Pinky Kekana | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kekana in 2018 | |
| Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration | |
| Assumed office 3 July 2024 | |
| Minister | Mzamo Buthelezi |
| Preceded by | Chana Pilane-Majake |
| Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation | |
| In office 6 March 2023 – 19 June 2024 | |
| President | Cyril Ramaphosa |
| Minister | Maropene Ramokgopa |
| Preceded by | Portfolio established |
| Succeeded by | Seiso Mohai |
| Deputy Minister in the Presidency | |
| In office 5 August 2021 – 6 March 2023 Serving with Thembi Siweya | |
| President | Cyril Ramaphosa |
| Minister | Mondli Gungubele |
| Succeeded by | Kenneth Morolong Nomasonto Motaung |
| Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies | |
| In office 27 February 2018 – 5 August 2021 | |
| President | Cyril Ramaphosa |
| Minister | |
| Succeeded by | Philly Mapulane |
| Member of theNational Assembly | |
| Assumed office 21 May 2014 | |
| Member of the Limpopo Executive Council for Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism | |
| In office March 2012 – July 2013 | |
| Premier | Cassel Mathale |
| Preceded by | Pitsi Moloto |
| Succeeded by | Seaparo Sekoati |
| Member of the Limpopo Executive Council for Roads and Transport | |
| In office May 2009 – March 2012 | |
| Premier | Cassel Mathale |
| Succeeded by | Pitsi Moloto |
| Executive Mayor ofWaterberg | |
| In office 2008–2009 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Pinky Sharon Kekana 14 July 1966 (1966-07-14) (age 59) |
| Children | Grant Kekana |
Pinky Sharon Kekana (born 14 July 1966) is a South African politician fromLimpopo who is currently theDeputy Minister of Public Service and Administration. A member of theAfrican National Congress (ANC), she has served in theNational Assembly of South Africa since May 2014 and in the national executive since February 2018.
A teacher by training, Kekana was a member of theMember of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature and served in theLimpopo Executive Council from 2009 to 2013 under PremierCassel Mathale. She was elected to theNational Assembly in the2014 general election and was elected to the ANCNational Executive Committee in 2017.
Thereafter, in February 2018, PresidentCyril Ramaphosa appointed her to the national executive. Before taking up her current position in July 2024, she wasDeputy Minister of Communications from 2018 to 2021,Deputy Minister in the Presidency from 2021 to 2023, andDeputy Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation from 2023 to 2024. In December 2022, she was elected to a second five-year term in the ANC National Executive Committee.
Born on 14 July 1966,[1] Kekana was born and raised inBela-Bela in present-dayLimpopo province (then part of theTransvaal).[2] After earning aBachelor of Arts in education, she worked as a secondary school teacher in Bela-Bela.[2]
Kekana was first elected to theLimpopo Provincial Legislature in 1999, representing theAfrican National Congress (ANC).[2] By 2008, she was the ExecutiveMayor of Limpopo'sWaterberg District Municipality.[3] In that year, at a party elective conference held in July, Kekana was elected as DeputyProvincial Secretary of the ANC's Limpopo branch, serving under Provincial ChairpersonCassel Mathale and Provincial SecretaryJoe Maswanganyi.[4]
Pursuant to the2009 general election, Kekana returned to the provincial legislature,[2] and she was additionally appointed to theLimpopo Executive Council by Mathale in his capacity asPremier of Limpopo. Mathale appointed herMember of the Executive Council (MEC) for Roads and Transport.[5] Her department was placed under administration bythe national government in 2011.[6]
She was viewed as a political ally of Mathale and ofANC Youth League PresidentJulius Malema.[7] In 2012, the oppositionDemocratic Alliance called for her resignation after thePublic Protector,Thuli Madonsela, said that Kekana had approved an improperly awarded state contract with a company linked to Malema.[8] In a different report released the same year, Madonsela also said that Kekana had abused her position as MEC to "settle political scores" by ordering a traffic cop to arrestThandi Moraka, a political opponent of Malema's.[7] In December 2012, she concluded her term as ANC Deputy Provincial Secretary and was elected ANC Provincial Treasurer.[9]
On 13 March 2012, when Premier Mathale announced acabinet reshuffle in which Kekana swopped portfolios withPitsi Moloto, becoming MEC for Economic Development, Environmental Affairs, and Tourism.[6] In July 2013, the ANC asked Mathale to resign. His successor as Premier,Stan Mathabatha, announced a major reshuffle in which Kekana was one of eight MECs fired from the Executive Council; she was replaced byCharles Sekoati.[10]
The following year, in the2014 general election, Kekana was elected to a five-year term in a seat in theNational Assembly, the lower house of the nationalSouth African Parliament. She was ranked tenth on the ANC's provincialparty list.[11] In 2015, she was elected to the National Executive Committee of theANC Women's League,[2] and in December 2017, she was elected to theNational Executive Committee of the mainstream ANC, ranked 47th of the 80 elected candidates by number of votes received.[12]
On 27 February 2018, Kekana was appointedDeputy Minister of Communications byCyril Ramaphosa, who had recently beenelected asPresident of South Africa;Nomvula Mokonyane was appointed Minister of Communications in the same reshuffle.[13] From November 2018, her portfolio was renamed Communications and Telecommunications, after Ramaphosa announced a merger of those respective ministries.[14] In the2019 general election, she was ranked 48th on the ANC's national party list and retained her legislative seat, as well as her position as Deputy Minister.[11][15]
On 5 August 2021, Ramaphosa announced a mid-term reshuffle in which Kekana was appointedDeputy Minister in the Presidency, serving under MinisterMondli Gungubele.[16] At the ANC's55th National Conference in December 2022, she was re-elected to another five-year term on the party's National Executive Committee; by number of votes received, she was ranked 21st of the 80 candidates elected, receiving 1,518 votes across the 4,029 ballots cast in total.[17]
In the aftermath of the 55th National Conference, on 6 March 2023, Ramaphosa announced a reshuffle in which Kekana was retained as a Deputy Minister in the Presidency but now was transferred to a specific portfolio: she becameDeputy Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, serving under MinisterMaropene Ramokgopa.[18]
Inthe next general election in May 2024, Kekana was re-elected to her parliamentary seat, ranked tenth on the ANC's national party list.[1] Announcinghis third cabinet on 30 June 2024, Ramaphosa appointed her asDeputy Minister of Public Service and Administration. In that capacity she deputisesMzamo Buthelezi of the oppositionInkatha Freedom Party, who was appointed to the portfolio under thenew coalition government.[19]
As of 2014, Kekana was married to Jerry Manyama, a civil servant; their son,Grant Kekana, is a professional football player.[20]