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Viewing cable 09DURBAN53, KWAZULU NATAL-NEW CABINET

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09DURBAN53 2009-05-22 10:41 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Consulate Durban
VZCZCXRO0787
RR RUEHBZ RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHDU #0053/01 1421041
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221041Z MAY 09
FM AMCONSUL DURBAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1453
RUCNSAD/SADC COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUEHDU/AMCONSUL DURBAN 0827
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DURBAN 000053 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR AF/S, INR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SF PINR
SUBJECT: KWAZULU NATAL-NEW CABINET 
 
DURBAN 00000053  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
1. (U) Summary.  New KwaZulu Natal (KZN) Premier Zweli Mkhize 
announced his new ten-member provincial cabinet during his 
inauguration ceremony on May 11, 2009.  His team features four 
female `Ministers' or MECs (Members of the Executive Council), 
including one Indian woman and one white woman.  Below are short 
biographies for each of the cabinet members.  End Summary. 
 
 
Background 
 
2. (U) The KZN cabinet has undergone some restructuring.  The 
Ministry of Finance and Economic Development was split up to 
create a separate Ministry of Finance, and a Ministry of 
Economic Development and Tourism.  The Ministry of Housing, 
Local Government, and Traditional Affairs is now the Ministry of 
Local Government and Traditional Affairs; the Housing component 
was moved, renamed Human Settlements, and merged with Public 
Works to form the new Ministry of Human Settlements and Public 
Works.  The Ministry of Arts and Culture and the Ministry of 
Sports and Recreation have been merged to form the Ministry of 
Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation. 
 
Cabinet Appointees 
 
3. (U) Minister of Finance, Ina Cronje.   Cronje served as KZN 
Minister of Education from 2005 to 2009 and created a positive 
image for herself as an actively engaged minister with a 
hands-on approach.  Her ministry's performance during her 
tenure, however, was characterized by repeated drops in high 
school pass rates, violence in schools and a turbulent 
relationship with teacher trade unions.  An educator and 
attorney by profession, Cronje is the former African National 
Congress (ANC) Chief Whip in the KZN legislature.   She is a 
member of the ANC Provincial Executive Committee and the 
powerful Provincial Working Committee.  Cronje is the only white 
in the KZN cabinet. 
 
4. (U) Minister of Health, Dr. Sibongiseni Dlomo.  Dlomo holds a 
Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, a Masters of Public Health, a 
diploma in HIV Management, a diploma in Palliative Medicine, and 
a MBA in Business Management Strategic Management.  Dlomo worked 
at the University of KZN Nelson Mandela Medical School as the 
Manager of Faculty External Partnerships and Recruitment 
Director.  Before being appointed as the Minister of Health, 
Dlomo served as the Deputy City Manager of eThekwini 
Municipality responsible for health.  Dlomo is a former ANC 
military operative and was involved in many operations in KZN 
during the apartheid struggle.   He is also the former Mayor of 
Newcastle. 
 
5. (SBU) Dlomo takes over the Ministry of Health from a very 
controversial figure, Peggy Nkonyeni, who was seen as an AIDS 
denialist and a supporter of Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, the 
former Minister of Health under President Mbeki.  Nkonyeni 
overspent her department's budget by R1.5 billion ($117 million) 
and is also currently facing charges of corruption and fraud 
related to procurement irregularities.  Some question whether 
Dlomo is qualified to take on the challenge of improving the 
image and efficacy of such an important department, especially 
given that he has no provincial-level government work 
experience.  His supporters, however, are confident that he has 
the necessary management skills and political clout to lead the 
department. 
 
6. (SBU) Minister of Human Settlement and Public Works, 
Magasvarie `Maggie' Govender.  Govender is a former eThekwini 
Municipality councilor and University of KZN Professor of 
Education Management.  Govender was a member of the Natal Indian 
Congress, an organization founded by Mohandas Gandhi to fight 
discrimination against Indians.  During apartheid, she was an 
underground operative for the ANC and was arrested several 
times, including a nine-month detention.  She was part of 
several high profile ANC military operations including Operation 
Vula, a plan to smuggle freedom fighters into South Africa.  She 
was also very instrumental in the trade union movement and is 
credited for getting the conservative Garment Workers Union to 
become a part of the Congress of South African Trade Unions 
(COSATU).  Govender is a close friend of new Finance Minister 
Pravin Gordhan; and her husband Sham Govender, also a former ANC 
underground operative, is a senior official at the South African 
Revenue Service (SARS).  Govender has never been a member of the 
legislature or parliament, and her appointment came as surprise 
to many.  Govender is the only Indian in the KZN cabinet and the 
first-ever female Indian member of the ANC to be appointed to 
the provincial cabinet. 
 
7. (U) Minister of Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, 
 
DURBAN 00000053  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
Bheki Cele.  Cele retains his cabinet position and is a member 
of the ANC National Executive Committee.  Cele performed well in 
his portfolio and helped the ANC make inroads into Inkatha 
Freedom Party (IFP) strongholds through his community-oriented 
poverty alleviation projects and by building roads and bridges 
in rural areas.  He is the former chairperson of the biggest ANC 
region in KZN, eThekwini, and is credited for getting the 
eThekwini region behind Zuma prior to the 2008 ANC Polokwane 
conference.  Cele has a history of political activism and was 
instrumental in founding the National Education Union of South 
Africa, now known as the South African Democratic Teachers' 
Union (SADTU).  He has also served as the chairperson of several 
committees in the KZN legislature.    Cele is known for his 
tough stance on crime and has publicly encouraged police 
officers to use the guns they have been issued to kill `bad 
guys'. 
 
