Namane Dickson Masemola (born 1967 or 1968) is a South African politician who has been a Delegate to the National Council of Provinces since October 2022. Between 2009 and 2022, he was a Member of the Provincial Legislature in the Limpopo provincial government, representing the African National Congress (ANC), and held a variety of positions in the Limpopo Executive Council.
Masemola began his political career as Executive Mayor of his hometown, Sekhukhune District Municipality, from 2001 to 2009. From 2008 to 2013 he served under Cassel Mathale as Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the ANC in Limpopo. Simultaneously, he served in Mathale's government as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Education. Under Mathale's successor, incumbent Premier Stan Mathabatha, Masemola was MEC for Public Works (2013–2014); MEC for Transport (2019–2020); MEC for Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure (2020–2022); and MEC for Social Development (2022).
In June 2022, Masemola campaigned unsuccessfully to depose Mathabatha as ANC Provincial Chairperson. Several months later, he was transferred to his current seat in the national Parliament.
Early life and education
Masemola was born in 1967 or 1968 in Ga-Marishane in the Sekhukhune region of what is now South Africa's Limpopo province. In his youth he was active in anti-apartheid student politics, including through the South African Students Congress and local organisations affiliated to the South African Youth Congress. He later joined the African National Congress (ANC) and volunteered in the party's election campaign during South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994.
In 2021, Masemola received a doctorate in administration from the University of Limpopo. His thesis was about "the impact of leadership on socio-economic development of municipalities" in South Africa.
Career
Masemola entered local government in 1999 and served as the Executive Mayor of Sekhukhune District Municipality from 2001 to 2009. According to the Independent Online, the municipality received poor audit outcomes during Masemola's tenure, including six consecutive disclaimers from 2004 to 2009.
While mayor, Masemola rose through the ranks of the local ANC and ultimately became the Regional Chairperson of the party's Sekhukhune regional branch. At a provincial elective conference in July 2008, held at the University of Venda, Masemola was elected Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the ANC in Limpopo, beating Motalane Monakedi by 238 votes. In this capacity he deputised Cassel Mathale.
Mathale premiership: 2009–2013
In March 2009, Masemola resigned as mayor and was sworn into the Limpopo provincial legislature, filling a casual vacancy that arose after Sello Moloto, the incumbent Premier of Limpopo, defected from the ANC and was replaced by Mathale. Masemola subsequently served as acting Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Roads and Transport in the Limpopo provincial government.
In the April 2009 general election, Masemola was reelected to the provincial legislature and Mathale appointed him MEC for Education. He served in that office until 2013 and presided over substantial controversy in the provincial Department of Education. In December 2011, the department was one of five in Limpopo that was placed under administration by the national government. In 2012, the Mail & Guardian alleged that he had improperly influenced the department's procurement processes, leading the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) to lay a complaint against him with the Public Protector, and in the same year he was blamed for the so-called Limpopo textbook crisis, which left thousands of Limpopo schoolchildren without school books and which the Mail & Guardian described as "arguably the largest, longest and most acutely embarrassing education debacle since 1994".