Enoch Godongwana Biography
Enoch Godongwana is the current Minister of Finance of South Africa since August 2021. He is also a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress (ANC) and the chairperson of its Economic Transformation sub-committee.
He has a background in the trade union movement and has served in various government positions, such as Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises. He holds an MSc degree in Financial Economics from the University of London.
Enoch Godongwana Age
Enoch Godongwana is 67 years old as of 2024.
Enoch Godongwana Early Life and Education
Enoch Godongwana was born on 9 June 1957 in Cala, a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. He grew up during the apartheid era, which was a system of racial segregation and oppression that lasted from 1948 to 1994.
Godongwana attended St John’s College in Mthatha, a city in the Eastern Cape, where he completed his matriculation. He was interested in politics and social justice from a young age, and he joined the trade union movement as a shop steward for the Metal and Allied Workers’ Union in 1979.
Godongwana continued his education by earning an MSc degree in Financial Economics from the University of London in 1998. He studied through distance learning, while continuing his work as a trade union leader and a political activist.
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Enoch Godongwana Career
Enoch Godongwana began his career in the trade union movement, initially serving as a shop steward in the Metal and Allied Workers’ Union in 1979, before advancing to become an organizer for the National Union of Metalworkers South Africa (Numsa).
By 1994, he was general secretary of the union and served on the executive of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu). He was involved in the negotiations for a democratic transition in South Africa, and he played a key role in shaping the labour policies of the ANC.
In 1997, Godongwana was elected to the National Executive Committee of the ANC, the highest decision-making body of the party. He also became a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Finance in the Eastern Cape provincial government, where he was responsible for managing the budget and the finances of the province. He held this position until 2004, when he was dismissed by the then Premier Nosimo Balindlela under controversial circumstances.
From May 2009 to January 2012, Godongwana served as a deputy minister in President Jacob Zuma’s initial cabinet. Initially, he held the position of Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises from 2009 to 2010, and subsequently, he assumed the role of Deputy Minister of Economic Development from 2010 to 2012. However, he resigned from the latter position in January 2012 following a scandal related to one of his business ventures, an investment firm named Canyon Springs.
Nevertheless, he maintained prominence as the long-serving chairperson of the ANC National Executive Committee’s subcommittee on economic transformation. Additionally, he served as the chairperson of the Development Bank of Southern Africa from 2019 to 2021. His appointment to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet on August 5, 2021, underscores his reputation as a pragmatic economic voice and a dependable leader.
Godongwana has a master’s degree in financial economics from the University of London. He is also a director of Mondi, a paper and packing company, as well as platinum miner Platinum Group Metals. He has been a vocal advocate for structural reforms, emphasizing the importance of public investment, particularly in infrastructure, and providing support for small, medium, and micro-enterprises (SMMEs), including improving access to finance.
Enoch Godongwana Wife and Children
Enoch Godongwana is married to Thandiwe Godongwana, who is also a businesswoman and a former ANC MP. They have two children, a son and a daughter.
Enoch Godongwana Net Worth
Enoch Godongwana has an estimated net worth of $1 million as of 2024.
