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      AUTHORPÆDIA is hosted by Authorpædia Foundation, Inc. a U.S. non-profit organization.

    Jesse Ventura

    The Honourable
    Parks Tau
    MP
    Tau in November 2018
    Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition
    Incumbent
    Assumed office
    3 July 2024
    PresidentCyril Ramaphosa
    Deputy
    Preceded byEbrahim Patel
    Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
    In office
    7 March 2023 – 19 June 2024
    PresidentCyril Ramaphosa
    MinisterThembi Nkadimeng
    Preceded byThembi Nkadimeng
    Succeeded byDickson Masemola
    In office
    29 May 2019 – 9 December 2020
    Serving with Obed Bapela
    PresidentCyril Ramaphosa
    MinisterNkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
    Preceded byAndries Nel
    Succeeded byThembi Nkadimeng
    Member of the Gauteng Executive Council for Economic Development
    In office
    9 December 2020 – 6 October 2022
    PremierDavid Makhura
    Preceded byMorakane Mosupyoe
    Succeeded byTasneem Motara
    Mayor of Johannesburg
    In office
    26 May 2011 – 22 August 2016
    Preceded byAmos Masondo
    Succeeded byHerman Mashaba
    Personal details
    Born
    Mpho Parks Franklyn Tau

    (1970-06-06) 6 June 1970 (age 54)
    Orlando West, Soweto
    Transvaal, South Africa
    Political partyAfrican National Congress
    SpousePilisiwe Twala-Tau
    Alma materUniversity of London

    Mpho Parks Franklyn Tau (born 1970) is a South African politician from Gauteng. He has been the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition since July 2024. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), he was the second post-apartheid Mayor of Johannesburg between 2011 and 2016.

    Born and raised in Soweto, Tau joined the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Council upon its inception in December 2000 and represented the ANC as a councillor until May 2019. He was elected as mayor in the May 2011 local elections but served only one term: though some observers admired Tau's technocratic policies, the ANC lost its electoral majority in the city in the August 2016 local elections. Tau remained in the council on the opposition benches for three years thereafter, serving as leader of the ANC caucus as well as leader of both the South African Local Government Association and United Cities and Local Governments.

    After the May 2019 general election, Tau joined the national executive as Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. He served two non-consecutive stints in that office, from May 2019 to December 2020 and later from March 2023 to June 2024; in the interim, he served in the Gauteng Executive Council as provincial minister for economic development under Premier David Makhura. He was elevated to his current ministerial portfolio after the May 2024 general election.

    In December 2022, Tau was elected to a five-year term as a member of the ANC's National Executive Committee. He formerly served in party leadership positions at both the local and provincial levels, notably as party chairman in Johannesburg between 2011 and 2018 and then as provincial treasurer in Gauteng between 2018 and 2022.

    Early life and education

    Tau was born on 6 June 1970[1] in the Orlando West neighbourhood of Soweto, where he grew up.[2] A teenager during the last decade of apartheid, he became involved in political activism as a high school student at Pace Commercial College in Soweto, where he was president of the student representative council.[2][3] He became president of the Soweto Youth Congress in 1989 and was also active in the Congress of South African Students and African National Congress (ANC) Youth League.[4]

    Later in his life, Tau studied public management at Regenesys Business School, and he holds a master's degree in public policy and management from the University of London.[5]

    Local government

    Tau became regional secretary of the Johannesburg branch of the governing ANC in 1994, shortly after the onset of the post-apartheid transition.[2][6] Thereafter, he joined Johannesburg's transitional Southern Local Metropolitan Council as a representative of the ANC; aged 25, he became chairperson of the council's urban development committee and deputy chairperson of its executive committee.[7]

    Mayoral committee: 2000–2011

    The unified City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality was launched in 2000, and Tau became a local councillor in the new municipality, representing the ANC, after the December 2000 local elections.[2][4] For the next decade, Tau served as a Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) under the inaugural mayor, Amos Masondo; he was appointed as MMC for Development Planning, Transportation, and Environment in 2000 and went on to serve as MMC for Finance and Economic Development between 2003 and 2011.[4][5] In 2009, he was elected to the Gauteng ANC's Provincial Executive Committee.[7]

    The Mail & Guardian later reported that Tau's wife was a minority shareholder in a black economic empowerment (BEE) consortium that also included a company, Regiments Capital, that had received state contracts from the Gauteng treasury. The newspaper suggested that Tau, as political head of the treasury, had ignored an improper conflict of interest.[8][9] Public integrity commissioner Jules Browde investigated the allegations after they were published in 2012, and he reportedly concluded in 2013 that Tau had lacked any influence over the relevant tender processes.[10]

