Ezra Ramasethla has been elected as the new president of the National Professional Teachers Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA). The teachers union elected its new leadership at its National Congress in October, which marked two years of unity for the organisation after the amalgamation of the previous affiliates in 2006.
Glenda Boyes was elected as the Deputy President while Waheeb Gasant will assume the role of Vice President until the next congress in 2010.
The conference was also the swansong for outgoing president Dave Balt, who has been involved in the running of the union since its early days as the NAPTOSA Federation in the early 90’s.
The National Congress, which was held on 15 and 16 October at Kopanong Conference Centre in Benoni, was attended by 250 provincial leaders, delegates and observers, and was the swan for outgoing president Dave Balt, who stepped down after several years of involvement with the movement.
Meanwhile, Thobile Ntola has been elected as the president of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union, with Mugwena Maluleke to serve a deputy secretary general.
Both men have served the union since its inception. Ntola was previously the union’s deputy president, while Maluleke held the post of Sadtu national treasurer.
Ntola, who was formerly the principal of Chuhekile Senior Secondary School says his priorities are to ‘unite the organisation and to ensure that every member understands his/her role in transforming society with and for the working class’.