He later joined the ANC. Botes worked as the party's provincial head of policy, research and analysis between 1999 and 2009, for a full decade. During the same period, he was involved with the
party's youth league. He was first elected provincial treasurer of the youth league, prior to his election as provincial chairperson. From 2003 to 2009, he was a member of the youth league's national executive committee. He was also deputy secretary of the provincial ANC structure from 2008 to 2017. Botes was elected to the
Northern Cape Provincial Legislature in the
2009 election held on 22 April. He took office as a member on 6 May 2009. Premier
Hazel Jenkins appointed him MEC for Social Development. In June 2013, he was appointed MEC for Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs by newly elected premier
Sylvia Lucas. Botes was elected to the
ANC NEC in December 2017 as one of 80 members. He was sworn in as a Member of the
National Assembly in February 2018, after initially refusing to be redeployed. In May 2019, president
Cyril Ramaphosa appointed him Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation. He serves alongside
Candith Mashego-Dlamini while
Naledi Pandor serves as the department's minister. Botes stood unsuccessfully for re-election as a member of the ANC NEC at the party's 55th National Conference held in December 2022. Nonetheless, the following month Botes was
co-opted onto the ANC NEC in an attempt by the party to increase the representation of minority groups on its highest decision-making body between party conferences. ==References==