Fikile Majola
Fikile Zachariah "Slovo" Majola (born 1963 or 1964) is a South African politician and former trade unionist who is currently serving as the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry since May 2019. He has represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly since 2014, and before that he was the general secretary of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) from 1998 to 2014.
The Honourable Fikile Majola MP | |
|---|---|
| Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry | |
| Assumed office 29 May 2019 Serving with Nomalungelo Gina | |
| President | Cyril Ramaphosa |
| Minister | Ebrahim Patel |
| Preceded by | Portfolio restructured |
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| Assumed office 21 May 2014 | |
| Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Energy | |
| In office 20 June 2014 – 7 May 2019 | |
| Speaker | Baleka Mbete |
| Preceded by | Sisa Njikelana |
| Succeeded by | Portfolio restructured |
| General Secretary of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union | |
| In office April 1998 – June 2014 | |
| President | Vusi Nhlapo Noluthando Sibiya Mzwandile Makwayiba |
| Preceded by | Makgane Thobejane |
| Succeeded by | Bereng Soke |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Fikile Zachariah Majola 1963 or 1964 (age 59–60) Orange Free State, South Africa |
| Political party | African National Congress |
| Other political affiliations | Congress of South African Trade Unions South African Communist Party |
| Alma mater | University of the Western Cape |
| Nickname | Slovo |
Having joined Nehawu in 1989, Majola served six terms as general secretary, presiding over a growth in the union's influence within the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and broader Tripartite Alliance. As an early and prominent political supporter of Jacob Zuma, who became president with Nehawu's support, Majola had a fractious relationship with Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
Pursuant to the 2014 general election, Majola ended his union career to take up an ANC seat in the National Assembly. He chaired Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Energy during the fifth democratic Parliament from 2014 to 2019, a period in which the committee had a prominent role in oversight of Zuma's controversial Russian nuclear deal. After the 2019 general election, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Majola to his current deputy ministerial position.
Majola has been a member of the Central Committee of the South African Communist Party since 2007 and currently serves on the party's politburo. He was a member of the ANC National Executive Committee from 2012 to 2017 and a member of Cosatu's Central Executive Committee from 1995 to 2014.