32 Facts About Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Khumbudzo Phophi Silence Ntshavheni was born on 30 January 1977 and is a South African politician who is currently serving as Minister in the Presidency since March 2023.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni was formerly the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies from 2021 to 2023 and the Minister of Small Business Development from 2019 to 2021.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni is a member of the African National Congress.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni worked in business and public administration until the May 2019 general election, when she was elected to the National Assembly and appointed to Ramaphosa's cabinet.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has been a member of the ANC National Executive Committee since December 2022.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni was born on 30 January 1977 in Sibasa in the former Transvaal Province.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni's mother worked in the taxi industry, while her father owned a general dealer's store.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni began her career as a junior lecturer at the University of South Africa and then entered the public service as spokesperson to the Premier of Limpopo, Ngoako Ramatlhodi.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni went on to hold several different positions in the Limpopo government, including as a manager at Trade and Investment Limpopo and as chief information officer in the provincial department of local government and housing.

In 2010, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni was appointed as the chief operating officer at the State Information Technology Agency.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni later argued that her departure from Sita had received skewed coverage in the media.

Concurrently, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni had several business interests, including in transport, consumer goods, and agriculture; she later described herself as having been a "serial entrepreneur".

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni was the founding director and chairwoman of Nkho Trading, which worked in the transport and property development sectors.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni was elected to the Provincial Executive Committee of the ANC's Limpopo branch, and she served as the branch's spokesperson from 2015 until 2018, when she failed to gain re-election to the provincial executive.

Ahead of the ANC's 54th National Conference in December 2017, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni was recruited to Cyril Ramaphosa's winning party presidential campaign, nicknamed CR17.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni was ranked 97th on the ANC's national party list.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, calling herself a "third-generation small-business entrepreneur", said that her experience in business equipped her to lead the ministry.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said that she viewed her new position as "an opportunity to do for SMEs what I wished someone did for my business", including by reducing red tape, expanding market access, and promoting financial management skills.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni strongly denied the allegation that she had used the campaign funds for personal benefit, which her spokesperson called "mere rumour-mongering".

Eyewitness News additionally quoted Khumbudzo Ntshavheni expressing frustration about the media attention she had received; she apparently said:.

On 27 January 2021, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni was appointed as acting Minister in the Presidency after the death of Minister Jackson Mthembu.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni traded portfolios with Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, who became Minister of Small Business Development, and Philly Mapulane was appointed as her deputy.

In early 2022, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni was named in the second volume of the report of the Zondo Commission, which investigated alleged state capture in South Africa over the preceding decade.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni was mentioned in connection with her term on the Denel board, and particularly her participation in the board's decision to suspend and fire three Denel executives in 2015.

Commission chairperson Raymond Zondo recommended that the board members, including Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, should be investigated further by law enforcement, "with a view to possible prosecutions".

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni disagreed with the report's findings and said that she had done nothing wrong.

In June 2022, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni was elected to return to the Limpopo ANC's Provincial Executive Committee.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni received 1,204 votes across roughly 4,000 ballots, making her the 50th-most popular of the 80 candidates elected to the committee.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni was narrowly elected to the National Working Committee.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni supported Ramaphosa's re-election bid at the same elective conference, and she continued to be viewed as a member of Ramaphosa's "inner circle".

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni returned to the presidency in another reshuffle, announced by Ramaphosa on 6 March 2023; she was appointed to succeed Gungubele as Minister in the Presidency, with Nomasonto Motaung and Kenneth Morolong as her deputies.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni's responsibilities include political oversight of the State Security Agency.