Minister of Human Settlements Thembi Simelane
SCORE: E
It’s fair to say that Simelane has struggled to come out from under the heavy cloud of corruption allegations against her linked to the VBS Mutual Bank scandal.
Earlier this year, the Democratic Alliance also opened a criminal case accusing Simelane of defrauding Eskom of more than R700 000 through inflated billing while working for a consulting firm before coming into government. She denies both these and the VBS allegations against her, but with so much baggage, it begs the question why President Ramaphosa didn’t outright fire her, instead of just shuffling her away from the justice portfolio in December 2024?
Simelane has not exactly flourished at human settlements. She was at the centre of row within the government of national unity when the DA opposed her department’s budget vote.
Simelane gamely defended the R34 billion 2025/26 human settlements budget, outlining targets for housing delivery, title deeds, informal settlement upgrades and other housing goals, but faced sharp criticism from opposition parties accusing the government of failing the poor.
Her handling of emergency relocations of households affected by mudslides in Umlazi also drew criticism from opposition politicians and analysts, who said poor service delivery was part of broader failures at the department.