Ronald Mofokeng

Tsokudu Ronald Mofokeng (21 May 1947 – 4 July 2020) was a South African politician and trade unionist. He was the national treasurer of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) from 1987 until 1999, when the union nominated him for election to the National Assembly. He served two terms in the assembly from 1999 to 2009, representing the African National Congress (ANC).

Ronald Mofokeng
Member of the National Assembly
In office
June 1999 – May 2009
Personal details
Born
Tsokudu Ronald Mofokeng

(1947-05-21)21 May 1947
Bethlehem, Orange Free State
Union of South Africa
Died4 July 2020(2020-07-04) (aged 73)
Political partyAfrican National Congress
Other political
affiliations		South African Communist Party

Early life and union career

Mofokeng was born on 21 May 1947[1] in Bethlehem in the former Orange Free State.[2] He entered the labour movement in 1971, when he was elected chairperson of a liaison committee at his workplace, PG Glass in Germiston. The committee was involved in founding the Glass and Allied Workers' Union (GAWU).[2] GAWU later merged with the Chemical Workers' Industrial Union (CWIU), an affiliate of the Federation of South African Trade Unions, and Mofokeng was elected treasurer of CWIU in 1981.[2]

When COSATU was formed in 1985, Mofokeng became a prominent figure in the congress.[3] He served as a COSATU regional treasurer until 1987, when he was elected national treasurer.[2] He remained in that office throughout the 1990s,[4][5] leaving only after he was elected to Parliament in June 1999.[6] He had declined an earlier nomination to stand for Parliament in the 1994 general election, preferring to remain with the labour movement.[2]

In tandem with his union activism, Mofokeng was involved in anti-apartheid organising. He also joined the South African Communist Party (SACP) during the democratic transition.[2]

Legislative career

In the 1999 general election, Mofokeng was nominated to stand on the ANC's party list by COSATU, which was represented on the list within the framework of the Tripartite Alliance.[2] He was a member of the Gauteng caucus during his first term[1] but won re-election to his second term from the ANC's national list in 2004.[7] He served for a period as chairperson of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Energy,[2] and he was also a member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.[8]

Death

Mofokeng died on 4 July 2020.[2]

References
  1. "General Notice: Notice 1319 of 1999 – Electoral Commission: Representatives Elected to the Various Legislatures" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 408, no. 20203. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 11 June 1999. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  2. "SACP sends heartfelt condolences to the family of former Cosatu National Treasurer Comrade Ronald Mofokeng". Polity. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  3. "The seeds of the 1973 Durban strikes still grow". The Mail & Guardian. 8 March 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  4. "Is This The House That Jay Built". The Mail & Guardian. 9 September 1994. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  5. "Cosatu top brass likely to keep jobs at congress". The Mail & Guardian. 12 September 1997. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  6. "Two dominate Cosatu leadership race". The Mail & Guardian. 18 August 1999. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  7. "General Notice: Notice 717 of 2004 - Electoral Commission – List of Names of Representatives in the National Assembly and the Nine Provincial Legislatures in Respect of the Elections Held on 14 April 2004" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 466, no. 2677. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 20 April 2004. pp. 4–95. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  8. "Scopa rebuffs DA effort to discuss arms deal". The Mail & Guardian. 13 February 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
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