Shepherd Mayatula
{{Short description|South African politician and academic (born 1945)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| party = African National Congress
| office1 =
| termstart1 = June 1999
| termend1 = May 2009
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1945|10|10|df=yes}}
| office = Member of the National Assembly
| termstart = 7 February 2012
| termend = 6 May 2014
| constituency1 = Eastern Cape
| office2 = Member of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature
| termstart2 = May 1994
| termend2 = June 1999
| office3 = Member of the Eastern Cape Executive Council for Education
| premier3 = Makhenkesi Stofile
| termstart3 = March 1998
| termend3 = June 1999
| predecessor3 = Nosimo Balindlela
| office4 = Member of the Eastern Cape Executive Council for Finance
| premier4 = Makhenkesi Stofile
Raymond Mhlaba
| termstart4 = May 1994
| termend4 = March 1998
| alma_mater = University of Fort Hare
Northeastern University
| birth_name = Shepherd Malusi Mayatula
| birth_place = Willowvale, Cape Province
Union of South Africa
}}
Shepherd Malusi Mayatula (born 10 October 1945), sometimes misspelled Shepherd Mayathula, is a retired South African politician and economist from the Eastern Cape. He represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2009 and later from 2011 to 2014. During that time, he chaired the Portfolio Committee on Education from 2004 to 2009.
Formerly an economics professor at the University of Fort Hare, Mayatula entered legislative politics with a term in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature from 1994 to 1999. He served as the Eastern Cape's inaugural Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Finance from 1994 to 1998 and then as MEC for Education from 1998 to 1999.
Early life and career
Mayatula was born on 10 October 1945{{cite magazine |date=11 June 1999 |title=General Notice: Notice 1319 of 1999 – Electoral Commission: Representatives Elected to the Various Legislatures |url=https://gazettes.africa/archive/za/1999/za-government-gazette-dated-1999-06-11-no-20203.pdf |magazine=Government Gazette of South Africa |location=Pretoria, South Africa |publisher=Government of South Africa |volume=408 |issue=20203 |pages= |access-date=26 March 2021}} in rural Willowvale in the former Cape Province.{{Cite web |title=Professor Shepherd M. Mayatula |url=https://www.kommunityfoundation.org/board_team/Professor%20Shepherd%20M.%20Mayatula-1 |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=Kommunity Foundation}} He was educated at the University of Fort Hare and, on a Fulbright scholarship, at Boston's Northeastern University; he holds two master's degree in economics.
From 1975 to 1994, he was a member of the economics faculty at Fort Hare, where he served stints as head of the economics department and vice-dean of the commerce faculty. During the same period, he was active in politically progressive sports associations in the region, including the Tennis Association of South Africa and the South African Council on Sport.
Political career
= Executive Council: 1994–1999 =
In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, Mayatula was elected to represent the ANC in the new Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature. After the election, Eastern Cape Premier Raymond Mhlaba appointed him as the province's inaugural MEC for Finance.{{Cite book |url=https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/13429370/south-africa-campaign-and-election-report-april-26- |title=South Africa: Campaign and Election Report April 26–29, 1994 |publisher=International Republican Institute |year=1994 |access-date=13 April 2023 |via=Yumpu}} He remained in that portfolio until March 1998, when Mhlaba's successor, Premier Makhenkesi Stofile, appointed him to replace Nosimo Balindlela as MEC for Education. Eddie Trent of the opposition Democratic Party said that he was "very concerned" by the appointment because Mayatula's performance in the finance portfolio had been "abysmal".{{Cite web |date=1998-06-12 |title='Going down the drain' |url=https://mg.co.za/article/1998-06-12-going-down-the-drain/ |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}
= Parliament: 1999–2014 =
In the 1999 general election, Mayatula was elected to the National Assembly, the lower house of the South African Parliament. He was ranked first on the ANC's regional party list for the Eastern Cape.{{Cite web |date=2013-03-12 |title=Parliament to welcome new NCOP members |url=https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/parliament-welcome-new-ncop-members |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=South African Government News Agency |language=en}} He served two consecutive terms, gaining re-election in 2004,{{cite magazine |date=20 April 2004 |title=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 |url=https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/262770.pdf |magazine=Government Gazette of South Africa |location=Pretoria, South Africa |publisher=Government of South Africa |volume=466 |issue=2677 |pages=4–95 |access-date=26 March 2021}} and in May 2004 the ANC nominated him to chair Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Education.{{Cite web |date=2004-05-06 |title=ANC man to head key fiscal watchdog |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2004-05-06-anc-man-to-head-key-fiscal-watchdog/ |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}} He remained in that position until the 2009 general election, when he declined to seek re-election and retired from frontline politics to work in the non-profit sector.
However, less than three years later, on 7 February 2012, he returned to the National Assembly when the ANC nominated him to fill the casual vacancy arising from Enoch Godongwana's resignation.{{Cite news |date=25 May 2021 |title=Integrity Commission relied on Oscar Mabuyane's version to clear him |work=IOL |url=https://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/integrity-commission-relied-on-oscar-mabuyanes-version-to-clear-him-b9f05bca-314d-4495-9439-90d9e907d371 |access-date=13 May 2023}} He served in the seat until the 2014 general election.{{Cite web |title=Shepherd Malusi Mayatula |url=http://www.pa.org.za/person/shepherd-malusi-mayatula/ |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=People's Assembly |language=en}}
Retirement
After retiring from politics, Mayatula remained active in the non-profit sector and in the governance of Fort Hare. As of 2021, he was also the chairperson of the Integrity Commission of the ANC's Eastern Cape Provincial Executive Committee.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{People's Assembly (South Africa)|shepherd-malusi-mayatula|Mr Shepherd Malusi Mayatula}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayatula, Shepherd}}
Category:African National Congress politicians
Category:20th-century South African politicians
Category:20th-century South African economists
Category:South African academics
Category:Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2004–2009
Category:Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2009–2014
Category:Politicians from the Eastern Cape
Category:Academic staff of the University of Fort Hare
Category:University of Fort Hare alumni
Category:Northeastern University alumni