Paul Mashatile ANC SARS Tax

Paul Mashatile addresses crowds in April 2018 – Photo: Flickr / GCIS

Paul Mashatile: Six facts about SA’s ‘next’ deputy president

ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile looks set to succeed David Mabuza at Union Buildings, but what do we know about him?

Paul Mashatile ANC SARS Tax

Paul Mashatile addresses crowds in April 2018 – Photo: Flickr / GCIS

It’s only a matter of time before Paul Mashatile is sworn in as an African National Congress (ANC) Member of Parliament, a move which is meant to pave the way for his appointment as the country’s deputy president. Mashatile officially became an MP, effective from 1 February 2023 and now needs to take his oath. The ANC had nominated him after Tshilidzi Munyai resigned from Parliament last week.

Mashatile was elected ANC deputy president, a coveted post he would serve under the party’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, at the ANC’s national conference in December 2022. All this comes as South Africa’s current deputy president David Mabuza had reportedly informed Ramaphosa he would be willing to step down from his post.

At the same time, Mashatile said in January, he would be willing to serve the country, if his party nominates him.

“For now I have been elected as the deputy president of the ANC and work at Luthuli House. If I get invited to government at some point, I will join them,” he was quoted as saying to Sowetan Live.

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WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT PAUL MASHATILE

-Like many of his comrades, Paul Mashatile was active in the struggle and started out in student politics. According to the ANC, he was detained without trial from 1985 -1989, and participated in a nationwide protest by engaging in a nearly three-week hunger strike.

-His full name is Paul Shipokosa Mashatile and he was born on 21 October 1961 in Pretoria.

-Before being elected the party’s deputy president, Mashatile had been its treasurer-general. He had previously also served as the ANC in Gauteng’s Chairperson and as the province’s premier between 2008 and 2009.

-Mashatile is considered one of the most prominent and inflential people in the ANC in Gauteng.

-He has four children – two sons and two daughters. His wife, Manzi Ellen Mashatile passed away in 2020.

-He has also served in several portfolios in government, including under former president Jacob Zuma.