    Mayor of Johannesburg: 2011–2016

    Ahead of the 18 May 2011 local elections, Tau was the ANC's candidate in Johannesburg, touted to succeed Masondo as Mayor of Johannesburg.[11][12] The ANC retained a comfortable majority of seats in the city council, and Tau was elected as mayor in the inaugural council meeting on 26 May, easily defeating a challenge from Mmusi Maimane of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA).[13][14] In October 2011, Tau was additionally elected as regional chairperson of the ANC's Johannesburg branch, again succeeding Masondo.[15]

    As mayor Tau was viewed as a technocrat.[3][16] In his 2013 State of the City address, he introduced his so-called Corridors of Freedom agenda, which involved redressing apartheid-era spatial inequalities through inclusionary public transport,[17][18] including continued expansion of the Rea Vaya bus rapid transit system.[19] The policy was popular among some observers,[20] but others criticized its conceptualization or implementation.[21][22][23] Tau's 2015 State of the City address set out plans for transforming Johannesburg into a smart city, including through public Wi-Fi networks and "smart" pre-paid electricity meters.[24][25] Tau also committed to major infrastructure investments[26] and launched the Jozi@Work employment scheme.[27]

    In the next local elections in August 2016, Tau stood for re-election as the ANC's mayoral candidate,[28] although some segments of the regional party suggested fielding an alternative candidate.[29][30] But the ANC's vote share declined precipitously in the election: it remained the largest party on the Johannesburg council but lost its majority, winning only 45 per cent of the vote.[31] At the inaugural council meeting on 23 August, the DA's Herman Mashaba was elected as mayor, receiving 144 votes to Tau's 125; decisive for the DA's victory was the support of the Economic Freedom Fighters.[32][33]

    Leader of the opposition: 2016–2019

    Tau at the World Forum on Urban Violence in Madrid, Spain in April 2017

    After his defeat in August 2016, Tau remained in the Johannesburg city council as leader of the ANC caucus and leader of the opposition.[34][35] He also became national chairperson of the South African Local Government Association in October 2016,[36][37] a position he held until June 2019.[38] During the same three-year period he was president of the United Cities and Local Governments.[39]

    On 1 July 2018, Tau ceded the position of ANC regional chairperson in Johannesburg to Geoff Makhubo. The party said that Tau had not stood for re-election because he was planning to pursue elevation to the party's provincial leadership at the upcoming provincial ANC conference, to be held in Irene on 21 July.[40][41] Although he was nominated to stand for election as the provincial party's deputy chairman, the conference elected him as provincial treasurer instead.[42] The Mail & Guardian reported that he stepped out of the deputy leadership race after making a deal with supporters of Panyaza Lesufi, who won the deputy chairman position.[43][44]

    Provincial and national government

    National executive: 2019–2020

    Tau was elected to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature in the May 2019 general election, and he resigned from the Johannesburg City Council to take up his legislative seat.[45] However, though initially slated for appointment to a portfolio in the Gauteng Executive Council, Tau was excluded from the provincial executive announced by premier David Makhura shortly after the election.[46][47] Instead, on 29 May, after just over a week in the provincial legislature, Tau was elevated to the national executive, appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa as Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. He was the only deputy minister appointed from outside the national Parliament.[48][49]

    Gauteng executive: 2020–2022

    In December 2020, Gauteng premier Makhura announced a reshuffle of his provincial executive, in which Tau was appointed as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Economic Development.[50] He resigned from the national executive to take up the position and was sworn back in to a seat in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.[51] The provincial ANC Youth League reportedly opposed Tau's return to provincial politics.[52][53]

    Tau's term as ANC provincial treasurer ended at the party's provincial conference in June 2022, where Morakane Mosupyoe was elected to succeed him.[54] Tau was not included in the party Provincial Executive Committee as elected at the conference, which led to speculation that he would be removed from the Gauteng Executive Council.[55] After Panyaza Lesufi replaced Makhura as premier in October 2022, he sacked Tau as MEC for Economic Development, appointing Tasneem Motara in his stead.[56]

    Tau retained his legislative seat and was subsequently made chairperson of the legislature's finance committee.[57] In addition, in December 2022, he attended the ANC's 55th National Conference and was elected to a five-year term as a member of the party's National Executive Committee.[58] The committee in turn elected him to chair its subcommittee on local government intervention.[59]

    Return to national government: 2023–present

    Tau receiving Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at O. R. Tambo International Airport ahead of the BRICS Summit in August 2023

