China Dodovu

Thamsanqa Simon China Dodovu (born 12 July 1969) is a South African politician who is currently serving as a Delegate to the National Council of Provinces since May 2019. He was formerly the Mayor of Klerksdorp's Matlosana Local Municipality and served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Local Government and Traditional Affairs in the North West provincial government from May 2012 until June 2013. Dodovu is a member of the African National Congress and served as the party's Deputy Provincial Chairperson in the North West from 2011 to 2015.

Education and early career Dodovu has a Master's degree in public administration from the University of Stellenbosch and a Master of Science in urban housing management from Sweden's University of Lund. In the 1990s, he joined the regional leadership of his political party, the African National Congress (ANC), in the newly constituted North West province. he was the Executive Mayor of the City of Matlosana Local Municipality in Klerksdorp, as well as the Regional Chairperson of the ANC's branch in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality. In May 2008, at a chaotic party elective conference, Dodovu – at the time still Matlosana mayor – was viewed as the leader of a slate of candidates which unsuccessfully battled Supra Mahumapelo and his supporters for top leadership positions in the ANC's North West provincial branch. On 12 February 2011, he was elected to a four-year term as Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the ANC in the North West, receiving a resounding 520 votes against the 203 votes received by his opponent, Moeti Moilwa. Mahumapelo also won election as Provincial Chairperson,

Executive Council: 2012–2013 On 3 May 2012, Dodovu was appointed to the North West Executive Council in a cabinet reshuffle by the incumbent Premier of the North West, Thandi Modise. He was appointed Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Local Government and Traditional Affairs, succeeding Paul Sebegoe.

Murder trial: 2013–2014 On 25 February 2013, Dodovu was arrested at his office in Potchefstroom in connection with the murder of David Chika, the regional secretary of the ANC's Dr Kenneth Kaunda regional branch. Chika had been shot dead in his driveway in Klerksdorp in December 2012, shortly before the national ANC conference; according to the Mail & Guardian, he had been accused by anti-Zuma ANC leaders in the North West of interfering with party administrative processes in a manner which had boosted the strength of pro-Zuma delegates to the national conference. Shortly afterwards, the North West ANC suspended Dodovu as Provincial Deputy Chairperson, pending the completion of the trial. Dodovu remained an ordinary Member of the Provincial Legislature until the 2014 general election, which occurred in the middle of his trial, but he did not stand for re-election to his seat. His supporters linked his prosecution to his opposition to Zuma at the ANC's 53rd National Conference, as well as to what they described as a campaign by Mahumapelo to consolidate power in the North West ANC and government. ' National Council of Provinces: 2019–2023 In the 2019 general election, Dodovu was ranked 13th on the ANC's regional party list for the North West and was elected as a Delegate to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), the upper house of the South African Parliament. As chairperson Dodovu also clashed with Mahumapelo's successor, Premier Job Mokgoro. He remained chairperson of the committee as of February 2022, when the committee recommended that the Section 100 intervention should be lifted.

Personal life As of December 2007, he was married to Madimabe Dodovu.