Mabuza's final farewell: Memorial arrangements underway
Condolences have poured in for the former Premier and Member of the Executive Council (MEC) of Mpumalanga. Mabuza passed away after a short illness at a Johannesburg hospital on Thursday, 3 July.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is among those who have expressed sadness at the news. He extended his condolences to Mabuza's family, friends, and the people of Mpumalanga. Ramaphosa said Mabuza deserves recognition for his deep commitment to the liberation struggle.
'We are saddened today by the loss of a leader who was grounded in activism at the early stages of his political career and who came to lead our nation and shape South Africa's engagement with our continental compatriots and the international community,' said the president.
Ramaphosa said that details regarding the official honours with which the country will pay its final respects to Mabuza are still to be announced.
According to the Presidency's Official Funeral Policy Manual, a State Funeral Category 2 is designated for former Deputy Presidents. The manual also states that the National Flag shall fly at half-mast throughout the country until the evening of the burial or cremation.
Mabuza's political journey began at an early age. He served as secretary of the Azanian Students' Organisation and was later elected chairperson of the National Education Union of South Africa. He also served as co-ordinator of the National Education Crisis Committee and chairperson of the South African Democratic Teachers' Union.
Mabuza's political home remained the African National Congress (ANC). During his tenure as the country's deputy president, he chaired the cabinet committees on governance, state capacity and institutional development, as well as justice, crime prevention and security.
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 11.
Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
an hour ago
- Daily Maverick
Educated for leadership and engulfed by scandal, Minister Nkabane faces her sternest test
Calls have intensified for President Ramaphosa to dismiss Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane, whose recent appointments and conduct have sparked widespread public and political outrage. Nobuhle Nkabane, who was appointed as minister of higher education in July 2024, was once seen as an emerging leader with a seemingly impeccable record marked by extensive academic achievements and a steady rise in the public service. She was expected to bring renewed energy and reform to a critical portfolio. However, less than a year into her tenure, that optimism has been overshadowed by controversy. Allegations of corruption, misleading Parliament and making politically loaded appointments to the boards of Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas) have sparked public outrage and legal and parliamentary scrutiny. Following the abrupt dismissal of Deputy Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Andrew Whitfield, the Democratic Alliance (DA) publicly called for the immediate removal of Nkabane. We take a closer look at Nkabane and the path that led her to the influential role she holds today. From rural roots to academic heights Nkabane's academic journey began in KwaZulu-Natal, where she attended Ibisi Primary School in Umzimkhulu and matriculated at Task Force High School. In 2001, she earned a Diploma in Business Administration from Durban University of Technology, according to her LinkedIn profile. From 2007 to 2009, she completed a Diploma in Youth Development at the University of South Africa (Unisa). From 2010 to 2014 she pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities at Unisa, focusing on government, administration and development. Her postgraduate studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal include a Bachelor of Administration, Honours (2015, cum laude), a Master of Administration in Public Administration (2016), and a PhD in Public Administration (2019). Alongside these, Nkabane completed several professional and executive programmes: a Compliance Management Programme at the University of Cape Town (2016–2017), Executive Development (NQF Level 7) at Stellenbosch Business School (2017), and participated in the African American European Summer School in Nancy, France. She expanded her qualifications with a postgraduate Diploma in Labour Law from the University of the Western Cape (2020), and in March 2025 obtained a Master of Science in International Business Administration from SOAS University of London. Currently, she is studying for a Master of Management in Energy Leadership at Wits Business School. Nkabane's ascent Nkabane's early career included roles as a personal assistant at Umzimkhulu Local Municipality and as a youth coordinator at Sisonke District Municipality. According to the South African Government website, her political journey began with leadership positions in the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) and the ANC Women's League across branch, regional, and provincial levels in KwaZulu-Natal. As a leader in the ANCYL Sisonke Region, she played a key role in the successful campaign to rename Sisonke District Municipality to Harry Gwala District Municipality, honouring the anti-apartheid stalwart. She was elected as a member of Parliament in 2019 and served on several portfolio committees, including Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Employment