SCORE: B- When President Cyril Ramaphosa separated science and higher education once more, Nobuhle Nkabane took on the most nebulous of public demands: rebuilding trust. South Africa’s greatest frustrations have been borne out on campuses over the past decade. A strong student sentiment of resistance grew, while the failings of the National Student Financial Aid […]
SCORE: C Since Aaron Motsoaledi’s appointment, the department has been faced with a spike in foodborne illness, which initiated investigations to trace the cause and the regulation of spaza shops and their owners. This step illustrated positive reinforcement by Motsoaledi to improve oversight of food safety measures taken to decrease the risk of contamination. The […]
SCORE: B Leon Schreiber did two laudable things after he landed at the home affairs department. First, he conceded what every South African and many foreigners know — the litany of incompetence, backlogs and corruption. Second, he decided to revive the Immigration Advisory Board, which his predecessors had mothballed despite it being mandatory in law. […]
SCORE: B Solly Malatsi has hit the ground running as a rookie minister — perhaps a reflection of the fact that he is one of the youngest members of cabinet at a youthful 38 years. In September, Malatsi received a forensic report on governance and financial breaches at the Postbank that resulted in financial losses […]
SCORE: C- Sindisiwe Chikunga has been in her post for a few months, but she was the woman in charge when the National Council of Provinces’ select committee on social services commended her department for achieving its first clean audit and improving its performance outcomes from 81% in the 2022-23 financial year to 88% in […]
SCORE: C+ One of the first actions of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania president on taking office was to drop his plan to scrap section 25 of the Constitution and to instead focus on using existing legislation to secure access to land. Mzwanele Nyhontsho inherited a backlog of just over 5 700 land claims from […]
Negotiating a broad coalition to hold the political centre was perhaps the president’s finest political hour
SCORE: C Minister Barbara Creecy succeeded the inept Sindisiwe Chikunga when the seventh administration began in July. The baggage she has to sort out is plentiful. The department’s reintroduction of the country’s passenger rail system has been rocked by a potential R5.1 billion lawsuit for debts not paid to a service provider. The contractor had […]
SCORE: C It’s still early days for Dion George, who candidly admitted ahead of the United Nations COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, that he had never heard of the Conference of Parties before he assumed office in July. Hard-working, energetic and pragmatic, with a strong background in finance and economics, George is a self-proclaimed […]
SCORE: F- So broken and badly managed is the department of defence that three men on a donkey with a duct-taped drone could possibly topple Pretoria. The department incurred unauthorised expenditure of R3.4 billion in 2023-24, making it not so much a department as a place where taxpayer money goes to cough up and die. […]