Joe Phaahla | |
|---|---|
_at_World_Economic_Forum_Davos_2024.png) Phaahla at the 2024World Economic Forum | |
| Deputy Minister of Health | |
| Assumed office 2 July 2024 | |
| President | Cyril Ramaphosa |
| Minister | Aaron Motsoaledi |
| Preceded by | Sibongiseni Dhlomo |
| In office 26 May 2014 – 5 August 2021 | |
| President | Cyril Ramaphosa Jacob Zuma |
| Minister | Zweli Mkhize Aaron Motsoaledi |
| Preceded by | Gwen Ramokgopa |
| Succeeded by | Sibongiseni Dhlomo |
| 26thMinister of Health | |
| In office 5 August 2021 – 19 June 2024 | |
| President | Cyril Ramaphosa |
| Deputy | Sibongiseni Dhlomo |
| Preceded by | Zweli Mkhize |
| Succeeded by | Aaron Motsoaledi |
| Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture | |
| In office 31 October 2010 – 7 May 2014 | |
| President | Jacob Zuma |
| Minister | Paul Mashatile |
| Preceded by | Paul Mashatile |
| Succeeded by | Rejoice Mabudafhasi |
| Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform | |
| In office 11 May 2009 – 31 October 2010 | |
| President | Jacob Zuma |
| Minister | Gugile Nkwinti |
| Preceded by | Portfolio established |
| Succeeded by | Thulas Nxesi |
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2009 | |
| Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the African National Congress in Limpopo | |
| In office 1994–1998 | |
| Chairperson | Ngoako Ramatlhodi George Mashamba |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Robert Malavi |
| Member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature | |
| In office 1994–2000 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mathume Joseph Phaahla (1957-07-11)11 July 1957 (age 67) Ga-Phaahla,Transvaal Union of South Africa |
| Political party | African National Congress |
| Alma mater | University of Natal (MBBS) |
Mathume Joseph Phaahla (born 11 July 1957) is aSouth African politician who is currently serving as theDeputy Minister of Health since July 2024. He was formerly theMinister of Health between August 2021 and May 2024. A member of theNational Executive Committee of theAfrican National Congress (ANC), he has been a deputy minister since May 2009, when he joined theNational Assembly; he served an earlier stint as Deputy Minister of Health between May 2014 and August 2021.
Born inLimpopo, Phaahla trained as a medical doctor at theUniversity of Natal, where he became active in theanti-apartheid movement. He was the president of theAzanian Students' Organisation from 1981 to 1983 and later was a regional leader in theUnited Democratic Front. Upon theend of apartheid in 1994, Phaahla left his medical career to join the inauguralExecutive Council of Limpopo; under PremierNgoako Ramatlhodi, he was the province's firstMember of the Executive Council for Health from 1994 to 1997 and then Member of the Executive Council for Education from 1997 to 2000. He was also a member of the ANCProvincial Executive Committee from 1991 to 2001, including as DeputyProvincial Chairperson from 1994 to 1998.
Between 2000 and 2009, Phaahla took a hiatus from legislative politics, initially to work insports administration as the head of theSouth African Sports Commission and then as the head of the government's preparations for the2010 FIFA World Cup. During this period, at the ANC'sPolokwane conference in December 2007, Phaahla was elected to the ANC National Executive Committee for the first time. From 2008 to 2009, during the2009 general election campaign, he worked atLuthuli House as the head of the ANC presidency underJacob Zuma.
Phaahla was elected to the National Assembly in the 2009 election and was appointed as DeputyMinister of Rural Development and Land Reform underZuma's first cabinet from 2009 to 2010. After that, he served as DeputyMinister of Arts and Culture from 2010 to 2014, and then as Deputy Minister of Health from 2014 to 2021. PresidentCyril Ramaphosa promoted him tothe cabinet on 5 August 2021 following the resignation of the former Health Minister,Zweli Mkhize.