and Labour, and Sports, Arts and Culture. She was also a member of the committee that evaluated the Public Protector's fitness for office. In 2022, she joined the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) and was appointed convenor of NEC deployees in Mpumalanga. In August 2021, Ramaphosa appointed her deputy minister of mineral resources and energy, a role she held until June 2024. On 3 July 2024, she was sworn in as minister of higher education in the Government of National Unity. Nkabane's promise to reform higher education The Higher Education Ministry had been beset by systemic failures and public distrust. Nkabane promised a decisive shift in how the sector, particularly the troubled National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), would be managed. The scheme was placed under administration in April 2024 after serious mismanagement and failure to deliver student allowances. In her maiden budget speech in Parliament on 16 July 2024, Nkabane pledged a full overhaul of the fund, promising to root out corruption. She also vowed to engage directly with student formations to better understand their daily struggles in accessing higher education. Another item high on her agenda was the accommodation crisis plaguing students. In February, Nkabane said that after consulting with landlords and student representatives, she had found common ground and was inspired by the voices of students. She also focused on the Setas, key to upskilling South Africa's youth. Her department allocated R333-million to support Seta programmes aiming to build a skilled and capable workforce to support inclusive growth. Strategic appointments to rebuild trust To steady the NSFAS ship, Nkabane appointed Waseem Carrim as its acting CEO, with a mandate to restore integrity and operational efficiency. She also reconstituted the NSFAS board. Carrim, a former National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) CEO, has since outlined ambitious plans to tackle governance failures and financial mismanagement at the agency. Another key appointment was Asanda Luwaca, chairperson of the NYDA, who was appointed as chairperson of the National Skills Authority on 7 May. These moves reflected Nkabane's focus on appointing young, capable leaders to steer the sector towards reform. Despite these bold commitments, many of the minister's promises have yet to materialise. Issues around student allowances, poor accommodation and delayed payments to landlords persist. Student protests have continued at university and TVET college campuses over the NSFAS's failure to disburse funds timeously. There have been reports of squalid living conditions, overcrowding and exploitative rents. Landlords have claimed the NSFAS failed to pay them for months. Earlier this year, more than 80 students at UCT lived in campus offices without proper facilities, while Wits students went on a hunger strike in protest at being excluded from registration because of historical debt. The Seta scandal: A growing storm However, the biggest crisis of her short tenure has stemmed from the Setas that she sought to empower. Opposition parties and civil society slammed a leaked list of 21 Seta board chairpersons, exposed by Daily Maverick, for including politically connected figures like Buyambo Mantashe and former KZN premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube. Critics accused Nkabane of nepotism, and in an open letter to Ramaphosa, DA MP Karabo Khakhau called for her dismissal. Nkabane rescinded the appointments, but the political fallout was significant. She established an independent panel to assist her in making appointments to the NSFAS and other entities. The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education demanded the names of the panellists, and Nkabane revealed five names: Advocate Terry Motau SC; Asisipho Solani; Nelisiwe Semane; Rhulani Ngwenya; and Mabuza Ngubane. However, Motau denied ever chairing the independent panel, contradicting Nkabane's claims. Nkabane later apologised for naming him. The other panellists she listed have held departmental roles for more than six months, according to their LinkedIn profiles, raising doubts about the panel's independence. On 30 June, the DA opened a criminal case against her for allegedly lying about the appointment process of ANC cadres to Seta boards, specifically disputing her claim that an independent panel chaired by Motau oversaw the appointments — a claim Motau denied. The following day, 1 July, the DA — a member of the coalition government — publicly opposed the Department of Higher Education and Training's budget vote in the National Council of Provinces, calling for Nkabane's removal due to the allegations against her. Throughout early July, the DA and opposition parties continued to reject her budget proposals amid ongoing concerns about corruption and trustworthiness, while Nkabane defended the department's R142-billion budget. She is expected to appear before the higher education portfolio committee, alongside her panel and deputy ministers Buti Manamela and Mimmy Gondwe, to answer allegations of misleading Parliament. On 23 June, TimesLIVE reported that the chair of the higher education portfolio committee, Tebogo Letsie, suggested that Nkabane might have breached section 17 of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities Act, which criminalises knowingly giving false information to Parliament, further intensifying calls for her accountability. Sasco president Alungile Kamtshe, who was at the ANC's Luthuli House headquarters on Sunday to address the state of the department, NSFAS and the Setas, said Nkabane had to be removed as minister. He said the issues faced by students were a result of Nkabane not delivering services to them. Daily Maverick sent questions to Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya on whether Ramaphosa had met with Nkabane to chart a way forward. No response had been received by the time of publication. However, the secretary-general of the ANC, Fikile Mbalula, said during a press briefing that Nkabane had had no intention of misleading Parliament over the Seta appointment process and the naming of Motau. 