GOVERNMENT PROFILE

MEET THE YOUNG MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES EFFECTING CHANGE:

KHUMBUDZO NTSHAVHENI

Minister Ntshavheni is putting the country on the path to a better digital future with improved digital infrastructure and emerging technologies for all people

Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Khumbudzo Ntshavheni hails from Sibasa in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province. She holds an MBA degree from the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom and is a graduate of Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), where she read for her undergraduate degree in Political Science, while completing two postgraduate degrees in Development Studies and Labour Relations. She matriculated from Mbilwi Secondary School in Sibasa, which remains one of the bestperforming public schools in South Africa. On 29 May 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed her the Minister of Small Business Development. She was acting as a Minister in the Presidency during the 2021 July Riots. She was re-assigned to the position of Communications and Digital Technologies Minister on 5 August 2021.

During her tenure as Minster for Small Business Development, she mobilised the township and rural entrepreneurship programme (TREP), to assist informal, micro and small enterprises to rebuild and restructure the economy in townships and rural areas. The TREP was used as a vehicle to assist informal business owners whose businesses were destroyed during the riots of July 2021. She also extended a helping hand to all restaurants, including shisanyamas, and hair salons that were forced to close their doors as a result of the national lockdowns caused by the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020. After announcing 1000 beneficiaries of the accelerated small business funding, Ntshavheni called for tech to be one of the key drivers for small business development in South Africa.

Ntshavheni has a long and distinguished track record of effecting change at a young age. Indeed, her political career cuts across both the student and youth movements. She was the youngest activist and part of the leadership of the South African Youth Congress (SAYCO) in the then Northern Transvaal. And was part of the young student activists who mobilised and led the Congress of South African Students (COSAS) after it had unbanned itself in 1989. On the day of the release of President Nelson Mandela, she addressed the Far Northern Transvaal sub-region’s – present-day Vhembe Region – impromptu celebration rally on behalf of the Pioneers Movement she was leading. At the age of 14, she convinced President Nelson Mandela to adopt 16 years as the voting age of South Africa during the CODESA negotiations. She has led both the youth (SAYCO and ANCYL) and student (COSAS and SASCO) movements at various capacities, including the National Executive Committees. After her last tenure in the NEC of the ANCYL, she was appointed as one of 22 persons to an ANCYL National Task Team tasked with rebuilding the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) structures from branch, regional and provincial levels in April 2013, wherein she served as the National Fundraiser when the ANCYL was also faced with financial liquidity challenges. She has also led the ANC in her home province of Limpopo, including at the provincial executive committee level. She has work experience in the fields of strategic management; information technology; change management; and communication and marketing. She is also the founding Director and Chairwoman of Nkho Trading – a transport and logistics business, owing to her mother’s involvement in the taxi industry.

Ms Ntshavheni started her professional and academic career as a junior lecturer at

the University of South Africa (UNISA) and then proceeded to be South Africa’s youngest and first female spokesperson of a Premier, in the service of Premier Ramatlhodi. She later worked as a Chief Information Officer for the Department of Local Government and Housing in Limpopo and a Manager for Tourism Investment for the Trade and Investment Limpopo (TIL). Ms Ntshavheni was once the youngest Municipal Manager in South Africa when she worked in that position for the Ba-Phalaborwa Municipal Council. She was also the Chief Operations Officer at the State IT Agency (SITA). She has served on numerous boards incIuding Limpopo Tourism Agency, Denel and Bokamosa Barona.

Before joining the 6th Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, Ms Ntshavheni was a serial entrepreneur with interests in transport, FMCG and agriculture. She recently received the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Dignitas Award (2022) at the Prestigious Annual Dignitas Awards Dinner and Ceremony. The UJ Alumni Dignitas Awards recognises the achievements and hard work of alumni who have made significant contributions to UJ’s respective fields of study, profession, industry and community.

Minister Ntshavheni is spearheading the drive to conclude South Africa’s broadcast digital migration, which is 11 years overdue. To date, the Department of Communications has installed over a million set-top boxes in its digital migration process. “I am ensuring that qualifying households receive the best service from our caring government,” Ntshavheni said on Twitter, adding that, “The government-subsidised decoders come with clear quality pictures for better viewing.” She says digital migration is going to be a game changer for South Africans, as it will open up more opportunities for content creators and frees the spectrum for IMT services necessary for the digital economy. She has overseen the successful auctioning of the spectrum for R14.4 billion in a process that was delayed for more than 18 years and paving the way for the deployment of 4G and 5G networks across the country. She facilitated the development and launch of South Africa’s own AppStore DigiTech, which will soon be available across all smart devices, giving opportunities for app developers in South Africa and Africa to have their apps marketed globally. In partnership with the UJ and Tshwane University of Technology, she recently launched the Artificial Intelligence Institute of South Africa with an aim of inventing South Africa and Africa’s future in the digital economy. Minister Ntshavheni says, “the AI Institute will enable South Africa to keep pace with the latest developments in data analytics and artificial intelligence and supporting economic growth”.