With President Jacob Zuma’s new Cabinet sworn in and hopefully already hard at work, we decided to take a look at the background of ministers in ten of the key portfolios.

Purely in terms of qualifications and experience in the field of their portfolio, are they fit for the job?

You may be surprised by some of our verdicts...

Minister of Health: Dr Aaron Motsoaledi
  • Qualifications: Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery
  • Positions held within field: Chairperson of Hlahlolanang Health & Nutrition Education Project
  • Quotable quote: "Is our problem resources? Is it the main problem? No, the biggest problem we are faced with is developing of human beings. We lack skills," Motsoaledi once said at an Education Summit.

Verdict: Motsoaledi has a strong medical background and ideal qualifications… Approved!

Minister of Finance: Pravin Gordhan
  • Qualifications: Bachelor of Pharmacy
  • Positions held within field: Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service; Chairperson of World Customs Organisation
  • Quotable quote: "I have no time for corruption and corrupt people. South Africa will do itself a great favour in the future if all of us ensure that we do not engage in any kind of corrupt or even mildly corrupt kind of activity," Gordhan said soon after his appointment as Finance Minister.

Verdict: A former MP for the ANC, Gordhan is credited with building a largely successful SARS service… Approved!

Minister of Correctional Services: Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula
  • Qualifications: A handful of diplomas, ranging from Human Relations to communications.
  • Positions held within field: None
  • Quotable quote: "Who is targeted? The dark-skinned foreigners. It is never the Bulgarians, it is never the Russians. That's what worries us. Where the dark-skinned are employed is cheap labour," she once said about the spread of xenophobia.

Verdict: Minister of Home Affairs for five years, Mapisa-Nqakula has no experience in the field of correctional services… Denied!

Minister of Human Settlements: Tokyo Sexwale
  • Qualifications: Diploma in Business Studies; Honorary Technical Doctorate
  • Positions held within field: None
  • Quotable quote: "The challenge comes from the capacity not to be afraid of problems. I am not afraid of problems. Failure to me is not a permanent setback but a challenge."

Verdict: There is no doubt about Sexwale’s business acumen but is he really suited to this portfolio? … Pending!

Minister of Police: Nathi Mthethwa
  • Qualifications: Diploma in Community Development; Mining Engineering Certificate; Certificate in Communications and Leadership
  • Positions held within field: Minister of Safety and Security from late 2008.
  • Quotable quote: "It is not right to deny that crime exists. People who complain about crime are not mad. Crime affects everybody across the racial divide,” Mthethwa said soon after his initial appointment.

Verdict: Mthethwa has only been in this crucial position since Thabo Mbeki was recalled but has not particularly impressed during this short time… Denied!

Education:
i) Minister of Higher Education and Training: Dr Blade Nzimande
  • Qualifications: Doctor of Philosophy
  • Positions held within field: Chairperson of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education; Director of the Education Policy Unit at the University of Natal; Council Member of three Universities
  • Quotable quote: "I’m worried if Helen Zille is still together upstairs," said Nzimande soon after his appointment.

Verdict: Having worked as a lecturer, written a number of published works on education and holding a doctorate in Philosophy, Nzimande is not as unsuited to this portfolio as many would think… Approved!

ii) Minister of Basic Education: Angie Motshekga
  • Qualifications: Bachelor of Arts in Education; Bachelor of Educational Science; Masters Degree in Education; Higher Diploma in Education
  • Positions held within field: Chairperson of the Education Commission; Executive Member of the National Education Union of South Africa (Neusa); Member of Executive Council of the Education Department (Gauteng); Lecturer at a university and college; Teacher at a high school
  • Quotable quote: “Now that the dogs are leaving, there will be peace and we will be stronger. The dogs arrived in the ANC and they have left,” Motshekga said of ANC dissidents Mbhazima Shilowa, Mosiuoa Lekota and Mluleki George.

Verdict: Motshekga has extensive experience in the field of education and has also had a language teaching book published… Approved!

Minister of Public Enterprises: Barbara Hogan
  • Qualifications: Studied economics and accounting at the University of Witwatersrand
  • Positions held within field: None
  • Quotable quote: "Just the very fact that this government has refused entry to the Dalai Lama is an example of a government who is dismissive of human rights," Hogan said after the Dalai Lama visa saga.

Verdict: Hogan was widely praised for her work during her short stint as Health Minister, despite the fact that she had little experience in the sector… Pending!

Minister of Transport: Sibusiso Joel Ndebele
  • Qualifications: Bachelor of Arts in Development Administration & Politics; Bachelor of Arts in International & African Politics; Diploma in Library Science; Honorary Doctorate from University of Zululand
  • Positions held within field: MEC for Transport in KZN
  • Quotable quote: "We call upon all road users to remember to adhere to the rules of the road. One of the golden rules is to keep left and not hog the fast lane," said Ndebele after another controversial ‘blue-light bully’ incident.

Verdict: Ndebele has a familiarity with the field and should be an improvement over his predecessor Jeff Radebe… Approved!

Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development: Jeff Radebe
  • Qualifications: Master of Law, University of Karl Marx; Bachelor of Law; Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, University of Chicago
  • Positions held within field: None
  • Quotable quote: "I want to state emphatically at the outset... The government guarantees no loss of legitimate jobs and profits among those who make the shift into the BRT systems," Radebe said of the taxi industry.

Verdict: Radebe didn’t exactly cover himself in glory in his previous role as Minister of Transport but at least he has the chance to put his law studies to good use in his new portfolio… Pending!

Minister of Defence and Military Veterans: Dr Lindiwe Sisulu
  • Qualifications: Master of Arts; Master of Philosophy; Bachelor of Arts in History; Bachelor of Arts in Education; Higher Diploma in Education
  • Positions held within field: Intelligence specialist for Umkhonto we Sizwe; Head of ANC Intelligence; Minister of Intelligence
  • Quotable quote: "This is the first time in our history that our backlog has been less than the number of houses produced. Put differently, we have housed more people than those needing houses," Sisulu said in 2007 during her tenure as Housing Minister.

Verdict: Sisulu certainly has the experience when it comes to ‘Military Veterans’ (although it remains unclear what sort of work this entails) and her education is impressive if not entirely geared towards this position… Approved!

What do you think of the ministers profiled above? How much do studies and experience in the appropriate field count for in government? Leave a comment below...
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