'We reject the Democratic Alliance's opportunistic laying of criminal charges against the minister,' said Mbalula. 'The DA's conduct is not grounded in legal principle but in performative politics… The minister has decided to restart the process afresh, in full compliance with legal provisions, and without the influence of the prior panel. We invite broader sectoral participation, including business, labour, and student organisations, in the spirit of cooperative governance, a process we fully support as the African National Congress.' For a minister who came in with promises to listen, clean up and restore dignity to the education sector, Nkabane now finds herself on the defensive. With her credibility under scrutiny, and trust from students, MPs and the public in question, her future as higher education minister hangs in the balance. DM
Daily Maverick
an hour ago
- Daily Maverick
Trump slaps 30% tariff on South African exports to US from 1 August
US President Donald Trump warned that any retaliatory tariffs from SA would be met with further hikes. Other, near-identical letters, with varying tariff rates, were addressed to the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Myanmar, Laos, Kazakhstan and Malaysia. US President Donald Trump announced on Monday, 7 July that he would subject imports from South Africa to new 30% tariffs that would take effect from 1 August. In a letter addressed to President Cyril Ramaphosa, which was signed by Trump and posted to his Truth Social, he said: 'We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with South Africa, and have concluded that we must move away from these long-term, and very persistent, trade deficits engendered by South Africa's tariff, and non-tariff, policies and trade barriers. 'Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal. Starting on August 1, 2025, we will charge South Africa a tariff of only 30% on any and all South African products sent to the United States, separate from all sectoral tariffs.' Trump added that if South Africa were to increase its tariffs in response to his announcement, the amount it chooses to raise them by would be added on top of the existing 30%. 'If you wish to open your heretofore closed trading markets to the United States, and eliminate your tariff and non-tariff policies and trade barriers, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter. 'These tariffs may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your country. You will never be disappointed with the United States of America,' he said. Trump's letter to Ramaphosa was among several posted to his Truth Social on Monday. Other, near-identical letters, with varying tariff rates, were addressed to the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Myanmar, Laos, Kazakhstan and Malaysia. Trump imposed a 30% tariff on South Africa in April, as part of his global ' reciprocal ' tariffs, before agreeing to suspend their application for 90 days, saying he would hammer out bilateral deals with trade partners. The 90-day pause on Trump's tariff hikes was expected to come to an end on 9 July. SA, and other countries around the world, have been pushing to negotiate trade deals with the US to prevent Trump's sweeping tariffs. But only two preliminary deals, with the UK and Vietnam, have since been announced. SA first presented its draft Framework Deal to the US on 20 May, a day before Ramaphosa met Trump at the White House in Washington. The initial proposal included deals on agriculture, critical minerals, automotive and other exports. Last week, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) said SA had requested an extension of the 90-day pause, to enable it to revise its proposed trade deal in accordance with the Trump administration's new template for US trade with sub-Saharan Africa. Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau said he believed trade discussions with America would continue beyond 9 July, as the US had indicated at a recent meeting that there was still ' room for engagement ' on the matter. On Sunday, 6 July, Trump also threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on countries that align themselves with the 'anti-American policies' of BRICS, according to a Reuters report. He said there would be 'no exceptions to this policy'. Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, the BRICS bloc, including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and a handful of other nations, voiced 'serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures' which, they said, 'distort trade and are inconsistent with' World Trade Organisation rules.