    On 26 January 2023, the Sunday Times reported that Tau had resigned abruptly from his seat in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.[60] He was sworn in to a seat in the National Assembly of South Africa on 6 February, sparking rumors that he would be promoted to the national executive in an impending cabinet reshuffle.[61] When the reshuffle was announced on 6 March, President Ramaphosa returned Tau to his former position as Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.[62]

    In the next general election in May 2024, Tau stood for election to a full term in the National Assembly, but was initially ranked too low on the ANC's party list (74th) to win a seat. He was sworn in shortly after Parliament opened, on 19 June, when a casual vacancy arose.[63] On 30 June, he was appointed as Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition in President Ramaphosa's ANC-led coalition government.[64] Andrew Whitfield and Zuko Godlimpi, of the DA and ANC respectively, were named as his deputies.[65]

    Personal life

    He is married to Pilisiwe Twala-Tau, who trained as an accountant and also worked in the Johannesburg government.[66] They have children.[67][68]

    References

    1. ^ "Final Candidate Lists for 2024 National and Provincial Elections: National Candidates" (PDF). Electoral Commission of South Africa. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
    2. ^ a b c d Tau, Poloko (10 May 2015). "'Billing crisis is under control' – Parks Tau". News24. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    3. ^ a b Nicolson, Greg (1 August 2016). "Parks Tau, the mayor who grew into his role". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    4. ^ a b c "Profile of MEC Parks Tau". Gauteng Gambling Board. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    5. ^ a b "Minister Parks Tau". The Department of Trade Industry and Competition. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    6. ^ "Profile: MMC for Finance and Economic Development – Councillor Parks Tau" (PDF). City of Joburg. 2006. p. 12. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    7. ^ a b "City of Johannesburg, Executive Mayor Parks Tau". City of Joburg. 20 January 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    8. ^ "Council tender haunts Gauteng mayor's wife". Mail & Guardian. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    9. ^ "Signs of rigging in Tau tender". The Mail & Guardian. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    10. ^ "Joburg mayor's name cleared". News24. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    11. ^ Masondo, Sipho (6 May 2011). "ANC has 'remade Soweto'". Sunday Times. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    12. ^ "ANC parades Parks Tau". Mail & Guardian. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    13. ^ "Tau appointed as new Jo'burg mayor". Mail & Guardian. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    14. ^ Wiener, Mandy (26 May 2011). "Tau elected as new JHB mayor". EWN. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    15. ^ "Jo'burg ANC reveals new face". The Mail & Guardian. 9 October 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    16. ^ "Meet Mister Joburg". News24. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    17. ^ "Newsmaker – Parks Tau: My vision for Joburg". News24. 12 May 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    18. ^ "Corridors of Freedom, a vision of a city that works for its people". The Mail & Guardian. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    19. ^ Reporter, Creamer Media. "Johannesburg launches the second phase of the Rea Vaya BRT system". engineeringnews.co.za. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    20. ^ Pieterse, Edgar (23 October 2016). "Parks Tau's second act is reward for a job well done in Joburg". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    21. ^ Makwela, Mike; Dittgen, Romain; Rubin, Margot (1 November 2024). "Planned stitching, practical suturing: assembling community voices and mobilisation across difference in Johannesburg's corridors of freedom". City. 28 (5–6): 940–960. doi:10.1080/13604813.2024.2414369. ISSN 1360-4813.
    22. ^ Ballard, Richard; Dittgen, Romain; Harrison, Philip; Todes, Alison (2017). "Megaprojects and urban visions: Johannesburg's Corridors of Freedom and Modderfontein". Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa. 95 (1): 111–139. doi:10.1353/trn.2017.0024. ISSN 1726-1368.
    23. ^ Harrison, Philip; Rubin, Margot; Appelbaum, Alexandra; Dittgen, Romain (1 December 2019). "Corridors of Freedom: Analyzing Johannesburg's Ambitious Inclusionary Transit-Oriented Development". Journal of Planning Education and Research. 39 (4): 456–468. doi:10.1177/0739456X19870312. ISSN 0739-456X.
    24. ^ "Tau talks smart, Soweto toyi-toyis". Sunday Times. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    25. ^ "Tau dreams of a smart city". Roodepoort Record. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    26. ^ "Joburg financially sound: mayor". Sunday Times. 22 March 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    27. ^ "Mashaba cans R1bn Jozi@Work programme". Engineering News. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    28. ^ "Parks Tau is the ANC mayoral candidate for Joburg". eNCA. 19 June 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    29. ^ "Who will lead the ANC's election charge?". The Mail & Guardian. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    30. ^ "ANC mayors may lose their chains". The Mail & Guardian. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    31. ^ "South African's ANC suffers worst election since taking power". Reuters. