Quick take: An age-old problem – SA’s 2021 cabinet
On 5 August 2021 President Cyril Ramaphosa reshuffled his cabinet. The new cabinet is old: 20 of the 30 ministers are over the age of 60 and only one minister is younger than 40.
On 5 August 2021 President Cyril Ramaphosa reshuffled his cabinet, changing many of the ministers he appointed after the May 2019 elections.
The average age of the members of the new cabinet is 60 years old. In fact, 20 of the 30 ministers are over the age of 60 and only one minister is younger than 40.
Half of South Africa’s population is 27 years old or younger, so, by comparison, the cabinet is pretty old.
Almost all of the ministers in the new 2021 cabinet are older than their predecessors (by a few years) except for Tourism (much older) and Human Settlements (much younger).
In 2019, the Tourism department was headed by Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane who was 41 at the time. The department is now headed by 67-year-old former human settlements and water minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
Kubayi-Ngubane (now 43) has been moved to Human Settlements, which was split off from Water and Sanitation, which is now led by 63-year-old Senzo Mchunu.
The youngest minister in the cabinet is 38-year-old Ronald Lamola who retained his position as the minister of Justice and Correctional Services.
The oldest ministers are 72 years old, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and Pravin Gordhan, Public Enterprises.
- Additional reporting by Gemma Gatticchi.