In 2005, Matsemela left teaching to represent the ANC in the National Assembly, the lower house of the South African Parliament, where she served for four years. Pursuant to the 2009 general election, she was elected to the North West Provincial Legislature, and on 8 May 2009, Maureen Modiselle, the newly elected Premier of the North West, appointed her to the North West Executive Council as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Economic Development and Tourism.
