is married and has at least one child, an adult daughter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sekoati_Seaparo People from Sekhukhune District Municipality People from Mopani District Municipality Living people African National Congress politicians 1967 births Members of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2024–2029