Job Mokgoro


Tebogo Job Mokgoro is a South African politician and academic serving as the 6th Premier of North West since June 2018. He is also a Member of the North West Provincial Legislature. He is a party member of the African National Congress.

Early life, education and family

Job Mokgoro was born on 15 May 1948 in Kimberley in the Cape Province of the Union of South Africa. He obtained multiple administrative and academic accolades including a master's degree and a Honorary Doctorate in Public Administration from the University of Toledo.

Career

After studying in the United States, Mokgoro became a lecturer at the University of Bophuthatswana. Before the 1994 election, he was one of the administrators of the Transitional Executive Council that were tasked to incorporate the traditional homelands, such as Bophuthatswana, into the new nine provinces. In 1994, Premier Popo Molefe appointed Mokgoro as the Director-General of the North West Province.
Molefe tasked Mokgoro with rationalising and integrating three government administrations into the province. During his tenure as Director-General, he was regarded as a disciplinarian, due to him patrolling the provincial government offices to make sure that no employee was leaving early on Friday afternoons. In 2014, Premier Supra Mahumapelo reappointed Mokgoro as Director-General.
Mokgoro also served as the Director-General of the South African Management Development Institute. He taught at the Wits University’s Graduate School of Public and Development Management. He was also a policy analyst for the Development Bank of Southern Africa. His most recent position was principal of the National School of Governance.
On 21 June 2018, the ANC Secretary-General, Ace Magashule, announced Mokgoro as the new Premier of North West after the National Working Committee of the African National Congress selected him. His predecessor, Supra Mahumapelo, resigned in May 2018 after weeks of violent protests. Mokgoro was reportedly seen as a compromise candidate since the process of selecting a candidate was complicated.
The North West Provincial Legislature elected Mokgoro as Premier on 22 June 2018. After the 2019 general elections, speculations arose that Mokgoro was due to be replaced as Premier because of ANC factional disputes in the province. The party ended up retaining him in the post.

Personal life

Mokgoro is married to Yvonne Mokgoro, a former Constitutional Court judge who served from 1994 until 2009. He has five children.
On 7 July 2020, Mokgoro tested positive for COVID-19. He took the test after the provincial MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs, Gordon Kegakilwe, died from complications of the virus.