Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Khumbudzo Phophi Silence Ntshavheni (born 30 January 1977) is a South African politician who is currently serving as Minister in the Presidency since March 2023. She was formerly the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies from 2021 to 2023 and the Minister of Small Business Development from 2019 to 2021. She is a member of the African National Congress (ANC).

Born in Limpopo, Ntshavheni served in the leadership of the ANC Youth League and later as a campaign manager on Cyril Ramaphosa's CR17 campaign. She 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. She has been a member of the ANC National Executive Committee since December 2022.

Early life and education Ntshavheni was born on 30 January 1977 in Sibasa in the former Transvaal Province. Her mother worked in the taxi industry, while her father owned a general dealer's store. She matriculated at Mbilwi Secondary School in Sibasa. As a teenager during the late apartheid period and post-apartheid transition, she was active in youth activism in the Northern Transvaal, including through the South African Youth Congress and Congress of South African Students.

After high school, Ntshavheni attended the Rand Afrikaans University, where she completed an undergraduate degree in political science and, in 1999, two Honours degrees, one in development studies and another in labour relations. By 2014, she had left Sita; She later argued that her departure from Sita had received skewed coverage in the media. and in July 2015, Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown appointed her to a three-year period as a non-executive director on the board of Denel, the state-owned arms manufacturer. Her tenure on the board coincided with a tumultuous period at Denel, under the chairmanship of Daniel Mantsha, which was later the subject of public inquiries .

Concurrently, Ntshavheni had several business interests, including in transport, consumer goods, and agriculture; she later described herself as having been a "serial entrepreneur". She also served on the league's National Executive Committee.

CR17 campaign Ahead of the ANC's 54th National Conference in December 2017, Ntshavheni was recruited to Cyril Ramaphosa's winning party presidential campaign, nicknamed CR17. With Thembi Siweya, she managed Ramaphosa's campaign in her home province of Limpopo, where Ramaphosa himself had substantial personal ties. After the election, President Ramaphosa appointed her to his second cabinet, where she succeeded Lindiwe Zulu as Minister of Small Business Development. Rosemary Capa was appointed as her deputy. Ntshavheni, calling herself a "third-generation small-business entrepreneur", said that her experience in business equipped her to lead the ministry.'''

Ntshavheni strongly denied the allegation that she had used the campaign funds for personal benefit, which her spokesperson called "mere rumour-mongering". Among other things, Ntshavheni said that the Thohoyandou house had been in the family since 2010 and that she had not bought any new cars since 2016. and she strongly rejected suggestions that she had been nominated to Parliament "as a reward for her work in the CR17 campaign".

Acting Minister in the Presidency On 27 January 2021, Ntshavheni was appointed as acting Minister in the Presidency after the death of Minister Jackson Mthembu. She acted in the position, in parallel to her small business responsibilities, until Mondli Gungubele was appointed permanently in August. In the aftermath of the July 2021 civil unrest in South Africa, government communications were centralised under Ntshavheni, with all ministers required to consult her office on related media statements.

Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies: 2021–2023 On 5 August 2021, President Ramaphosa announced a cabinet reshuffle, appointing Ntshavheni as Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies. She traded portfolios with Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, who became Minister of Small Business Development, and Philly Mapulane was appointed as her deputy.

Zondo Commission findings In early 2022, 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. 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. The commission concluded that the executives' dismissal was intended to "remove an obstruction" to the Gupta family in their conspiracy to capture Denel, and it also concluded that Denel board members had probably misconducted themselves. Commission chairperson Raymond Zondo recommended that the board members, including Ntshavheni, should be investigated further by law enforcement, "with a view to possible prosecutions".

Ntshavheni disagreed with the report's findings and said that she had done nothing wrong. In a statement, she said: I wish to put it on public record, as I have recorded it with the commission, that I have never met any of the Gupta brothers or any of their associates. I was never lobbied for the decisions I supported or opposed as a non-executive member of the Denel board of directors. I discharged my fiduciary responsibilities with vigour, integrity and in line with the required legislative and regulatory prescripts. I have never been party to any alleged acts of fraud, corruption, maladministration and state capture. The following week, while briefing the National Council of Provinces, Ntshavheni said that she felt compelled to address the report, saying, "I need to indicate I will co-operate with any investigation that is being undertaken by the president. I also need to indicate that there has been no specific finding against me".

Election to the National Executive Committee In June 2022, Ntshavheni was elected to return to the Limpopo ANC's Provincial Executive Committee. She was also narrowly elected to the National Working Committee. She 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".

Minister in the Presidency: 2023–present 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. Her responsibilities include political oversight of the State Security Agency.

Personal life Ntshavheni has children.