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Political leaders raise questions over who knew about allegations against Senzo Mchunu
There has been mixed reaction to the question of whether President Cyril Ramaphosa might have been aware for some time of the allegations of political interference against Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, made public on Sunday by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Mkhwanazi accused Mchunu of obstructing critical investigations by dismantling the Political Killings Task Team. Mkhwanazi made explosive claims during a press briefing claiming that Mchunu ordered the unilateral disbandment of the team and transferred 121 politically sensitive dockets to Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection, Shadrack Sibiya's office, where they have since been allegedly "neutralised". 'These actions constitute political interference of the highest order and are a direct threat to the rule of law…This kind of conduct undermines the entire South African Criminal Justice System,' Mkhwanazi said during the explosive briefing. Mkhwanazi highlighted communications between Mchunu and a businessman as a crucial piece of evidence. Despite Mchunu's parliamentary denial of knowing the businessman, Mkhwanazi asserts that a widely circulated social media phone recording contradicts this claim. This recording is considered one of the most damning pieces of evidence. Both Mchunu and Sibiya have denied the allegations. His allegations also implicate senior police officials in corruption and political interference which have since set-off calls for Ramaphosa to immediately investigate and get accountability at the highest levels of government. A party official from the GNU, who requested anonymity, said the Phala Phala saga was coming back to haunt Ramaphosa, because it was left unsolved. "It's really dangerous for us right now to assume that President Ramaphosa knew of this. But the person (Mchunu) who is accused here is the same person who was defending him during the Phala Phala scandal. So we can't take it away from anyone who would say Ramaphosa is involved in a cover-up," the official said. Another senior politician from the EFF said Ramaphosa was surrounding himself with allies that could succeed him to protect him from being prosecuted on the Phala Phala matter as soon as he leaves office in 2029. "If he (Ramaphosa) is not succeeded by someone who is in his corner then it could be his political enemy who would want him to be prosecuted, so he has to be involved in protecting his political ally (Mchunu)," the EFF source said. uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela claimed Ramaphosa knew of the accusations towards Mchunu and was planning to cover it up. "What is happening in this country pertaining to national security has gone far beyond a 'grave concern'. If Ramaphosa can cover up Phala Phala, would it not be surprising if he was involved in covering up Mchunu's alleged shenanigans?" Ndhlela asked. He said Ramaphosa had a tendency of covering-up high profile matters. 'We have written many times regarding political killings in KZN and Ramaphosa has since done nothing to curb that situation and now it has come to light that there is also a cover-up there,' he said. However, Build One SA (BOSA) leader Mmusi Maimane warned against jumping to conclusions before an investigation is launched. "I'm wary of us taking the way of the president having been involved in this new matter because this might limit his ability to act if we take it that way and we would then have to leave it to the Deputy President Paul Mashatile to make pronouncements," Maimane said. "I say we wait for the Special Investigation Unit's proclamation and give it 30 days for us to be able to move forward. However, Maimane added that if there were any truth that there are people who knew about the allegations Mkhwanazi brought forward, they should be put on special leave or suspended, regardless of who it was. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya did not respond to questions on whether Ramaphosa knew about the allegations. However on Sunday after Mkhwanazi's bombshell, the presidency noted the statements made by Mkhwanazi and said it is a matter of grave national security concern that is receiving the highest priority attention. President Ramaphosa will outline the actions to be taken on this matter on his return from the BRICS Leaders' Summit. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the party took these allegations in a serious light. "These allegations touch on the very integrity of the criminal justice system and the constitutional obligation of the state to protect South Africans. "We call upon president Cyril Ramaphosa to act with the urgency and seriousness this matter demands. The ANC reaffirms its commitment to give full protection to whistle-blowers, investigators and officers of the law," Mbalula said. Allegations made by Mkhwanazi have brought the work of the Political Killings Task Team into focus. This unit was established in 2018 in response to a surge in political assassinations within KZN. Its formation followed a directive from an Inter-Ministerial Committee, initiated after Ramaphosa's visit to the family of ANC activist Musawenkosi Qashana Mchunu, who was fatally shot in Plessislaer. Since its inception, the task team has investigated 612 cases, leading to 436 arrests and the recovery of 156 firearms. Of these, 55 firearms have been ballistically linked to politically motivated killings. Mkhwanazi also disclosed that 35 police officers were arrested for attempting to obstruct these investigations. [email protected]
