A resident inFrances Streetand Minister of Public Service & Administration
Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi was born in Cape Town on 24 August 1960, the first of six children to her teacher father and factory worker mother.
She spent her early years growing up in the Klipfontein community under the supervision of her grandmother, an active trade unionis, whilst her uncle was active in the Non-European Unity Movement and was forced to assume a life in exile.
Fraser-Moleketi became active in the Bellville Association for Community Action, a civil organisation that fought to resolve political issues facing the Bellville Community. In 1980, she left the country to join the African National Congress in exile in Zimbabwe. After working under the leadership of Joe Gqabi, assassinated in 1980, she was drawn to the military structures of the ANC and later joined its military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe. As an MK cadre, Fraser-Moleketi began basics in Angola, received officer training at the Military Institute of the former USSR and specialised military training in Cuba. It was during her time in exile that she later became a member of the SACP. At this time she served in the regional leadership of the SACP based in Zimbabwe.
She was also the personal assistant to SACP secretary general, Chris Hani, as well as national head of administration; and acted as adviser on the management committee to the then-SACP chairman, Joe Slovo.
She has strong opinions on community involvement. As she told The Financial Mail in July last year: “Far greater collaboration between the public, private and community sectors is needed. Complex problems of the type facing this country will not be solved by bureaucrats in offices in Pretoria or business people working in isolation. The same proudly SA spirit that culminated in the birth of our democracy in 1994 is now required to collectively address the economic and social divides we face.
“We build the qualities and skills of entrepreneurship and innovation among South Africans. The more successful we are at developing and nurturing a culture of innovation and active societal advancement, rather than one of state-aided growth, the more SA's longer-term prospects will improve.”
She enjoys reading and spending quality time with her husband, Jabu Moleketi, ANC member of the Gauteng Executive Council with the portfolio of Economic Affairs, and their three children Nothando, Themba and Solomzi.
Contact her at: 012 314 7201 (Pretoria) or 021 467 5120 (Cape Town); Private Bag X884, Pretoria, 0001; or e-mail
(Florence Maleka, Geraldine’s personal assistant)
In Brief:
Current position:
Minister for Public Service and Administration in the South African Government (since 17 June 1999)
Academic Qualifications:
Matriculated at Livingstone High School, Claremont, Cape Town
Awarded a fellowship to Harvard University by the Institute of Politics, Kennedy School of Government. Focused studies on policy analysis and investigated aspects of the constitution
Career:
Became involved in politics in 1974 when on the SRC at high school
Left SA to join the ANC in exile while in her second year at the University of the Western Cape (1980)
Spent eight of the 10 years in exile in Zambia
Served with the Lutheran World Federation (World Service). Involved in the field of development work, managing the reporting of programmes related to drought relief, Mozambican refugees, South African and Namibian exiles, water programmes and human resource development (January 1986 - July 1990)
Returned to SA at the request of the SACP to set up a national office and to work towards the national relaunch of the party (July 1990)
Served as national administrator for the SACP and personal assistant to successive general secretaries, Joe Slovo and Chris Hani (July 1990 - end 1992)
Served on the Management Committee at Codesa as back-up to Joe Slovo
Served on the Patriotic Health Forum and was involved in the negotiations of the National Health Forum
Worked as national administrator and office manager with the Union of Democratic University Staff Associations (UDUSA) for a short period
Co-deputy elections co-ordinator of the national elections commission of the ANC (September 1993 - April 1994)
Member of Parliament (1994)
Deputy Minister for Welfare and Population Development in the South African Government (February 1995 - 30 June 1996)
Minister for Welfare and Population Development in the South African Government (1 July 1996 - 16 June 1999)
Memberships/Positions/Other Activities:
Served as Chairperson of the Sub-committee on Rules of the National Assembly
Serves on the Central Committee of the SACP
Member of the Constitutional Amendment Committee of the National Assembly
Member of the Constitutional Committee of the Constitutional Assembly
Sources: Ministry of Public Service and Administration; Financial Mail; Mbendi
Geraldine Joslyn Fraser-Moleketi