Nonceba Mhlauli

Nonceba Bianca Mhlauli (born 3 June 1990) is a South African politician and communications strategist. She is currently serving as Deputy Minister in the Presidency since June 2024. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), she was elected to her first term in the National Assembly in the May 2024 general election. She rose to political prominence as the interim leader of the ANC Youth League between April 2021 and March 2023.

Born in Upington, Northern Cape, Mhlauli was a student activist at Rhodes University, where she joined the national leadership of the South African Students Congress. Before entering frontline politics, she served as spokesperson to Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu and as spokesperson of the ANC's parliamentary caucus. She was elected to a five-year term on the ANC National Executive Committee in December 2022.

Early life and education Born on 3 June 1990, Mhlauli is from the small town of Upington in the Cape Province (now the Northern Cape). Her home language is Xhosa. Her family were supporters of the African National Congress (ANC), and her grandfather and uncle had been members of Umkhonto we Sizwe during apartheid. She joined SASCO during her first year at the university,

ANC Youth League convenor: 2021–2023 On 8 April 2021, Mhlauli was appointed as national convenor of the National Youth Task Team (NYTT), a 35-member interim leadership corps which was mandated to lead the ANC Youth League until the league could hold new leadership elections. She worked alongside Joy Maimela, who was appointed as coordinator of the NYTT. Mhlauli and Maimela's NYTT replaced a former task team, led by Tandi Mahambehlala as convenor and Sibongile Besani as coordinator, which had been appointed after Collen Maine's leadership corps was disbanded in 2019; Mahambehlala and Besani had been trying unsuccessfully since then to hold an elective conference. In subsequent weeks Mhlauli argued that the ANC Youth League was in disarray because of "extreme factionalism and that sort of cultish leadership where if you disagree, you get disbanded", a phenomenon that she said had been intensified by ANC leaders' habit of using the league "as a pocket knife in the factional battles of the mother body".

55th National Conference Mhlauli was ANC Youth League coordinator during the run-up to the ANC's 55th National Conference in December 2022, which involved a leadership contest between President Cyril Ramaphosa, the incumbent, and his rival Zweli Mkhize. Mhlauli was viewed as among Ramaphosa's staunchest supporters, described variously as the leader of "the Ramaphosa faction" in the NYTT and as "among the key campaigners" for Ramaphosa's re-election. However, in November 2022, Mhaluli's NYTT overruled her, deciding to endorse Mkhize for the ANC presidency.

When the 55th National Conference was held at Nasrec in December 2022, Ramaphosa was elected to a second term as ANC president. Mhlauli herself attended the conference, and she was elected to a five-year term as a member of the National Executive Committee. By number of votes received, she was ranked 55th of the 80 ordinary members elected, receiving 1,168 votes across 4,029 ballots. She was one of only three members under the age of 35. In the aftermath of the conference she was also elected to the ANC's National Working Committee.

Youth League conference Meanwhile, in 2023, the ANC Youth League continued preparations for its own elective conference. Mhlauli had long been viewed as a possible candidate for the Youth League presidency,' Indeed, the Mail & Guardian said that she was regarded as having been "groomed for the position" by Ramaphosa's allies, such as Jackson Mthembu. Mhlauli was replaced as convenor by Xola Nqola.

National government: 2024–present Ahead of the May 2024 general election, Mhlauli stood as an ANC candidate, ranked 22nd on the party's national list. She was elected to a seat in the National Assembly, and on 30 June President Ramaphosa announced her appointment as Deputy Minister in the Presidency.