Pemmy Majodina

Pemmy Castelina Pamela Majodina (born 24 December 1968) is a South African politician who is current Minister of Water and Sanitation (South Africa) also serving as a Member of the National Assembly since 2019. A member of the African National Congress, she is the party's chief whip in the assembly. She was formerly a Member of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature between 2004 and 2019 and a Member of the provincial Executive Council for five different portfolios from 2008 to 2019, respectively. Majodina was a permanent delegate to the National Council of Provinces from 1994 to 2004.

Early life and education
Majodina was born on 24 December 1968 in Sterkspruit, Cape Province. She studied Bachelors of Education at the National University of Lesotho (NUL) obtaining her degree in 1996 and enrolled for honors degree which she completed in 1998.

Political career
Majodina served on the regional executives, the provincial executives and the national executives of the South African Student Congress, the African National Congress Youth League, the African National Congress Women's League, the South African Communist Party and the African National Congress. She was also an underground operative of uMkhonto we Sizwe.

Following the April 1994 elections, Majodina was sworn in as a member of the Senate (which became the National Council of Provinces in 1997). She served two terms in the NCOP until her election to the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature in the June 2004 provincial election. She was appointed the Chairperson of Roads and Public Works Portfolio Committee after her swearing-in. Newly elected Premier Mbulelo Sogoni appointed her as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Health in August 2008.

After the April 2009 provincial election, Noxolo Kiviet became Premier. She made her the MEC for Roads and Public Works. In November 2010, Kiviet moved Majodina to the Social Development and Special Programmes portfolio. Phumulo Masualle was elected Premier after the May 2014 election. He appointed her MEC for Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture. In May 2018, Masualle appointed her MEC for Public Works. After the May 2019 elections, Majodina was selected to return to Parliament as a Member of the National Assembly. The National Executive Committee of the African National Congress named her the party's chief whip in the National Assembly, and she assumed the position upon her inauguration. She was the second woman to hold the post, with Doris Dlakude as her deputy.

Awards and accolades
Majodina was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in community development from the Arlington University of Australia in 2010. The next year, the Methodist Church of Southern Africa gave her their Reverend Baartman Award. In 2015, Reverend Jesse Jackson awarded her with a Global Humanitarian Award.

Controversies
In April 2015, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela recommended that Masualle take disciplinary steps against Majodina after an investigation found that funds were misappropriated towards her during a visit to the United States in September 2012. She later paid back the funds.

In June 2023, Public Protector at the time, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, laid a complaint against three ANC MPs, Majodina, Richard Dyantyi and Tina Joemat-Pettersson with Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests. This came after Mkhwebane's husband alleged that Joemat-Pettersson approached him for a R600 000 bribe for the three to influence the outcome of the Section 194 Enquiry into the fitness of Mkhwebane to hold office; he also laid a complaint with the police. The Committee cleared Dyantyi and Majodina saying the claim was unfounded.

Personal life
Majodina has nine children, of which seven are adopted and two are biological. She is estranged from her husband. Majodina is a Christian.