Ben Martins
Ben Martins MP | |
|---|---|
Minister of Energy | |
| In office 10 July 2013 – 25 May 2014 | |
| President | Jacob Zuma |
| Deputy | Barbara Thompson |
| Preceded by | Dipuo Peters |
| Succeeded by | Tina Joemat-Pettersson |
| Minister of Transport | |
| In office 12 June 2012 – 9 July 2013 | |
| President | Jacob Zuma |
| Deputy | Lydia Sindiswe Chikunga |
| Preceded by | S'bu Ndebele |
| Succeeded by | Dipuo Peters |
| Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises | |
| In office 1 November 2010 – 12 June 2012 | |
| President | Jacob Zuma |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 September 1956 Alexandra township, Johannesburg, Gauteng |
| Nationality | South African |
| Political party | African National Congress South African Communist Party |
| Alma mater | University of South Africa University of Cape Town University of Natal |
Dikobe Ben Martins (born 2 September 1956,
Education
Ben Martins was born in Alexandra Township in Johannesburg and attended school at St Joseph's School in Aliwal North, Bechet College in Durban and Coronationville High School in Johannesburg. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Africa, a Bachelor of Law (LLB) degree from the University of Natal (now the University of KwaZulu-Natal) and a Master of Law Degree (LLM) as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in Management Practice from the University of Cape Town.[3]
Early activist career
Martins was a member of the
During the 1980s, he produced T-shirts and posters for the United Democratic Front, while also contributing poetry, essays, and graphics to Staffrider magazine, an important and explicitly non-racial literary production in the 70s and 80s written for the general public about daily life in South Africa.[4]
He was later arrested under the Terrorism Act and from 1983 to 1991, was jailed at Robben Island and in Johannesburg. For a period of seven months prior to trial, he was placed in solitary confinement and tortured by the security police.[5] During his time on trial and in prison, he was able to write a book of poetry entitled Baptism of Fire, published in 1984.[4] After his release, he took a job working for the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party. In addition, he released his second work in 1992, Prison Poems.
Political career
Ben Martins became a Member of Parliament after the first democratic elections in South Africa in
Role in the art community
As politics must teach people the ways and give them the means to take control over their own lives, art must teach people, in the most vivid and imaginative ways possible, to take control over their own experience and observations, how to link these with the struggle for liberation and a just society free of race, class and exploitation.[6]
In addition to his governmental duties, he is a Member of Council of the Robben Island Museum and an Executive Committee Member of the Caversham Centre for writers and artists. He continues to be a patron of the Congress of South African Writers (COSAW). He is still a practicing artist, with his artwork forming part of the permanent Art collection of the Killie Campbell Collection of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the Pretoria and Johannesburg Art Galleries, as well as that of numerous private collections.[6]
Allegations of involvement in state capture
In November 2017 the suspended head of legal affairs for state company Eskom, Suzanne Daniels, testified before a Parliamentary committee into state capture that Martins had been present at a meeting where Gupta family associate Salim Essa attempted to interfere in Eskom's affairs.[7][8] Martins responded the next day that he had never been part of such a "phantom coffee tea party meeting" but would have to consult his diary to say where he had been on the day.[9]
Martins said he had been introduced to the Gupta family by Lucky Montana, then CEO of state company Prasa. Montana countered that it had been Martins who had introduced him to the Gupta family.[10][11]
References
- ^ "Changes to National Executive and South African Police Service" (Press release). Government of South Africa. 12 June 2012. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ^ "Office Bearers Elected at the SACP 13th National Congress". sacp.org.za. 14 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
- ^ "Abridged CV of Ben Martins" (PDF).
- ^ a b c "Biographical profile". Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
- ^ "Browse Profile | Government Communication and Information System (GCIS)".
- ^ a b "Dikobe Ben Martins". South African History Online. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
- ^ "Suspended Eskom official tells of shock, fear after Ajay Gupta meeting | Cape Times". Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ "Eskom inquiry hears evidence that the Guptas took care of Molefe and Koko". Fin24. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ "Ben Martins rejects Eskom lawyer's allegations". CityPress. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ Essop, Rahima. "Lucky Montana counters Minister Martins' claims about Gupta meeting". Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ "Martins being economical with the truth - Montana". Retrieved 10 November 2017.