PRETORIA- Mpumalanga’s Dina Pule has been appointed Minister of Social Development by President Cyril Ramaphosa in a Cabinet reshuffle announced on Tuesday night.
Pule replaces Lindiwe Tolashe. This is her second appointment to the National Cabinet. She previously served as Minister of Communications from 2011 to 2013.
Until her appointment, Pule was Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture and the Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour.
Pule returned to prominence when she was elected to the ANC’s National Executive Committee in December 2022. She became deputy secretary-general of the ANC Women’s League in July 2023 and re-entered the National Assembly after the 2024 general election.
READ | EXCO approves the appointment of two HODs
Ramaphosa’s reshuffle largely matched requests made by Democratic Alliance leader Geordin Hill-Lewis two weeks ago. The president confirmed Willie Aucamp as Minister of Agriculture and David Maynier as Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.
John Steenhuisen, a former DA leader, was moved to Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition. Other appointments include Alexandra Abrahams as Deputy Minister of Electricity and Energy, Jack Bloom as Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, and Yusuf Cassim as Deputy Minister of Higher Education.
The Department of Social Development oversees South Africa’s social grants system. The portfolio has faced criticism for being treated as a political reward. Bathabile Dlamini held the post from 2010 to 2018, a period marked by the SASSA-CPS grants payment crisis that nearly collapsed the system.
