Meet Kgosientso David Ramokgopa, who is popularly known as (Kgosientso Ramokgopa). He is a South African politician who has held various positions in government. Let’s read his full biodata below.
He was the Mayor of Tshwane from 2010 to 2016 and is now the incoming Minister in the Presidency responsible for electricity. Ramokgopa is a civil engineer by training and entered politics in 2000 as a ward councillor for the African National Congress (ANC) in Tshwane.
After serving in various public and private entities, Kgosientso Ramokgopa was elected Mayor of Tshwane in 2010. In 2016, he was passed over for reappointment as the ANC’s mayoral candidate in the local government elections.
He briefly served as an MEC for Economic Development, Agriculture, and Environment in the Gauteng provincial government in 2019 before resigning. Ramokgopa now works in the Presidency of South Africa and is a member of the ANC’s National Executive Committee.
Kgosientso Ramokgopa Biography
Kgosientso Ramokgopa is a 48-year-old South African politician who belongs to the African National Congress political party. He has studied at the University of Durban-Westville and the University of Pretoria. He is also known by the nickname “Sputla”. His aunt is Gwen Ramokgopa.
Age | Date of Birth
Kgosientso Ramokgopa was born on January 25, 1975, and is currently 48 years old as of 2023. In 2024, he will be 49 years old, and in 2025, he will be 50 years old.
Nationality | Ethnicity
Kgosientso Ramokgopa is a South African national and his ethnicity is black African.
Parents | Family
Kgosientso Ramokgopa family comes from Ga-Ramokgopa village in Limpopo, South Africa. He grew up with seven siblings and went to school in Atteridgeville, a township in Gauteng province. As a child, Ramokgopa was very good at soccer and was nicknamed “Sputla” because of it.
Education Background
Kgosientso Ramokgopa has completed his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, master’s degrees in public administration and business leadership, and a PhD in public affairs.
He studied civil engineering at the University of Durban-Westville and became involved in politics through the South African Student Congress (SASCO) and the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League during his university years.
Net Worth
There is no information available on his net worth.
Political Career
Ramokgopa started his political career as a local councillor for the African National Congress (ANC) in Tshwane’s ward 51 from 2000 to 2005. ((en.wikipedia.org))
He worked as a transport engineer during that time. He also held various positions in public and private entities such as CEO of the Metropolitan Trading Company and CEO of Johannesburg Market.
Ramokgopa was active in the provincial ANC and became chairperson of the party’s large regional branch in Tshwane in 2010.
He played an important role in supporting Paul Mashatile’s campaign to be re-elected as ANC Provincial Chairperson in May 2010.
Later that year, Kgosientso Ramokgopa was considered for a mayoral position, but some regional ANC leaders thought he was too young for the job.
Children | Wife
In January 2015, Ramokgopa got married to Georgia Shekeshe on his 40th birthday, after having a traditional wedding ceremony in Atteridgeville towards the end of 2014.
Shekeshe had served as Ramokgopa’s personal assistant during his mayoral term, and they had a two-year-old son at the time of their wedding.
Mayor of Tshwane
Ramokgopa was elected Mayor of Tshwane on 2 November 2010, beating his opponent Gerhardus Pretorius from the Democratic Alliance with 92 votes to 49.
He took over from his aunt, Gwen Ramokgopa, who had left to serve as Deputy Minister of Health under President Jacob Zuma.
Despite predictions of the ANC losing their majority in Tshwane in the 2011 local government elections, Ramokgopa retained his position and announced a major reshuffle of his Mayoral Committee.
However, one of the major criticisms of his term as mayor was the roll-out of smart prepaid electricity meters across the city under the Security of Revenue Project.
The contract to install the meters was challenged in court and opposition parties claimed that it had been awarded irregularly and had cost the city billions of rands in unnecessary expenditures.
ANC Regional Chairperson
While he was mayor, Ramokgopa faced opposition from various groups, including trade unions, the South African Communist Party, and local business forums.
Ahead of the 2016 local government elections, Ramokgopa was not nominated to stand for re-election as mayor due to factional battles within the ANC and concerns about his style of governance and a smart meter contract.
The ANC ultimately lost its majority in Tshwane in the 2016 election, and Ramokgopa was succeeded as mayor by a Democratic Alliance candidate.
Ramokgopa continued to lead the Tshwane ANC as an appointed Regional Convener and was touted as a possible candidate to succeed Paul Mashatile as ANC Provincial Chairperson in Gauteng.
However, Kgosientso Ramokgopa declined the nomination and was elected to a four-year term on the Provincial Executive Committee of the Gauteng ANC.
Gauteng Executive Council
In 2019, Kgosientso Ramokgopa was elected to a position in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. He was the 10th member on the party list of the ANC, which won the most seats in Gauteng.
After the election, he was appointed as a member of the Executive Council by Premier Makhura, responsible for Economic Development, Agriculture, and Environment.
However, Kgosientso Ramokgopa only served for four and a half months before resigning in October. He was replaced by Morakane Mosupyoe.
Ramokgopa’s resignation was due to a directive from the ANC national leadership, which required the Premier to increase female representation in his Executive Council.
The Gauteng ANC saw Ramokgopa’s decision to resign as an admirable act of revolutionary consciousness. Thank you for his full biography and net worth. You can as well read the full Wikipedia biodata and net worth of Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, she is also a South African politician.
