SCORE: B Dean Macpherson immediately rolled up his sleeves and faced the construction mafia. He has also demonstrated determination and taken action to deal with hundreds of dilapidated state-owned buildings that are costing his department millions of rands in rates when they could be sold or fixed to generate income that can be used to […]
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 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. […]
SCORE: E- Nomakhosazana Meth was appointed to the portfolio under the government of national unity, but even in those few months, her efforts to put measures in place to create jobs, alleviate poverty, safeguard workers’ rights and ensure workplace compliance were not satisfactory. During the second quarter, the unemployment rate reached a two-year high of […]
SCORE: C Public Service and Administration Minister Mzamo Buthelezi has, so far, managed to avoid a deadlock with unions for the 2025-26 and beyond wage negotiations. In October, the government and unions agreed to continue the wage negotiations for the country’s roughly 1.3 million civil servants after Mzamo’s department tabled a 4.7% increase for 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: 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 In his first six months leading the department of trade, industry and competition, Parks Tau has made effective moves. He led the delegation to the United States to lobby for the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa) agreement. Alongside other African ministers of trade Tau urged the Biden administration and […]