All the president’s men … and women

The big news as this issue went to press on Monday morning was the new cabinet announced on Sunday by President Jacob Zuma. Key members for the trade and transport sector include: • Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, with deputies Thandi Tobias and Maria Ntuli. Born in 1948, Davies was previously deputy minister of trade and industry. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Rhodes University and Master of Social Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees, both from the University of Sussex. • Minister of Transport, Sbusiso Joel Ndebele, and deputy Jeremy Cronin. Born in 1948 at Rorke's Drift, KwaZulu-Natal, Ndebele was previously KZN premier. He was also one of the longest-serving transport MECs in the country, with two terms from 1994 to 2004. According to the Natal Witness, several projects he pioneered in KZN were adopted both nationally and by other provinces. For example the Asiphephe Road Safety project was the basis for the national Arrive Alive campaign. The Renaissance Road upgrading programme, which got local communities involved in maintaining roads in their areas as a way of generating income, went national as did the Vukuzakhe emerging contractors’ project. He also pioneered taxi cities and taxi co-operatives. He holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of SA. Previous transport minister, Jeff Radebe, has been appointed Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development. • Minister of Public Enterprises, Barbara Hogan, with deputy Enoch Godongwana. Hogan made her mark recently when she was appointed to head up the health ministry, a position in which her stand on HIV earned her the respect of the nation. She joined the ANC in 1976 after the Soweto uprising and was the first woman in South Africa to be found guilty of treason. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison and released in 1990. She was previously chairperson of the portfolio committee on finances. • The Department of Foreign Affairs has been renamed and restructured to become the Department of International Relations and Cooperation headed up by Maite Nkoana- Mashabane and two deputies – Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim and Sue van der Merwe, who held the post of deputy minister of foreign affairs previously. Nkoana-Mashabane, who was a leader in the African National Congress, has been involved in the international affairs arena for some time. She previously held the post of MEC for local government and housing in Limpopo and was South Africa’s former ambassador to India. Previous foreign affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will now head up the Department of Home Affairs. And with SA Revenue Service Commissioner Pravin Gordhan taking up the post of finance minister, one of his three deputies, Oupa Magashula, is expected to take over as acting head of the group until a permanent replacement is found.