He is a member of the African National Congress and was formerly treasurer of the party's provincial executive committee in Mpumalanga, previously the chairperson of the ANC in the Gert Sibande region.
[4][5][6][7] While he was in this role, David Mabuza took extended sick leave and Shongwe was appointed acting Premier of Mpumalanga in his stead between September and November 2015.
[3][8][9] After the 2016 local government elections, Mabuza reshuffled his cabinet and appointed Shongwe his MEC for Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs.
[11] In February 2020, Premier Mtsweni-Tsipane assigned him to meet with Russia's Sverdlovsk region minister of international and foreign economic affairs, Visiliy Kozlov, for bilateral talks held in Mbombela.
[11] In April 2020, Shongwe called on families and municipalities in Mpumalanga to consider starting vegetable gardens in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in South Africa, as an alternative to receiving food donations.