Agriculture

Meet the new MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development in Gauteng

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi named Vuyiswa Ramokgopa as the MEC in charge of Gauteng Agriculture and Rural Development on July 3.

Lesufi said food security and fighting urban hunger and the establishment of a state farm will be assigned to Ramokgopa from Rise Mzansi.

Ramokgopa tweeted that she is humbled by the confident her party has in her and is looking forward to serving the people of Gauteng with honour and diligence. “The time is now to start the work of tackling hunger as we had committed in #ThePeoplesManifesto and growing the agri-economy in Gauteng.”

Rise Mzansi’s website describes Ramokgopa as an experienced entrepreneur and business leader with over 15 years’ experience across various industries including retail, marketing and design, events management and property investment.

She has also held various listed, private and non-profit board roles. She holds a BCOM in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from UCT and has completed executive programs with GIBS and Oxford University. 

Having founded her first business in 2009, a retail clothing boutique in downtown JHB, Vuyiswa has subsequently started and led several businesses and held senior leadership roles in the corporate and non-profit sector. 

As CEO of the SA Institute of Black Property Practitioners she was responsible for driving various initiatives aimed at transforming the South African property sector, promoting the increased participation of Youth and Women and capacitating entrepreneurs.

 In 2020, Ramokgopa was elected as the inaugural Chairperson of the National Property Practitioners Council. She has also served as a member of the Black Business Council National Council since 2018, was a member of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance Executive Committee and in 2018, founded ‘Women on the Rise’ a voluntary association aimed at increasing the voice of women in policy decision-making. 

She is an Alumnus of the 2018 Fortune 500 Vital Voices – US Global Mentoring Programme and a recipient of the 2011 Destiny Magazine Top 40 Under 40, 2018 Young Independents Top 100, 2018 CNBC Africa All Africa Business Leaders Award (Finalist) and 2019 Standard Bank Top Women in Business (finalist).

Rise Mzansi says Vuyiswa is passionate about economic and spatial justice, the empowerment of youth and women and the development of the African continent. She is also a wife and mother of three children.

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