10 ministers in 10 years
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a cabinet reshuffle on 26 February, which included appointing David Mabuza as the Deputy President.
Ramaphosa said the government will retain its existing ministries and departments, until a review is done at a later date.
The most significant appointments include Nhlanhla Nene’s reappointment as finance minister and Pravin Gordhan as minister of public enterprises.
The minister of communications – which has seen multiple changes in recent years – was not forgotten by Ramaphosa.
Communications minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane was replaced by Nomvula Mokonyane.
Poor governance
South Africa’s telecommunications and ICT market has suffered over the past 10 years due to poor governance by the Department of Communications.
The department constantly underperforms, which in turn stifles progress in the local telecoms market.
An example of this is the ongoing struggle to complete the digital migration process and hand much-needed spectrum to mobile operators.
The Department of Communications missed its deadline of November 2011 to complete the digital migration process, and also missed the international deadline of June 2015.
Mokonyane, who has been blamed for problems at the Department of Water and Sanitation, will now have to drive digital migration.
Without any experience in this field, it is hard to see what she brings to the table which justifies her appointment.
Communications Ministers – 2008 to 2018
An overview of the communications ministers of the past decade is shown below.
Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri: June 1999 – April 2009
Manto Tshabalala-Msimang: April 2009 – May 2009
Siphiwe Nyanda: May 2009 – October 2010
Roy Padayachie: November 2010 – October 2011
Dina Pule: October 2011 – July 2013
Yunus Carrim: July 2013 – May 2014
Faith Muthambi: May 2014 – March 2017
Ayanda Dlodlo: March 2017 – October 2017
Mmamoloko Kubayi: October 2017 – February 2018
Nomvula Mokonyane: February 2018 – Current
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