The ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Tuesday announced the appointment of Pule Mabe as party spokesperson, with immediate effect.
A former ANC Youth League luminary and MP, Mabe takes over from Zizi Kodwa at a fractious time in the party's history, with serious divisions evident as calls for the removal of state president Jacob Zuma mount ahead of the state of the nation address later this week.
In a statement, the party said: "Comrade Mabe is serving his second term as a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ANC and has been a member of the ANC NEC Sub-Committee on Communications since 2012.
"He is the product of the ANC’s political preparatory school, the ANC Youth League, and rose through its ranks to serve as Treasurer General in both the 23rd and 24th National Executive Committees," it added.
Mabe is a trained journalist who previously worked for a mainstream print media outlet and holds a BTech in Journalism from the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). He has also completed a two-year Executive Development Program with UNISA SBL and currently completing a Masters in Business Leadership.
"Comrade Mabe was deployed as a member of Parliament following the General Elections of 2014, a position he resigned from in 2017 to continue pursuing his interest in business through some of the enterprise development innovations he has created.
"The African National Congress wishes Comrade Mabe well in his new role and has full confidence in him to execute his new task at the helm of our communication machinery with distinction."
- African News Agency (ANA)
