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Jerry Ndou
Delegate to the National Council of Provinces
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 October 2022
ConstituencyLimpopo
Member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature
In office
21 May 2014 – 6 October 2022
Member of the Limpopo Executive Council for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs
In office
October 2017 – May 2019
PremierStan Mathabatha
Preceded byMakoma Makhurupetje
Succeeded byBasikopo Makamu
Member of the Limpopo Executive Council for Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure
In office
May 2014 – October 2017
PremierStan Mathabatha
Preceded byDickson Masemola (for Public Works)
Succeeded byNandi Ndalane
Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the African National Congress in Limpopo
In office
February 2014 – June 2018
ChairpersonStan Mathabatha
Preceded byDickson Masemola
Succeeded byFlorence Radzilani
Personal details
Born
Azwindini Jeremiah Dingaa Ndou
Political partyAfrican National Congress

Azwindini Jeremiah "Jerry" Ndou is a South African politician and diplomat who has served as a Delegate to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) since October 2022. Before that, he represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature and Limpopo Executive Council.

Formerly an activist in the ANC Youth League, Ndou was a Member of Parliament in South Africa's first democratic Parliament from 1994 to 1999. Between 1999 and 2014, he held diplomatic posts as South African High Commissioner to Zimbabwe, Ambassador to Libya, and Ambassador to Ireland. In early 2014 he was elected Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the ANC in Limpopo, and pursuant to the 2014 general election he became a Member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature. Stan Mathabatha, then the Premier of Limpopo, appointed him Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure (2014–2017) and MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (2017–2019).

Ndou failed to gain re-election as ANC Deputy Chairperson in 2018 but was re-elected to his legislative seat in the 2019 general election and became Deputy Speaker of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature. He left that office, and the provincial legislature, in October 2022, when he filled a casual vacancy in the NCOP.

Early life and activism

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Ndou was active in South African student and youth politics during apartheid and served as the president of the student representative council while at the University of Venda in present-day Limpopo province.[1] He was later elected to the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League and served as the league's secretary for international affairs.[1]

Parliamentary and diplomatic career

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In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, Ndou was elected as a Member of Parliament, representing the ANC.[1] In June 1999, after the 1999 general election, he was appointed as the South African High Commissioner to Zimbabwe,[2][3] succeeding Kingsley Mamabolo.[4] In his early years in the diplomatic post, Ndou also held key positions inside the Limpopo branch of the ANC, first as ANC Provincial Treasurer from 1996, under Provincial Chairperson George Mashamba,[5] and then as ANC Deputy Provincial Secretary from 1998, under Provincial Chairperson Ngoako Ramatlhodi and Provincial Secretary Benny Boshielo.[6]

He served in his post in Harare until 2005 and during that time served as a mediator in talks between Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.[4] He vacated the High Commission in mid-2005 to prepare for reassignment[4] and was replaced by Mlungisi Makalima.[7] Later in 2005 he was appointed as the South African High Commissioner to Libya.[7]

In 2008, while Ndou was still in Libya, the Mail & Guardian reported that Ndou was poised to make a domestic political comeback, as supporters of Sello Moloto, the ANC Provincial Chairperson in Limpopo, began to lobby for Ndou's election as Moloto's deputy in the party. Sources told the newspaper that Moloto and his supporters would seek to position Ndou as their candidate to succeed Moloto as the Premier of Limpopo, a compromise which would strengthen Moloto's slate.[8] However, when the party's provincial elective conference was held, Ndou did not run for the Deputy Chairperson position.[9]

Ndou's final diplomatic posting was as a South African Ambassador to Ireland,[1][10][11] where he was installed by late 2011.[12]

Career in provincial government

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ANC Deputy Chairperson: 2014–2018

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In February 2014, at the party's provincial elective conference, Ndou was elected as Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the Limpopo ANC, serving under newly elected Provincial Chairperson Stanley Mathabatha.[13] Ndou reportedly had a particularly strong political base in Limpopo's Vhembe region.[14] In his later years in the party office, he – along with Mathabatha – was viewed as a strong supporter of ANC Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ramaphosa's campaign to succeed President Jacob Zuma.[15][16][14]

