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MEC: Mandla Nkomfe
 MEC Mandla Nkomfe hails from Emdeni, an impoverished working class part of Soweto. It was the conditions of apartheid neglect in his township and the 1976 student uprising in Soweto that mobilized him into the struggle for national liberation. Like many young people of the time, the June 16 student uprising was a turning point that triggered his political consciousness and inspired his activism.
In 1979 Mandla Nkomfe was part of the formation of the Congress of South African Students (COSAS). The formation of COSAS brought back Congress politics of non-racialism, non-sexism and the building of a democratic, united and prosperous society onto the political scene.
In 1982 the COSAS leadership met in Woodstock , Cape Town and decided to form Youth Congresses in townships and villages throughout the country. This was done in order to cater for young people who were not at school but wanted to continue with their political and social activism. In this regard, the Soweto Youth Congress was formed and Mandla Nkomfe became its first Treasurer.
He studied at the University of the Witwatersrand where he was active in student politics and was a member of the Azanian Students Organisation. This was motivated by his conviction to build a truly democratic South Africa .
He worked closely with Amos Masondo, the current mayor of the City of Johannesburg , in mobilizing and organizing workers especially in unions affiliated to the United Democratic Front such as the General and Allied Workers Union. Many of these unions formed the core that established COSATU.
Mandla Nkomfe and other young activists were instrumental in discussions that led to the formation of COSATU which become part of the Mass Democratic Movement led by the African Nation Congress.
In 1987, he became a full-time organizer for the Soweto Civic Association and played a leading role in many of its campaigns, including the establishment of street committees.
While organizing for the Soweto Civic Association, Mandla Nkomfe was detained under the infamous state of emergency. Together with Gauteng Premier Paul Mashatile and Mayor Amos Masondo, he embarked on a hunger strike to secure the release of all detainees.
Upon his release, he worked for the political education department of the United Democratic Front at its Head Quarters and wrote for its journals; Isizwe and Phambili.
In 1990, upon the un-banning of the ANC and other political organizations, he became part of the Interim Leadership Group of the South African Communist Party in Gauteng , together with Paul Mashatile and Mbhazima Shilowa. The Interim Leadership Group was tasked with reestablishing structures of the SACP in Gauteng . He also helped establish the ANC's department of political education and training at the ANC's Head Quarters.
He is a member of the Editorial Collective of Umrabulo, a political journal of the ANC and is part of the Political Education and Training Sub-Committee of the National Executive Committee of the ANC.
He has been a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature since 1999 where he served as the Chairperson of Committees until 2004 when he was appointed as the Chief Whip of the ANC.
He serves on the Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee of the ANC as the Deputy Provincial Secretary and is the Gauteng MEC for Finance and Economic Affairs.
Mandla Nkomfe is well read and is a keen follower of instrumental and Jazz musical genres. He has written and published many opinion pieces on various political and social issues.
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