Meet South Africa’s new Minister of Basic Education

Democratic Alliance (DA) Member of Parliament Siviwe Gwarube has been appointed Minister of Basic Education. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the National Executive at the Union Buildings in Tshwane on Sunday night. 

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT SIVIWE GWARUBE 

Gwarube takes over from Angie Motshekga who has been the Basic Education Minister since 2009 who has been deployed to the Department of Defence and Military Veterans. Notably, Reginah Mhaule who also served under Motshekga retained her position as deputy minister.

Here’s what we know about the new Minister:

• Gwarube has been a member of Parliament in South Africa, representing the DA since May 2019. She was appointed the chief whip of the Official Opposition (the DA). 
• Before this role, she served as the DA’s shadow minister of Health, distinguishing herself during the National Health Insurance legislative process and the country’s battle with the COVID-19 pandemic. She was also the party’s national spokesperson and deputy chief whip during this period.
• According to the DA, Siviwe most recently tabled legislation in Parliament that would seek to stabilise coalition governments at local, provincial, and national levels. The legislation is currently proceeding through the law-making processes.
• The 34-year-old graduated from Rhodes University and the University of the Western Cape with degrees in politics, law, and philosophy. 
• Before joining the Western Cape Provincial Government, Siviwe began her career as the spokesperson for the DA’s then Parliamentary Leader, Lindiwe Mazibuko. She occupied various spokesperson roles over the years, including that of the head of the Ministry in the Provincial Department of Health. In addition, before being elected to public office in 2019, Siviwe worked as the executive director of Communications for the DA.

SADTU OBJECTS APPOINTMENT OF NEW BASIC EDUCATION MINISTER

Meanwhile, the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) has objected to the appointment of Siviwe Gwarube as Basic Education Minister.

The union expressed concerns about the DA’s education policies and what they call the party’s anti-trade union stance.

SADTU spokesperson Nomusa Cembi said historically, the union has never been on good terms with the DA, because its policies have been anti-trade unions.

“For a long time, the DA did not believe that trade unions have a right to exist. They’ve always made statements that SADTU is responsible for all the problems that are there in the education sector, they always put them on SADTU’s doorstep.

“They always accuse us of opposing the education in this country, of being in charge of education, and of controlling the department of education and the ministers and all,” she said.