There is a sneaky little ANC tradition that started in 2009 with the rise of Jacob Zuma to the presidency of South Africa. It is what the Nigerians call “political godfatherism” and it has continued into the era of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Here’s how it started and how it works. To eject Thabo Mbeki in 2007, Zuma made deals to grant power and access to a variety of factions, interest groups and individuals.
On ascending to the top job, he had to parcel out positions and opportunities to these groupings. Thus it came to pass that there were some ministers in the 2009 cabinet who were known as the SACP’s ministers, or Cosatu’s ministers, or the KwaZulu-Natal ANC’s ministers, and some who were especially powerful businesspeople’s ministers. For the few days he was at the finance ministry, David Des van Rooyen was known as the Gupta family’s minister, and it was assumed he would do their bidding.
Then there are “ministers’ ministers”. These are political lightweights close to a particularly powerful minister — the lightweight’s godfather. The powerful minister whispers in the president’s ear to appoint the lightweight. When the lightweight is in position, they allocate tenders, board positions and other largesse to the powerful senior minister’s relatives, associates and networks. And it all looks legitimate because it’s not happening from the said powerful minister’s ministry.
The government website’s biography of higher education & training minister Nobuhle Nkabane lists her key achievement under “political activism” thus: “She was amongst the leaders of the ANCYL Sisonke region, which advocated for the renaming of the Sisonke district municipality to Harry Gwala district municipality, in honour of struggle stalwart Harry Gwala.”
That’s it. That’s all. She ain’t no heavyweight.
You will know that Nkabane has now reversed her controversial appointment of chairs of sector education & training authority (Seta) boards after she was exposed by DA MP Karabo Khakhau last week. Nkabane, who is from KwaZulu-Natal, appointed ANC cadres from her province — and family and close associates of ANC national chair Gwede Mantashe — to head these boards in what looks like a corrupt grab for power.
Nkabane brought in former KZN MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu, former KZN premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube and several other ANC rejects from the province.
The minister didn’t stop there: former higher education director-general Gwebs Qonde, now an adviser to Mantashe, got the nod. Mantashe’s son, an agricultural economist, was given the board chair of merSeta, a body aimed at promoting skills development in the manufacturing and engineering services. These bodies control billions of rand in skills development funding.
It is worth noting that Nkabane was Mantashe’s deputy in the minerals & energy ministry between 2021 and 2024. She was elevated to the ANC’s national executive committee by the KZN ANC. Could she, perhaps, be the “minister of KZN interests” and the “minister of Mantashe”? Are they her political godfathers?
ANC leaders are fully aware now that there is no way the party will return to power in most provinces and nationally in 2029
All this is not, in itself, interesting. It’s boilerplate ANC shadiness. It interests me now because Nkabane was so blatant in her dealings and, second, because Ramaphosa has done nothing about it.
Nkabane could do what she did because ANC leaders are fully aware now that there is no way the party will return to power in most provinces and nationally in 2029. They are now desperately trying to fill their pockets before the inevitable end. That is the only reason such an idiotic and openly corrupt play with the Seta boards can be made.
Nkabane claimed these board chairs were recommended to her by an independent panel. Who chaired that panel? Who was on it? How was the panel selected and what is its relationship with her and the ANC’s deployment committee? More crucially, we now need to see who was slated to sit on the boards of these Setas. Believe me, failed ANC leaders were already salivating at the prospect of looting them.
The biggest stink is this: why hasn’t Ramaphosa fired this minister? Does Ramaphosa believe that such a corrupt scheme was a mere oversight? More of this type of shady dealings is coming the closer we get to the next elections. We must keep our eyes open.
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