Mr Buti Kgwaridi Manamela was the Deputy Minister in the Presidency responsible for Planning Monitoring and Evaluation, youth development as well as the Administration of the Presidency. 

Manamela is also a member of the Central Committee of the South African Communist Party (SACP). He also serves as a member of the Provincial Executive Committee and Provincial Working Committee of the ANC in Limpopo.

Career

Manamela’s political activism began in his hometown of Phagameng in the Limpopo province as a student and youth leader of COSAS and the ANCYL since 1993. He was also President of the SRC, and actively participated in school debates, sporting activities and initiated ‘catch-up programmes’ to help learners prepare for their examinations and improve their results. In 1995, he worked for The Post, his hometown’s bilingual newspaper as a contributor of community news.

Upon completing his Senior Certificate, Manamela went on to study Electronics Engineering at Mamelodi College. He actively participated in the launch of SASCO at the college, and was later elected its Provincial Chairperson and then Deputy President in 2000. He was also the SRC President at the college from 1998 to 1999, and served as President of the South African College Students Association (SACSA).

In 2001, Manamela worked as an Organiser for the South African Catering, Commercial and Allied Workers’ Union (SACCAWU) and was responsible for; recruitment, negotiations, representation of workers and political induction of Shop-Stewards. In December 2003, he was elected as National Secretary of the Young Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA) at its Inaugural Launch, a position which he held until December 2014. Through his efforts, leadership and commitment, the YCLSA is today a force to be reckoned with, championing campaigns to resolve; youth unemployment, HIV/AIDS, inequalities, poverty, service delivery challenges and access to education and healthcare.

In 2009 Manamela was elected as a Member of Parliament - where he served on the Portfolio Committee of Communications, and Portfolio Committee of Economic Development. He also served in the ANC Parliament Strategy Committee (which is responsible for the strategic planning of the ANC’s work in Parliament), and was the Volunteer in Chief of the Nelson Mandela Day working together with various government departments and civil society to coordinate South Africa's work in honour and memory of former President Nelson Mandela.

He also served as the Head of Delegation for the Parliament's Committee in the ACP-EU, a Multilateral Trade and Economic Partnership Programme between Africa, the Caribbean, Pacific countries together with the European Union. Representing the parliament, Manamela made key political, economic and social statements that refuted negative attitudes towards democracy, peace and economic justice in the continent.

He was appointed as Whip of the Portfolio Committee on Labour in 2011 and drove key Labour Law amendments that included the Employment Equity Act and the Labour Relations Act.

In April 2012 he was elected as a member of the SACP Central Committee, and sits in its Politburo as an ex-officio member. In 2014, Manamela was elected in both the PEC and PWC of the ANC. He was also re-elected into the National Assembly in the same year, and subsequently appointed by President Zuma as Deputy Minister in the Presidency for National Planning, Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation, in which capacity he served from 26 May 2014 - 17 October 2017. 

Qualifications

Manamela obtained his National Senior Certificate in 1997. He holds a qualification in Policy and Development Management from Wits University (2008).

Publications

Manamela is a constant contributor to the YCL's biweekly publication - The Bottomline, SACP’s - Umsebenzi Online and the ANC’s weekly online publication - ANC Today. He also constantly contributes to various local daily and weekly newspapers.