2017-03-31 07:11
Jenni Evans, News24
Thembelani Nxesi (Supplied)
Cape Town - Thembelani "Thulas" Nxesi has been moved from Minister of Public Works to Minister of Sport and Recreation in a Cabinet reshuffle announced by President Jacob Zuma in the early hours of Friday morning.
Nxesi, who is better known for taking the heat in the Nkandla upgrades scandal, replaces Fikile Mbalula who has been moved to Minister of Police.
Also the SA Communist Party deputy chairperson, Nxesi previously served as deputy minister of rural development and land reform from November 2010 to October 2011.
Nxesi received a written reprimand from Zuma over the Nkandla scandal, in line with the recommendations of former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela. His predecessor Geoff Doidge, under whose watch the project started, also received a letter of reprimand, as did former police minister Nathi Mthethwa.
Nxesi was a political activist from a young age and started his professional life as a teacher at Ikusasa Senior Secondary School between 1985 and 1990.
His background includes being assistant secretary general and secretary general of the South African Democratic Teacher's Union from 1990 to 1994, and for a second term between 1994 to 2010.
He has been a president of Education International and secretary of the National Education Union of South Africa, according to GCIS.
He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Fort Hare in 1983 and also holds a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, and a Higher Diploma in Education from the University of South Africa, according to a Government Communication and Information Services (GCIS) biography.
Tragedy struck for Nxesi and his family in 2012 when his daughter Lona was killed in a car crash in the Free State.
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/nxesi-replaces-mbalula-as-sport-minister-20170331