8. (U) Minister of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs and Rural 
Development, Lydia Johnson.  Former Minister of Public Works, 
Johnson was elected to the provincial legislature in 1999 and 
served as the chairperson of the Health Portfolio Committee. 
Johnson performed well in a high-profile portfolio and has been 
lauded for supporting small construction companies, including 
women-owned companies.  She was the first woman to be appointed 
Deputy Speaker of the KZN legislature in 2005.  She was a 
supporter of Thabo Mbeki prior to 2008 ANC Polokwane conference 
but still managed to be re-elected to the Provincial Executive 
Committee of the ANC. 
 
9. (U) Minister of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation, Wesizwe 
Thusi.  Thusi retains her portfolio with the added 
responsibilities of sports and recreation.  She does not have 
the requisite background for this position, and her performance 
was not stellar.  She has, however, been praised for supporting 
up-and-coming local artist and performers.  Thusi is a qualified 
nurse with a history of trade union activism and has chaired the 
KZN ANC social transformation sub-committee.  She is the former 
chairperson of the Health Portfolio Committee in the KZN 
legislature and is a member of the ANC Women's League KZN 
Provincial Executive Committee. 
 
10. (U) Minister of Social Development, Dr. Meshack Radebe. 
Radebe, who retains his position as Minister, is known as a 
peacemaker because he helped broker peace between the ANC and 
IFP in the Mpumalanga area Township of Hammarsdale during the 
1980s.  Radebe performed well in his portfolio and is credited 
for fighting corruption in the distribution of social grants. 
He is a member of the ANC KZN Provincial Executive Committee and 
is the former Mayor of Outer West Local Municipality.  Radebe is 
also credited with helping the ANC penetrate IFP strongholds in 
rural KZN areas through government initiatives such as 
distribution of food parcels, natural disaster relief, and 
funeral assistance to poor families. 
 
11. (U) Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, Mike 
Mabuyakhulu.  Mabuyakhulu previously served as KZN Minister of 
Public Works, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, and 
most recently, Minister of Local Government, Housing and 
Traditional Affairs.  He is a former trade unionist and has 
served as the provincial treasurer of the ANC.  He holds an 
honors degree in Management and a MBA.  Mabuyakhulu has been a 
member of the provincial legislature since 1994 and has been 
appointed acting Premier on many occasions.  Mabuyakhulu is 
credited for getting traditional leaders to shift their 
allegiance from the IFP to the ANC by democratizing the House of 
Traditional leaders and by introducing benefits such as housing 
for traditional leaders, medical aid, and higher salaries for 
traditional leaders and their headmen. 
 
12. (U) Minister of Local Government and Traditional Affairs, 
Willies Mchunu.  Mchunu is the deputy provincial chairperson of 
the ANC and was the Deputy Speaker of the KZN legislature from 
1994-2004.  He was appointed Speaker of the KZN legislature in 
2004 after the ANC won the province for the first time.   In the 
1980s, Mchunu was active in the United Democratic Front and 
civic struggles in the Durban area.  Mchunu is a former trade 
unionist and a founding member of COSATU.  He is also a former 
chairperson of the South African Communist Party (SACP) in KZN 
and member of its central committee. 
 
13. (U) Minister of Education, Senzo Mchunu.  Mchunu was until 
recently the ANC Provincial Secretary but resigned to join 
Mkhize's cabinet.  A teacher by profession, Mchunu became a 
member of the provincial legislature in 1994 and served on many 
portfolio committees, including a stint as education committee 
Chairperson in 2004.  Mchunu is credited with mobilizing 
grassroots support for Zuma throughout the province of KZN prior 
 
DURBAN 00000053  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
to Polokwane and helping the ANC run an effective election 
campaign in 2009.  He is considered the most powerful ANC leader 
in the province and enjoys strong support among rank and file 
ANC members. 
 
Comment 
 
14.  (SBU) Mkhize's efforts to include women and minorities in 
his cabinet have been met with approval, but his choice of 
ministers has surprised some within the KZN ANC.  Although 
Nkonyeni's ministry was marked by controversy, her removal as 
Minister of Health was a shock to many who considered her 
untouchable given that she is the most senior female ANC member 
in KZN.  Govender seemingly came out of nowhere, and many had 
expected Belinda Scott, KZN ANC Chairperson of the Finance 
Portfolio, to be appointed Minister of Human Settlement and 
Public Works.  Although Amichand Rajbansi was personally 
devastated at not being called back as Minister of Sports and 
Recreation, the fact that his portfolio has been folded into 
another ministry states clearly that the ANC no longer needs 
Rajbansi or his party,  the Minority Front, to rule in KZN. 
 
15.  (SBU) Mchunu is tipped to take over the premiership and the 
provincial leadership of the ANC from Mkhize when he moves on. 
Mchunu worked closely with Mkhize to mobilize support for Zuma 
but this may change as he begins to position himself as the 
premier in waiting.  Mchunu will likely want more influence and 
control over the provincial government (as he did during former 
Premier Ndebele's tenure), which may lead to conflict with 
Mkhize. 
DERDERIAN