Zolile Williams

Zolile Williams
Member of the Executive Council for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office
16 August 2022
PremierOscar Mabuyane
Preceded byXolile Nqatha
Member of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature
Incumbent
Assumed office
15 August 2022
Provincial Treasurer of the African National Congress in the Eastern Cape
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 2022
ChairpersonOscar Mabuyane
Preceded byBabalo Madikizela
Personal details
Born30 July 1973
Lady Grey, Cape Province
South Africa
Political partyAfrican National Congress

Zolile Albert Williams (born 30 July 1973) is a South African politician who is currently serving as the Eastern Cape's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. He was appointed to that position in August 2022, several weeks after he was elected Provincial Treasurer of the Eastern Cape branch of his political party, the African National Congress (ANC).

Williams is from Lady Grey in the present-day Eastern Cape.[1] Until 2022, Williams served for two decades as the municipal manager at the Joe Gqabi District Municipality.[2][3] The Business Day said that during Williams's tenure Joe Gqabi was "one of the Eastern Cape’s best-performing municipalities in terms of audit outcomes"[3] and Oscar Mabuyane, the Premier of the Eastern Cape, called Williams "a serial achiever of clean audits".[4] He was elected to the ANC Provincial Treasurer office at a party elective conference in May 2022, beating Andile Lungisa with 799 votes to Lungisa's 673.[5] He did not appear on the draft ballot paper but was nominated for the position from the floor of the conference.[3][6] He was viewed as belonging to a slate of candidates aligned to Oscar Mabuyane, who won re-election as ANC Provincial Chairperson at the same conference.[5]

After his election to the ANC position, Williams said that he would resign from his municipal job in order to comply with South African law, which prohibited municipal managers from holding party-political office.[6] On 15 August 2022, he was sworn in as an ordinary Member of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature. He filled a casual vacancy arising from the resignation of Babalo Madikizela, whom he had also succeeded as ANC Provincial Treasurer.[7] The following day, Mabuyane announced a reshuffle of the provincial government, appointing Williams to succeed Xolile Nqatha as MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.[8][9]

  1. ^ "New Cogta MEC has proven track record". Daily Dispatch. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023 – via PressReader.
  2. ^ "Zolile Williams". People's Assembly. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "New Eastern Cape ANC treasurer to quit best performing council". Business Day. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  4. ^ Ellis, Estelle (16 August 2022). "Premier shuffles Eastern Cape cabinet 'with eye on ANC December conference', says opposition". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Oscar Mabuyane makes a clean sweep at ANC Eastern Cape conference". The Mail & Guardian. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  6. ^ a b Madia, Tshidi (9 May 2022). "Williams to resign as municipal manager after being elected EC ANC treasurer". EWN. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  7. ^ Isaac, Johnnie (15 August 2022). "Williams takes seat in legislature following Madikizela's exit". Sunday World. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  8. ^ Plaatjies, Razaan (16 August 2022). "Premier Oscar Mabuyane reshuffles Eastern Cape cabinet". News24. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Casualties, winners as premier Mabuyane reshuffles Eastern Cape cabinet". Sowetan. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.