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    32. ^ "DA's Herman Mashaba elected new Joburg mayor". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    33. ^ "EFF will vote for Mashaba, says Malema". News24. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    34. ^ Bendile, Dineo (23 August 2016). "Tau laments JHB loss, vows to work as opposition leader". EWN. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    35. ^ "Bargain with the ANC to get the right budget, says ex-Jo'burg mayor Parks Tau". Mail & Guardian. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    36. ^ "Parks Tau appointed interim chairperson of SA Local Government Association". The Mail & Guardian. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    37. ^ "Parks Tau has a new job, eyes international position". CNBC Africa. 7 October 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    38. ^ "Thembi Nkadimeng new president of Salga". Sowetan. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
    39. ^ "Parks Tau elected as president of World Body of Local Government". SALGA. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    40. ^ "ANC elects new leadership in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni". Business Day. 1 July 2018. Archived from the original on 16 December 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    41. ^ "Makhubo replaces Parks Tau as Joburg ANC leader". Rosebank Killarney Gazette. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    42. ^ "Panyaza Lesufi wins Gauteng ANC deputy chair position". Sunday Times. 21 July 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    43. ^ "Lesufi elected to ANC Gauteng's second most powerful position". The Mail & Guardian. 21 July 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
    44. ^ Hunter, Qaanitah (22 July 2018). "David Makhura's unopposed ANC Gauteng victory – another beginning, another election to be fought". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    45. ^ Zulu, Sifiso (22 May 2019). "Parks Tau resigns as ANC caucus leader in Johannesburg". EWN. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    46. ^ "Gauteng's new MECs announced". Sowetan. 29 May 2019. Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    47. ^ "Is Parks Tau heading to national government?". Sowetan. 29 May 2019. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    48. ^ "Njabulo Nzuza and Parks Tau are surprise cabinet appointees". Sunday Times. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    49. ^ "Parks Tau, deputy minister – the wildcard". News24. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    50. ^ Tandwa, Lizeka (9 December 2020). "Parks Tau sworn in as new Gauteng economic development MEC". News24. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    51. ^ "Gauteng Provincial legislature conducts swearing-in ceremony for Parks Tau as new member, 9 Dec". South African Government. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    52. ^ "ANCYL blocks Makhura's bid to reshuffle Masuku in Gauteng legislature". News24. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    53. ^ "Youth league tells members not to make way for Tau in Gauteng legislature". Sowetan. 3 December 2020. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    54. ^ Masungwini, Norman (27 June 2022). "ANC Gauteng fails to conclude conference while Lesufi is voted new chairperson". City Press. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    55. ^ Matlala, George (21 August 2022). "ANC looks to Lesufi to block coalition rule in Gauteng". Sunday World. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    56. ^ Khumalo, Juniour (7 October 2022). "Parks Tau, Nomathemba Mokgethi casualties as Panyaza Lesufi makes sweeping changes to Gauteng cabinet". News24. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    57. ^ Mahlati, Zintle (1 February 2023). "Parks Tau replaced as Gauteng legislature finance chair amid imminent Cabinet reshuffle". News24. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    58. ^ "The ANC announces new members of the National Executive Committee". IOL. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
    59. ^ "Members of deployment committee and other committees appointed – ANC NEC". Politicsweb. 26 February 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
    60. ^ "Paul Mashatile and Parks Tau look set for parliament". Sunday Times. 26 January 2023. Archived from the original on 24 April 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    61. ^ Ludidi, Velani (6 February 2023). "Edging closer to Cabinet, Paul Mashatile and three other ANC members sworn in as MPs". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
    62. ^ Payne, Suné (7 March 2023). "It's official, SA's seven new ministers and nine deputy ministers sworn into office". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
    63. ^ "Parks Tau takes Cyril Ramaphosa's seat in parliament". Sunday Times. 20 June 2024. Archived from the original on 16 March 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    64. ^ "In with the New: Meet the Cabinet of Change". eNCA. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    65. ^ "Meet the ministers now in charge of SA's economy". News24. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
    66. ^ "'I Work 24x7'". Forbes Africa. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    67. ^ John, Zenoyise (10 August 2012). "Johannesburg's First Lady opts for simple life". Sowetan. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    68. ^ "The current Executive Mayor". City of Joburg. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
    Credit: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parks_Tau

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