Nomakhosazana Meth

Nomakhosazana Meth (born 1 July 1966) is a South African politician from the Eastern Cape who has served as Minister of Employment and Labour since July 2024. A member of the African National Congress, she joined the cabinet shortly after her election to the National Assembly of South Africa in May 2024.

Before she joined Parliament, Meth represented the ANC in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature from 2019 to 2024, during which time she served in the Eastern Cape Executive Council. Before that she was the mayor of Mbizana Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape.

Early life and education Meth was born on 1 July 1966 in Ntabankulu in the present-day Eastern Cape. She was one of dozens of children born to Cromwell Diko, a prominent politician in the Transkei.

She holds an honours degree in public administration from the University of Fort Hare, as well as various tertiary certificates from Fort Hare, the University of Zululand, and the University of Pretoria.

Political career

Local government A long-standing member of the African National Congress (ANC), Meth served as the speaker of the Mbizana Local Municipality from 2006 to 2008. She also served as the chairperson of the ANC Women's League in the OR Tambo region from 2008 to 2014,

On 9 March 2021, Meth was appointed as MEC for Health, replacing Sindiswa Gomba. Nonkqubela Pieters took over as the Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC.

While in that position, she attended the ANC's 55th National Conference in December 2022, where she was elected to a five-year term on the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC). She received 997 votes across roughly 4,000 ballots, making her the 74th-most popular member of the 80-member committee.

National government Meth was elected to the National Assembly in the May 2024 general election. President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed her as Minister of Employment and Labour in his coalition cabinet.

Personal life On 5 January 2019, Meth's two sons died in a car accident in Mthatha. She tested positive for COVID-19 in July 2020, in one of the early reports of politicians testing positive during the pandemic.