​Staff Writer
Early Life
Panyaza Lesufi was born on 4 September 1968 at Dindela (Edenvale) in Ekurhuleni. His parents were forcefully removed from Edenvale to Tembisa during the notorious Group Areas Act. 
He started his schooling at Tlamatlama Lower Primary School, proceeded to Tshepisa Higher Primary School, then to Boitumelong Senior Secondary School. He began his tertiary education at the University of Natal (currently University of KwaZulu-Natal). Though his given name is Andrek – he is popularly known by the moniker Panyaza, due to his passion and love of football, especially his beloved Moroka Swallows FC, of which is he the current president.
Political Activism
Lesufi has long been involved in the African National Congress (ANC)-led Mass Democratic Movement (MDM), spending most of his youth in the student and youth structures of the movement.
He started his political activism in Tembisa, driven by his passion for a united, non-racial-democratic, and non-sexist South Africa.
The Boitumelong Secondary School in Tembisa, later renamed Thabo Mbeki by student activists in the 1980s, was the fulcrum and crucible of Lesufi's early political activism.
He was recruited by Cde Kennedy Nkoane, a fellow student activist, to become an activist in the struggle against apartheid after his elder brother, Nikisi Lesufi skipped the country to join the ANC outside the country after he escaped from prison as a student leader at the then University of the North, Turfloop.
While part of the broad struggle against apartheid, education became his foremost terrain of struggle. It can be said that the transformation of the education sector has become an 'accidental' lifetime passion for the former student activist who later became the MEC for Education.
Lesufi was an active member and leader of the Congress of South African Students (COSAS), Tembisa Student Congress (TESO) - which replaced COSAS when it was banned. As part of COSAS and later the Tembisa Careers Centre, Lesufi was also active in the National Education Crisis Committee. These organizations were affiliates of the United Democratic Front (UDF), strengthening the young Lesufi's grassroots activism.
An avowed anti-racist, Lesufi was constantly harassed by the apartheid police – especially the notorious Special Branch – for his 'troubles' of being involved in the struggle against apartheid. He served a stint in detention in 1989 at the Modderbee Prison and again in 1995 at Durban City Prison while spearheading the higher education transformation agenda.
At university, he was active in the South African Student Congress (SASCO) in the then Natal Region. He was later  elected as President of the SRC of the then University of Natal (Durban Campus). He is a recipient of the University of Natal's Chief Albert Luthuli Award, presented to him by former President Thabo Mbeki. The university also bestowed him the Best SRC President Ever in recognition of his leadership qualities.
Lesufi also worked within the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) sector as an Outreach Manager of the Tembisa Careers Centre, and in community structures such as the Community Policing Forum (CPF) and the South African Tertiary Institutions Sports Congress (SATISCO-Durban). He also led the Creative Arts Society (CASOC) as a chairperson.  
An energetic and all-round activist, Lesufi was also active in the Self-Defense Units defending communities against the violence unleashed by the Third Force and the apartheid government in the 1980s and early 1990s.
He was in the forefront of efforts to rebuild the ANC after it was unbanned. He served for three (3) terms as Branch Secretary of the then-ANC Tembisa Branch, before becoming Deputy Regional Secretary of the then-Kyalami Region, a position he held for almost nine (9) years. He was also the founding Deputy Regional Secretary of the ANC Ekurhuleni Region. 
He has been a member of the ANC's Provincial Executive Committee since 2007 and served in the NEC Education Sub-committee. In July 2018, he was elected as Deputy Chairperson of the ANC in Gauteng. He assumed the position of Chairperson of the ANC in Gauteng on 26 June 2022 at the provincial conference held in Benoni, Ekurhuleni.
Professional Profile
Panyaza Lesufi has a deep interest in establishing new public institutions from scratch. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (ELM) as the key person behind the founding Executive Mayor, the late Bavumile Vilakazi. He was also approached by the then Minister of Social Development, the late Dr. Zola Skweyiya, to be part of a team to establish what is known today as the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA). He further worked with Minister Nathi Mthethwa in the Police when the process to establish the Priority Crimes Unit (The HAWKS) unfolded. Lesufi was also at the forefront when the Department of Basic Education (DBE) was established in 2014.
In a nutshell, Lesufi is a former spokesperson, advisor to the Minister. He is a former MEC for Education in the Gauteng Province a position he held since 2014.
He holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration.
He has worked in post-1994 administration in various capacities, including:
Ekurhuleni Municipality
Gauteng Department of Social Development
Gauteng Department of Education
Department of Basic Education
National Prosecuting Authority/South African Police Service
South African Social Security Agency (SASSA)