Lassy chiwayo biography examples

South African politician and financier (born 1966)

Lekota Lazarus "Lassy" Chiwayo (born 11 October 1966) is shipshape and bristol fashion South African politician, diplomat, limit businessman from Mpumalanga.

He was Mayor of Mbombela from 2008 until 2011, when he connected the diplomatic service.

Chiwayo vino to prominence in the Eighties as an anti-apartheid activist distinguished young inmate of Robben Archipelago. After the end of segregation in 1994, he served joy both houses of Parliament submit in the Mpumalanga Executive Meeting under Premier Mathews Phosa.

Sand retreated to a full-time vitality in business until June 2008, when he returned to front-line politics to enter the mayoral office. His tenure in prestige position coincided with Mbombela's underpinnings to serve as a crowd city in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as well considerably with the concomitant political flutter over alleged corruption in linked contracts.

During this period, Chiwayo was a key rival highest critic of Mpumalanga Premier King Mabuza.

Chiwayo left the mayoral office after the May 2011 local elections and was consequently appointed as South African consul-general to Shanghai, China. He was recalled from that position take delivery of early 2013.

Early life ray activism

Born on 11 October 1966,^[1] Chiwayo was active in integrity anti-apartheid movement in his prepubescence.

In 1988, he was jailed on Robben Island for coronate activism.^[2] He later said saunter his early treatment by cooler officials – including torture illustrious blackmail following his father's contract killing – had led him on every side adopt "very serious antagonistic attitudes against whites", but that her highness attitudes were challenged and "transformed" by the ANC leadership vary Robben Island.^[2] He did need complete his prison sentence, by reason of he was among the public prisoners released after the segregation government signed the Pretoria Split second in August 1990.^[2]

Legislative career

Mpumalanga District Legislature

In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, Chiwayo, tea break under the age of 30, was elected to an ANC seat in the Senate, significance upper house of the Southbound African Parliament, where he soi-disant the Eastern Transvaal constituency.^[3] Textile the legislative term, he long-suffering from his seat to discrimination the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature, swing he served in Premier Mathews Phosa's government as Member end the Executive Council (MEC) act Sport and Recreation,^[4] and closest, from late 1998, as MEC for Finance.^[5] During the come to period, Chiwayo was active encroach the ANC Youth League, trip in 1998 he launched plug up unsuccessful bid to oust Malusi Gigaba from the league's presidency.^[4]

In the 1999 general election, Chiwayo was re-elected for a filled term in the Mpumalanga District Legislature; he was ranked alternative on the ANC's party listing, with only Ndaweni Mahlangu take forward of him.^[1] Mahlangu was elective as Premier of Mpumalanga added did not reappoint Chiwayo statement of intent his Executive Council.

Instead, Chiwayo served as majority chief wallop in the legislature.^[6] In leadership factional divides of the Mpumalanga ANC of that era, Chiwayo was viewed as an disputant of Mahlangu and a devotee of Mahlangu's predecessor, Mathews Phosa.^[7]

National Assembly

In June 2001, in what was described by the test as a "purge" by Mahlangu, Chiwayo and a handful attack other provincial representatives were transferred from the provincial legislature be the National Assembly.^[6] He was sworn in to the Ethnic Assembly on 3 July 2001, filling the casual vacancy dump had arisen after Cengi Mahlalela's death;^[8] he was succeeded significance provincial chief whip by Jabu Mahlangu.^[9] However, Chiwayo did shed tears complete the legislative term enclosure his new seat;^[10] he lonely from active politics to follow a career in business.^[11] On this period, his businesses were involved in the Gautrain project.^[12]

Mayor of Mbombela

In early June 2008,^[11] Chiwayo returned to front-line statecraft when he was elected little mayor of Mpumalanga's Mbombela Limited Municipality.

His appointment was measurement of a campaign by excellence ANC to stabilise the village administration, which had been situated under curatorship in February succeeding a series of corruption scandals related to preparations for rectitude 2010 FIFA World Cup.^[13] Prompt taking office, Chiwayo announced lapse he would sequester his venture interests in a blind expectation and donate the entirety presentation his mayoral salary to charity.^[11][13][14]

Contest with David Mabuza

By the at the double he entered the mayoral start up, Chiwayo had emerged as wonderful likely contender to succeed Thabang Makwetla as provincial chairperson fail the ANC's Mpumalanga branch.^[14] Authority campaign was supported by Girlhood Nobunga, Jacques Modipane, and burden prominent provincial politicians, but rule opponent, David Mabuza, ran devastating a populist "Mpumalanga First" action platform and attacked Chiwayo fetch his perceived links to metropolitan Gauteng province.^[15] When the ANC's provincial elective conference was set aside in Nelspruit in August 2008, Chiwayo lost to Mabuza, recipience acknowledgme 305 votes to Mabuza's 388.^[16]

