Bridget Masango

Bridget Staff Masango is a South African Democratic Alliance politician from Gauteng who has served as the Shadow Minister of Social Development since October 2015. She has also been a Member of the National Assembly since October 2015. From May 2014 to October 2015, Masango served as a permanent delegate to the National Council of Provinces.

Bridget Masango
Shadow Minister of Social Development
Assumed office
3 October 2015
Preceded byPatricia Kopane
Member of the National Assembly of South Africa
Assumed office
6 October 2015
Permanent delegate to the National Council of Provinces
In office
22 May 2014 – 5 October 2015
ConstituencyGauteng
Personal details
NationalitySouth African
Political partyDemocratic Alliance

Background

Masango was born in the former Natal Province, which is now named KwaZulu-Natal.[1] She is the sixth of nine children.[1] Masango was a member of the Inkatha Freedom Party.[1] She soon moved to the Transvaal Province, which became Gauteng in 1994.[1]

She worked for Group 5, where she met veteran Democratic Alliance politician Michael Moriarty.[1] Before Masango became active in DA, she worked as a communications manager for the Nelson Mandela Children's Foundation.[1]

National Council of Provinces (2014–2015)

Prior to the 2014 general election, she was ranked low on both the DA's national and regional lists.[1] She was not elected to the National Assembly, the lower house, as a consequence. However, the DA selected her to represent the party in the National Council of Provinces, the upper house. On 22 May 2014, Masango was sworn in as a permanent delegate to the NCOP from Gauteng.[1]

On 3 October 2015, the DA leader in the National Assembly, Mmusi Maimane, appointed her as Shadow Minister of Social Development.[2] She resigned from the NCOP on 5 October.[3]

Committee assignments
  • Select Committee on Education and Recreation
  • Select Committee on Social Services[3]
  • Select Committee on Communications and Public Enterprises[3]
  • Select Committee on Land and Mineral Resources[3]

National Assembly

On 6 October 2015, Masango entered the National Assembly.[3] She became a member of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development on 15 October.[3] In 2016, Masango questioned who paid for then-Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini's R110,000 stay at The Oyster Box hotel.[4]

On 15 February 2017, she delivered her maiden speech at the annual State of the Nation Address debate.[1] Masango was re-elected at the 2019 general election.[5] In June 2020, Masango called on president Cyril Ramaphosa to remove Lindiwe Zulu as Minister of Social Development.[6]

In December 2020, Masango was re-appointed to her shadow cabinet role by the newly elected DA leader, John Steenhuisen.[7]

Committee assignment
  • Portfolio Committee on Social Development[3]

Personal life

Masango was married and has one daughter.[1] Her one brother died in May 2015.[8]

References
  1. Thamm, Marianne (5 May 2017). "Many Rivers to Cross: Bridget Masango – from barefoot schoolgirl to Parliament". The Daily Maverick. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  2. Maimane, Mmusi. "DKB no longer shadow minister of police - Mmusi Maimane". Politicsweb. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  3. "Ms Bridget Staff Masango". People's Assembly. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  4. "DA: Who footed bill for minister's R11,000-a-night Oyster Box stay?". TimesLIVE. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  5. "SEE: These are the people who will represent you in Parliament, provincial legislatures". News24. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  6. "Mr President, do the right thing and fire Minister Zulu". Democratic Alliance. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  7. Mazzone, Natasha (5 December 2020). "DA announces new Shadow Cabinet that will bring Real Hope and Real Change". Democratic Alliance. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  8. "Hansard: NCOP: Unrevised hansard". Parliamentary Monitoring Group. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
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