Maneli served as the Regional Chairperson of the West Rand Region of the African National Congress from 2014 to 2018 and as the Executive Mayor of the West Rand District Municipality from 2016 to 2019.[2][1] He is a member of the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) of the ANC in Gauteng.[1]
Following the 2024 general election, Maneli was elected to chair the Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour.[8]
VBS Mutual Bank
On 9 August 2020, the ANC Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) decided that Maneli and Merafong mayor Maphefo Letsie should resign from their positions for failing to act against officials implicated in the VBS Mutual Bank scandal.[9] Maneli responded by saying that he won't resign and that he will approach the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress to appeal the adverse findings against him. He said that he has proof that action was taken against implicated officials at the West Rand District Municipality. The municipality had invested R81 million at the bank and nearly R2 billion was looted from the bank before it collapsed.[10] In October 2020, the PEC said that Maneli should be suspended with immediate effect.[11] In February 2022, the ANC's national dispute resolution committee (NDRC) set aside the PEC's decision for Letsie and Maneli to resign from their positions.[12]