Simon Matsobane Mathe is a South African politician and trade unionist 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 General Secretary of the

South African Municipal Workers' Union The South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) is the largest union in local government in South Africa. History The union was founded on 24 October 1987, when the Municipal Workers' Union of South Africa merged with the Cape Town Municipal ...

(SAMWU) from December 2015 until April 2019, when he and the union's other leaders were removed in a vote of no confidence.

Career in SAMWU

Mathe entered politics through SAMWU, 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 ...

. He was formerly SAMWU's Provincial Secretary 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 ...

and by 2015 was the Deputy General Secretary of the national union. In late 2015, the incumbent

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

, Walter Theledi, was suspended from his office amid allegations of financial mismanagement; SAMWU's executive committee voted in December 2015 to replace him with Mathe. Mathe subsequently served as national SAMWU General Secretary from 2015 to 2019. In 2018, his leadership corps controversially amended the union's constitution to extend their own terms in office from three years to five years, although Mathe said that the amendment was the result of a resolution of SAMWU's national congress. More generally, Mathe presided over what the ''

Mail & Guardian The ''Mail & Guardian'', formerly the ''Weekly Mail'', is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, loca ...

'' called a "leadership crisis" in the union, and in early 2019 the labour registrar applied to have SAMWU placed under administration for alleged violations of the Labour Relations Act. In April 2019, at a SAMWU executive committee meeting in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

, five of the union's nine provincial branches supported a

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

in the incumbent national leadership. Mathe said that he had resigned before the motion was voted on, but sources said that his resignation was prompted by the motion. He was replaced as General Secretary by Koena Ramatlou.

Career in the provincial legislature

In the 2019 general election, which took place shortly after Mathe's removal from his SAMWU office, Mathe was elected to an ANC seat in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature, ranked 31st 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 ...

. He has also been elected to two consecutive four-year terms on the Limpopo ANC's Provincial Executive Committee in June 2018 and June 2022.

References

External links

* Living people Year of birth missing (living people) South African trade unionists African National Congress politicians Members of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature 21st-century South African politicians {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathe_Simon