1. Kgosientsho David "Sputla" Ramokgopa was born on 25 January 1975 and is a South African politician who was the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity from 2023, and the Minister of Electricity and Energy from 3 July 2024.
23 Facts About Kgosientsho Ramokgopa
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Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was the Mayor of Tshwane from 2010 to 2016.
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Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was a Member of the Executive Council in the Gauteng provincial government in 2019 and worked in the Presidency of South Africa as head of infrastructure from 2019 to 2023.
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In June 2016, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was passed over for reappointment as the ANC's mayoral candidate in the 2016 local government elections, which the ANC ultimately lost; the ANC's selection of Thoko Didiza as its mayoral candidate led to violent protests in which five people were killed.
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Pursuant to the 2019 general election, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa served a brief stint in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature and as MEC for Economic Development, Agriculture, and Environment under Premier David Makhura.
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Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was MEC for only four-and-a-half months, between May and October 2019; he resigned so that a woman could take his position in line with the ANC's internal rules about gender parity in government structures.
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Shortly after Kgosientsho Ramokgopa resigned from the provincial government, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed him to head the investment and infrastructure unit in the Presidency.
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Kgosientsho Ramokgopa's family is originally from Ga-Ramokgopa village in what is Limpopo province.
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Kgosientsho Ramokgopa had seven siblings and matriculated in 1991 in Atteridgeville, a township to the west of Pretoria, now part of Gauteng province.
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Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has a Bachelor's degree in civil engineering, Master's degrees in public administration and business leadership, and a PhD in public affairs.
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Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was deputy chairperson of the Limpopo Board of Trade and Investment and, from 2006 to 2010, chief executive officer of Johannesburg Market.
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In July 2010, sources told the newspaper that, partly because of his support for Mashatile, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was a leading candidate for promotion to a mayoral position, although some regional ANC leaders reportedly argued that he was too young for the job.
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Kgosientsho Ramokgopa succeeded his aunt, Gwen Ramokgopa, who had left the position to serve as Deputy Minister of Health under President Jacob Zuma.
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Ahead of the 2016 local government elections, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was ranked second on the regional ANC's list of nominees to stand for election as councillor, but he was not nominated to stand for re-election as mayor.
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The ANC ultimately lost its majority in Tshwane in the 2016 election, for the first time since the end of apartheid, and Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was succeeded as mayor by a Democratic Alliance candidate, Solly Msimanga, rather than by Didiza.
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Kgosientsho Ramokgopa continued to lead the Tshwane ANC, though as an appointed Regional Convener rather than as an elected Regional Chairperson after his three-year term expired in 2017.
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Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was elected to a four-year term on the Provincial Executive Committee of the Gauteng ANC and subsequently chaired its subcommittee on economic transformation.
18.
The Provincial Secretary of the Gauteng ANC, Jacob Khawe, confirmed this and said that other provincial leaders admired Kgosientsho Ramokgopa for volunteering to resign, a decision that the Gauteng ANC viewed as "an act of revolutionary consciousness that can be a lesson to others".
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The office was established to develop and coordinate South Africa's investment strategy, and Kgosientsho Ramokgopa reported directly to the President.
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Kgosientsho Ramokgopa retained the position as of 2022 and Investec described him as "respected and competent".
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Kgosientsho Ramokgopa remained active in the ANC, although he failed to gain re-election to the Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee at the next provincial elective conference in July 2022.
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On 6 March 2023, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was appointed Minister of Electricity and Energy by president Cyril Ramaphosa.
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On his 40th birthday in January 2015, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa married Georgia Shekeshe, following a traditional wedding ceremony in Atteridgeville in late 2014.