Phaahla was born on 11 July 1957[1] inGa-Phaahla, a rural village in the formerNorthern Transvaal.[2] He completed anMBBS at theUniversity of Natal in 1983.[1] He also holds tertiary diplomas, including one inhealth service management from theUniversity of Haifa.[3]
After graduating, and until theend of apartheid in 1994, Phaahla worked as a doctor and medical administrator in theTransvaal.[1] He was a senior medical officer andsuperintendent at Mapulaneng Hospital inBushbuckridge from 1987 until 1990, when he was appointed as medical superintendent at St Rita's Hospital inGlen Cowie;[4] then, between 1993 and 1994, he was the director of medical services in the Department of Health ofLebowa, an apartheid-erabantustan.[5]
At the same time, Phaahla was active in theanti-apartheid movement. His political involvement began at university, where he was a member of the student representative council from 1979 to 1981.[5] A founding member of theAzanian Students' Organisation, he was AZASO's national president from 1981 to 1983.[5] In 1982, he told theChristian Science Monitor that one of his priorities as AZASO president was to establish closer ties with community andlabour organisations.[6] In 1983, still living inNatal, he joined theUnited Democratic Front and was elected as its regional secretary.[4][5] Later, during thenegotiations to end apartheid, he was a regional leader of theAfrican National Congress (ANC); he was a member of the ANC'sProvincial Executive Committee in the Northern Transvaal (later calledLimpopo) from 1991 to 2001.[1][2]
In South Africa'sfirst post-apartheid elections in April 1994, Phaahla was elected to represent the ANC in the newly establishedLimpopo Provincial Legislature (then still named after the Northern Transvaal). He was also appointed to theExecutive Council ofNgoako Ramatlhodi, thePremier of Limpopo, who named him as the province's inauguralMember of the Executive Council (MEC) for Health and Welfare.[1][7]
He remained in the health portfolio until 1 July 1997, when Ramatlhodi announced a reshuffle that saw Phaahla replaceAaron Motsoaledi as MEC for Education;Hunadi Mateme, in turn, succeeded Phaahla as Health MEC.[8] He remained in that position until 2000, gaining re-election to the provincial legislature inJune 1999.[1]
Throughout this period, Phaahla was an influential figure in the provincial ANC, with particular popularity inSekhukhune.[9] From 1994 to 1998, he served as DeputyProvincial Chairperson of the Limpopo ANC, deputising Ramathlodi and thenGeorge Mashamba.[10] Mashamba was controversially elected as Provincial Chairperson in December 1996, after the frontrunners for the position – Phaahla andPeter Mokaba – declined nominations to stand, reportedly urged by PresidentNelson Mandela to allow an uncontested election for the sake of party unity.[11] At the next provincial party elective conference in 1998, Phaahla ran to succeed Mashamba but was defeated by Ramathlodi, who returned to the chairmanship.[9] Phaahla, however, remained a member of the ANC Provincial Executive Committee until 2001.[1]
In 2000, Phaahla retreated from legislative politics to work as asports administrator, initially as the chief executive officer of the South African Sports Commission from 2000 to 2005; the commission was the overall regulator of all sports federations in the country, a forerunner of theSouth African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee.[1]
In August 2005, Phaahla was appointed to a three-year term asdirector-general in charge of the government unit that coordinated South Africa's preparations for hosting the2010 FIFA World Cup.[12] According to theMail & Guardian, Phaahla was admired as a sports administrator and his appointment to the unit was "welcomed by all sides".[13] During this period, he also served as acting director-general of theDepartment of Sports and Recreation.[13] In January 2008, he asked to be relieved early from his contract as director-general in order to pursue opportunities in the private sector and dedicate more time to party-political work. The World Cup unit announced in March 2008 that he would leave at the end of that month.[12]
Phaahla remained active in the ANC while working in sports administration, and in December 2007 he attended the party's52nd National Conference inPolokwane, whereJacob Zuma was elected as ANC president. At the same conference, Phaahla was elected for the first time to a five-year term as a member of the ANCNational Executive Committee, the party's top executive organ. His candidacy had been endorsed by theCongress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu),[14] and he received 1,726 votes from the roughly 4,000 delegates at the conference, making him the 40th-most popular of the 80 ordinary members elected to the committee.[15]
After leaving the government, Phaahla worked at ANC's headquarters atLuthuli House inJohannesburg: from November 2008 until the end of April 2009, throughout the ANC's campaign in the2009 general election, Phaahla was the head of the ANC presidency. In this capacity, he was in charge of Zuma's party office, as well as the office of Zuma's deputy,Kgalema Motlanthe, and that of the party's national chairperson,Baleka Mbete.[1][4] In addition, Phaahla retained several business interests during this period; as of May 2009, he was a director in 21 companies, including severalmining companies.[16]
In the April 2009 election, Phaahla was elected for the first time to theNational Assembly, the lower house of theSouth African Parliament.[3] Zuma, newlyelected asPresident of South Africa, announcedhis cabinet on 10 May, and Phaahla was appointed as DeputyMinister of Rural Development and Land Reform under MinisterGugile Nkwinti.[17]
On 31 October 2010, Zuma announced a major cabinet reshuffle in which Phaahla was appointed to succeedPaul Mashatile as DeputyMinister of Arts and Culture; Mashatile was promoted to become minister in the portfolio.[18] Phaahla remained in the ministry until thenext general election in May 2014.[3]
