Meet South Africa’s new interim minister of health.
South Africa (8 June 2021) – The minister of health, Zweli Mkhize, has been placed on special leave; this is pending an investigation from the Special Investigation Unit. Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, the incumbent minister of tourism, will now take his place and serve as acting minister of health.
So… who exactly is Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane?
According to the Government’s website, she holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Johannesburg a Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management from Damelin College, a Masters Degree in public and development Management from the University of the Witwatersrand and completed a programme for leadership development at Harvard Business School.
She is a member of Parliament of South Africa and a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress.
Prior to her current role, Kubayi-Ngubane previously served as a minister in three portfolios, science and technology, communications, and energy respectively. Kubayi-Ngubane started her career as a community developer in the non-governmental sector and subsequently joined the financial sector at First National Bank as a Skills Development Specialist, and later in the Business Banking Division at Nedbank.
She joined the public sector as a Skills Development Facilitator at the National Health Laboratory Services and was then recruited to become a director in the Office of the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. She then served as the Parliamentary Advisor to then-Deputy President of South Africa, Kgalema Motlanthe. In 2006, she served as Portfolio Committee Chairperson at the City of Johannesburg.
In 2009, she became a Member of Parliament and assumed several roles and responsibilities including Acting Deputy Chief Whip of African National Congress and Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Telecommunications and Postal Services.
Kubayi-Ngubane is a member of the Global Artificial Intelligence Council established by the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As part of the Council, she and other global leaders are tasked with the responsibility to provide strategic guidance to the international community on priorities for Artificial Intelligence, machine learning governance and cooperation, while helping to shape global policy development.
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