Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and husband recover from COVID-19

Image via: flickr

Order! ANC nominates Mapisa-Nqakula for Parliamentary Speaker

The post was left vacant recently after Thandi Modise was appointed Defence Minister in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet reshuffle

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and husband recover from COVID-19

Image via: flickr

Former Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has been chosen by the ANC as its preferred candidate to become the new Speaker in Parliament.

Former Speaker Thandi Modise was appointed and sworn-in as the new Defence and Military Veterans Minister during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet reshuffle last week. When he announced the new National Executive at the time, the president said Mapisa-Nqakula would be appointed elsewhere but gave little details.

The ANC caucus met on Tuesday morning, 10 August 2021, and was briefed by the party’s chairperson Gwede Mantashe, after which Mapisa-Nqakula was nominated for the post.

“As a former chief whip of the majority party in Parliament in 2001 as well as deputy chairperson of the ANC political committee as well as the chairperson of the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence, former minister Mapisa-Nqakula brings a formidable wealth of experience to the new position, with a solid track record as a legislator and policymaker spanning over a number of years,” said acting caucus chairperson Nomfanelo Kota.

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula replaces Thandi Modise

For now, Deputy Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli will act in the role on an interim basis. Parliament is currently in recess and is only expected to resume its duties in the next week, after which they will likely get the ball rolling on her election.

“The date for the election for the new speaker of the house will be determined through consultation with Parliament and in conjunction with the Chief Justice,” Parliament’s spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said on SABC News.

The ANC holds 230 of the 400 seats, which means the post is basically hers, even if the opposition vote against it. Mapisa-Nqakula has come under fierce criticism over how she has performed in Cabinet, particularly in her last portfolio.

One of her most recent scandals was allowing the use of a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) jet to be used by ANC members during a trip to Zimbabwe in September 2020.