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Belinda Scott
Deputy Mayor of eThekwini
In office
6 September 2019 – 28 February 2021
MayorMxolisi Kaunda
Preceded byFawzia Peer
Member of the KwaZulu-Natal Executive Council for Finance
In office
May 2014 – May 2019
Premier
Preceded byIna Cronje
Succeeded byRavi Pillay
Personal details
Born (1964-02-17) 17 February 1964 (age 60)
CitizenshipSouth Africa
Political party

Belinda Francis Scott (born 17 February 1964), formerly Belinda Barrett, is a South African politician who was KwaZulu-Natal's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Finance from 2014 to 2019. She served several terms in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature from 1994 to 2019, representing the African National Congress (ANC) from 2002 onwards after defecting from both the Democratic Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party. After she left the provincial legislature in 2019, she served as Deputy Mayor of eThekwini from September 2019 until she resigned from politics in February 2021.

KwaZulu-Natal Legislature: 1994–2019

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Born on 17 February 1964,[1] Scott entered politics through Mangosuthu Buthelezi's Inkatha: in the 1980s, she was a researcher at the Inkatha Institute and then became a speechwriter for Buthelezi. Reportedly a close associate of Walter Felgate, she stood as a candidate in the 1994 general election, South Africa's first after apartheid, on the party list for Inkatha, by then renamed the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).[2]

In 1999, she defected to the Democratic Party (DP), saying that she was "disillusioned with corruption in Inkatha".[2] She remained in the provincial legislature and became the only female member of the DP's 15-member federal executive committee.[2] By 2002, Scott was the DP's Chief Whip in the provincial legislature. In June of that year, during the legislature's floor-crossing period, she defected from the DP to the African National Congress (ANC).[2][3]

Scott continued to represent the ANC. She was elected to her final term in the provincial legislature in the 2014 general election, ranked 22nd on the ANC's provincial party list.[4] After the election, Premier Senzo Mchunu appointed her to the KwaZulu-Natal Executive Council as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Finance.[5][6] She retained that portfolio until the next general election in 2019, when she did not stand for re-election[4] and resigned from the provincial legislature.

Deputy Mayor of eThekwini: 2019–2021

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Her resignation from the provincial legislature notwithstanding,[7] Scott was appointed to a new position later in 2019 when, in August, the provincial ANC announced that she would be nominated as the party's candidate to serve as Deputy Mayor of eThekwini.[8] She was officially elected to the position on 5 September 2019.[9] She was sent to the eThekwini council as part of a corps of cadres – also including new Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda, new Speaker Weziwe Thusi, and new Chief Whip Sibongiseni Mkhize – that the ANC said would help improve service delivery in the province after the former mayor, Zandile Gumede, had been judged by the party to be unfit for office.[8]

On 17 February 2021, after prior unconfirmed reports to the same effect,[10] Scott announced that she would resign from the council in order to pursue a PhD and a career in the private sector.[11] She joined the private sector in March.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "General Notice: Notice 717 of 2004 - Electoral Commission – List of Names of Representatives in the National Assembly and the Nine Provincial Legislatures in Respect of the Elections Held on 14 April 2004" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 466, no. 2677. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 20 April 2004. pp. 4–95. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Turncoat or woman of principle?". The Mail & Guardian. 27 June 2002. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Confusion in KZN as politicians jump ship". The Mail & Guardian. 21 June 2002. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Belinda Francis Scott". People's Assembly. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  5. ^ "The new KZN cabinet – Senzo Mchunu". Politicsweb. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  6. ^ Hans, Bongani (27 May 2014). "No place in KZN cabinet for Ina Cronjé". IOL. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  7. ^ Duma, Nkosikhona (23 August 2019). "KZN DA concerned by Scott, Thusi appointments in eThekwini Municipality". EWN. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  8. ^ a b "New mayors for eThekwini and Msunduzi municipalities 'a plus for Ramaphosa'". Business Day. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  9. ^ "It's finally official: Mxolisi Kaunda named as eThekwini mayor". Sunday Times. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  10. ^ Dawood, Zainul (16 February 2021). "eThekwini deputy mayor Belinda Scott allegedly resigns". IOL. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  11. ^ Magubane, Thami (18 February 2021). "eThekwini confirms resignation of its deputy mayor Belinda Scott". IOL. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  12. ^ Walford, Lauren (19 February 2021). "Durban's Deputy mayor resigns, joins regeneration company". Berea Mail. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
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