During his tenure in the Arts and Culture Ministry, in 2011, Phaala launched a campaign to succeed PremierCassel Mathale as the Provincial Chairperson of the Limpopo ANC. As early as July 2011, he was identified as a member of an internal "lobby group" that supported Mathale's removal from the office.[19] Both Phaala and Joe Mathebula were viewed as good candidates to stand against Mathale;[20] it was ultimately Phaala who stood, with Mathebula as his running mate andJoe Maswanganyi on their slate for theProvincial Secretary position.[21]
Their ticket was reportedly supported by the provincial branches of Cosatu and theSouth African Communist Party, as well as by President Zuma's faction of the national ANC.[21][22][23] Indeed, the outcome of the race was viewed as important to Zuma's re-election bid at the ANC's53rd National Conference, withAdam Habib and others believing that "If Phaahla wins, Limpopo will be in the president's hands."[24] TheMail & Guardian also reported rumours thatDavid Mabuza, thePremier of Mpumalanga and an ally of Zuma, had been funding Phaahla's campaign withPat Ngomane's facilitation; Phaahla denied the rumours.[25]
The elections were held at theUniversity of Limpopo on 18 December 2011, and Phaahla narrowly lost to Mathale, receiving 519 votes to Mathale's 601.[26] Soon after the elections, there were reports that Phaahla and his supporters had alleged electoral irregularities, though ANC electoral commissionerMathole Motshekga said that the elections had been sound.[27] Phaahla himself said later that week that he accepted his defeat,[28] but his supporters – reportedly led byFalaza Mdaka[29] – launched a formal complaint with ANC Secretary-GeneralGwede Mantashe, claiming that some of the votes had been invalid.[30] The national ANC appointed a task team, led byJeff Radebe, which was unable to find evidence to substantiate the complaint.[29]
Despite his defeat in the provincial party, Phaahla was re-elected to the ANC National Executive Committee in December 2012.[31] He was also touted as a possible candidate to serve as Premier of Limpopo after Mathale was removed from the office in 2013,[32] though that position ultimately went toStan Mathabatha.
After the May 2014 election, Zuma appointed Phaahla to succeedGwen Ramokgopa as DeputyMinister of Health, serving under MinisterAaron Motsoaledi.[33] Over the next four years, and amid the political controversy that surroundedZuma's second term, Phaahla became reputed as a relatively outspoken critic of the president.[34] During ANC National Executive Committee meetings, he reportedly supported both of twomotions of no confidence lodged against Zuma in his capacity as party president, one tabled byDerek Hanekom in November 2016[35] and another tabled byJoel Netshitenzhe in May 2017;[36] on the latter occasion, Phaahla reportedly raised the ANC's poor performance during the2016 municipal elections as a reason that Zuma should be removed from office.[37] In addition, when Finance MinisterPravin Gordhan facedcriminal charges in October 2016, Phaahla defended him; theMail & Guardian quoted him as saying, without naming Zuma, that the charges were "a shame... This thing does not have credibility. I have no doubt in my mind that somebody has put pressure on [head prosecutor Shaun]Abrahams. This is about getting rid of Pravin."[38]
At the ANC's54th National Conference atNasrec in December 2017, Phaahla failed to gain re-election to the ANC National Executive Committee.[39] However, at the same elective conference, Zuma was succeeded as party president by Deputy PresidentCyril Ramaphosa, who was soonelected to replace Zuma as President of South Africa. Phaahla was retained as Deputy Minister of Health underRamaphosa's cabinet; after theMay 2019 election, he deputisedZweli Mkhize, who replaced Motsoaledi as Minister.[40] During this period, theCOVID-19 pandemic reached South Africa in the autumn of 2020.
On 5 August 2021, during a cabinet reshuffle announcement, Ramaphosa announced the resignation of Health Minister Mkhize, who had been placed on special leave due to his alleged involvement in theDigital Vibes scandal. Ramaphosa appointed Phaahla to replace Mkhize, withSibongiseni Dhlomo as his deputy minister.[41] TheTreatment Action Campaign welcomed the departure of Mkhize and the appointment of Phaahla, who it said had "ably served as a deputy minister".[4] TheBusiness Day said that he was perceived as "the safe choice" for the position.[2]
Phaahla took office during the third wave of COVID-19 infections in South Africa,[4] and his first task was to oversee the roll-out ofCOVID-19 vaccines to the public.[42] Less than a year later, on 22 June 2022, hegazetted a repeal of all remaining COVID-19-related regulations, including themask mandate.[43] Phaahla himself tested positive for COVID-19 a month after the repeal.[44] In parallel to the COVID-19 response, Phaahla led the internal response to the Digital Vibes scandal, suspending six officials – including theDepartment of Health's director-general, Sandile Buthelezi – who were implicated in the scandal.[42] In addition, Phaahla's ministry oversaw the launch of the second nationalsex work plan;[42] the processing of theNational Health Insurance Bill, which Phaahla called "revolutionary";[45] and the government response to the 2023cholera outbreak inGauteng.[46]
During this period, the ANC's55th National Conference was held in December 2022 and, despite performing poorly during the nominations stage,[47] Phaahla was elected to return to the ANC National Executive Committee. He received 1,204 votes across roughly 4,000 ballots, tying withKhumbudzo Ntshavheni for the rank of 50th in the committee.[48]
On 30 June 2024, President Ramaphosa returned Phaahla to his former post as Deputy Minister of Health under Minister Motsoaledi.[49]