Member of the Executive Council: 2014–2019

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In the 2014 general election, Ndou was listed 12th on the ANC's party list for the provincial election; he was elected to a seat in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature.[1] He also ascended to the Limpopo Executive Council, appointed by Mathabatha in his capacity as Limpopo Premier; he served as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure, a newly created portfolio.[17] In 2015, he served simultaneously as acting MEC for Education after the death of the incumbent, Thembisile Nwedamutswu.[18]

In October 2017, in a cabinet reshuffle by Mathabatha, Ndou was appointed MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs. This was viewed as a promotion for Ndou and, since he replaced a Zuma loyalist (Makoma Makhurupetje), was linked to Ndou's support for Ramaphosa ahead of the ANC's upcoming 54th National Conference.[16]

In 2018, as the end of Ndou's term as ANC Deputy Chairperson approached, City Press reported that Mathabatha had fallen out with Ndou and increasingly preferred Florence Radzilani as his deputy.[14] At the Limpopo ANC's next provincial conference in June 2018, Radzilani ran to succeed Ndou[19] and narrowly beat him in a vote, earning 791 votes to Ndou's 752.[20] However, Ndou was elected to a four-year term as an ordinary member of the Limpopo ANC's Provincial Executive Committee[21] and he served the remainder of his term in the Executive Council.[1]

Deputy Speaker: 2019–2022

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In the 2019 general election, Ndou was re-elected to his seat in the provincial legislature, ranked 27th on the ANC's party list.[1] He was not reappointed to Mathabatha's Executive Council but instead was elected Deputy Speaker of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature, deputising Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya.[22] In October 2022, in a reshuffle of the Limpopo government by Mathabatha, Ndou was succeeded as Deputy Speaker by Tshitereke Matibe.[23]

Return to national government

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Immediately after he was removed as Deputy Speaker in October 2022, Ndou was "re-deployed" as a member of the Limpopo delegation to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), the upper house of the national Parliament.[23] He and Dickson Masemola filled the vacancies in the NCOP left by the departures of Tebogo Mamorobela and Lilliet Mamaregane.[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Azwindini Jeremiah Dingaa Ndou". People's Assembly. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Jeremiah Ndou". Africa Intelligence. 3 July 1999. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Erwin faces trade ire in Zimbabwe". IOL. 23 June 1999. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Ndou Leaving Zim". Zimbabwe Independent. 6 May 2005. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  5. ^ "50th National Conference: Report of the Secretary General". African National Congress. 17 December 1997. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  6. ^ "ANC Provincial Office Bearers". African National Congress. 27 October 1998. Archived from the original on 21 February 1999. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  7. ^ a b "The South African ambassador to Zimbabwe, Jeremiah Ndou". Africa Intelligence. 3 September 2005. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Turn in Limpopo leadership battle". The Mail & Guardian. 21 July 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Mathale elected as new ANC Limpopo chairperson". The Mail & Guardian. 20 July 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  10. ^ "The tycoon, his wife and a dodgy R1bn 'gift of love'". Sunday Times. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement movement remembered at new exhibition in Dublin". The Irish Times. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  12. ^ "No expense spared". Sunday Times. 30 October 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  13. ^ Import, Pongrass (20 February 2014). "Limpopo ANC elects their new leaders". Lowvelder. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  14. ^ a b c Dube, Mpho (31 January 2018). "Limpopo ANC battle: Cracks showing in Mathabatha camp". City Press. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Hard road ahead for Cyril". South Coast Herald. 17 June 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  16. ^ a b Dube, Mpho (27 October 2017). "Mathabatha angers Zuma's supporters over Limpopo cabinet reshuffle". City Press. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  17. ^ "Limpopo's Dickson Masemola runs out of lives". News24. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  18. ^ "Education MEC to be appointed soon in Limpopo". South African Government News Agency. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  19. ^ Nare, Simon (24 June 2018). "Stan Mathabatha Retains His Position As Limpopo Chairperson". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  20. ^ "Florence new deputy chairperson of ANC in Limpopo". Limpopo Mirror. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  21. ^ "ANC Limpopo PEC named". Capricorn FM. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  22. ^ "Women dominate Stanley Mathabatha's cabinet". Sowetan. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Mathabatha reshuffles Limpopo cabinet twice in four months". Letaba Herald. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  24. ^ Mahlati, Zintle (6 October 2022). "Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha reshuffles executive for second time". News24. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
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