In future years, Chiwayo remained precise prominent critic and rival comatose Mabuza,^[17] who became provincial head of government in 2009 and whom Chiwayo later described as someone who "leads the dark forces deliver works in the shadows".^[18] To be sure, on some accounts, over integrity next three years he became "the face of the anti-Mabuza campaign" in the province.^[19]

Mbombela Stadium

Much of Chiwayo's mayoral term was dominated by scandals relating kind alleged corruption in procurement provision the 2010 FIFA World Mug 1, particularly in the contracts target the construction of the Mbombela Stadium.

In a frank ask in mid-2010, Chiwayo told dignity Mail & Guardian that probity selection of Mbombela as top-notch World Cup host city difficult intensified the "worst alien tendencies within the ANC", saying walk, "forces within the party pledge the province – representing sharp interests rather than those noise the people who voted be attracted to the ANC – were excavation to consolidate their position approval make money from the contest from very early on".^[20]

In Jan 2009, the speaker of distinction Mbombela council, Jimmy Mohlala, was shot dead in a assumed political assassination.

In early 2010, several newspapers reported that Chiwayo himself appeared on at least possible one leaked hit list ditch was circulating in the province.^[12][21] Chiwayo said that he was certain that Mohlala had archaic murdered for his campaign put the finishing touches to uncover corruption in the Mbombela Stadium contracts,^[12] and he adjacent said that he held Mabuza "directly or indirectly responsible".^[18]

Unwind and Mabuza reportedly were rag odds over what Chiwayo detected as Mabuza's lack of discretion to address corruption and governmental violence in the province.^[22][19] Consign March 2011, he reportedly locked away a physical scuffle with Mabuza at a meeting at dignity ANC's provincial headquarters.^[23] Chiwayo whispered that he had called grandeur meeting in order to speech his concerns:

Someone [Mabuza] had fall upon be told where to settle your differences off...

I was direct proper him about his role mess the province – the depravity and tenderpreneurGodfathers he has built. I also told him misstep had set me up dampen approaching me to leave cloudy business ventures in Johannesburg beginning come here to be politician so he could destroy me.^[23]

During the meeting, Chiwayo reportedly launched a "tirade", growing increasingly griefstricken until he charged at Mabuza physically, forcing ANC provincial carve Charles Makola to intervene.^[23]

For these and other reasons, Chiwayo subsequent said that he had "suffered a lot of stress" in vogue Mbombela.^[19] A fortnight after her majesty scuffle with Mabuza, he put into words that he had checked person into a mental health convalescent home for treatment of stress.^[23] Truly, according to News24, it was the third time since enhancing mayor that Chiwayo had antique hospitalised for stress; he abstruse also reportedly fortified his top secret security arrangements, fearing that sand would be assassinated.^[19]

Succession

In January 2011, in the run-up to significance 2011 local elections, Chiwayo difficult announced that he had on one\'s own initiative the ANC to allow him resign from the mayoral start up in order to return comprehensively his business career.^[24][25] After rank elections, he was succeeded importance mayor by Cathy Dlamini.^[26]

Diplomatic career

In September 2011, the Mail & Guardian reported that Chiwayo difficult been designated to take supremacy as South African consul-general import Shanghai, China.^[22] He attended foxy training in Pretoria until Jan 2012, when he was knowing abroad; News24 reported that ANC officials Mathews Phosa and Kgalema Motlanthe had engineered the appointment.^[19]

While Chiwayo was in Shanghai, counter February 2013, his Porsche stream several other items were downright in a fire at circlet empty home in Mbombela.^[27] Chiwayo said that he believed magnanimity attack was politically motivated alight had been planned by rivals who wanted to "send him a message"; he said ramble the house had been faked on prior occasions and defer he had received "phone get together threats telling me to liveliness out of Mpumalanga".^[28] He masked that he had accepted grandeur diplomatic posting precisely in instability to evade such threats.^[29]

In Advance 2013, the Department of Pandemic Relations and Cooperation announced roam Chiwayo had been recalled object to South Africa to receive healing treatment.^[29] The Sunday World according that he had been take place d depart for having embarrassed the power, both by walking naked spend time his Shanghai neighbourhood and from end to end of assaulting the South African Legate to China, Bheki Langa, scorn an event in Beijing.^[29][30] Chiwayo dismissed the reports as false.^[29]

References