Ayanda Dlodlo is a South African politician, cabinet minister and member of the African National Congress. Her current ministerial portfolio in Cyril Ramaphosa's cabinet is Minister of State & Security since 30 May 2019. Before, she was the Minister of Public Service and Administration from 28 February 2018 until 29 May 2019.
Early life
Dlodlo was born in Soweto, South Africa. Her father was studying for a Bachelor of Science and later with an education degree he became a school principal, while her mother was a student nurse. The family moved to Swaziland to escape apartheid but unfortunately the marriage did not last for long, her parents divorced and her mother returned to Johannesburg. At seventeen, she joined the ANC's military organisation Umkhonto weSizwe and departed for Angola for military training in 1980.
Education
In exile, Dlodlo underwent basic military training in Angola and military intelligence training in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Later she was sent to the United Kingdom where she studied Marine and Shipping Management. Later studies included Management Development, Business Management and Executive Development Programmes. She would return to South Africa in 1994, finding her sister dead by the security forces and her mother suffering from the effects of torture and detention.
Career
Business
On her return to South Africa, her first job was at Portnet. She has worked at the SA National Ports Authority, SA Freight Rail Company and has also worked on special assignments for the New York and New Jersey Port Authority as well as the Associated British Ports. She was a director of many companies including Rosschef Africa, The Wired Cloud and Women in Energy.
Politics
She was the Head of the Department of Safety and Security in the Gauteng Province. Dlodlo headed Strategic Operations at the Directorate of Special Operations, the now-defunct elite crime unit. She was charged in 2006 with theft of R80,700 from the Scorpions’ secret informer fund, but charges were dropped. In 2007, Dlodlo was the general secretary of the uMkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans’ Association and supported ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma's candidacy for party president at the Polokwane conference. In the 2009 South African election, she became a member of parliament for the ANC. In May 2010, Dlodlo was one of three members of an ANC national disciplinary committee that found Julius Malema guilty of contravening aspects of ANC rules. She was, in 2010, Zuma's parliamentary counselor. Dlodlo was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration on 1 November 2010 serving in the First Cabinet of Jacob Zuma. She was barred in 2012 from doing business with all three tiers of government for five years for her roles as a fellow director of VIP Consulting Engineers. The company had been paid for work not completed in 2009 prior to her becoming a member of parliament. She was re-appointed by Zuma to the same ministerial position on 26 May 2014 in the same position and held it until 30 March 2017. She was appointed the Minister of Communications from 30 March 2017 until 17 October 2017. In a reshuffle, she was appointed Minister of Home Affairs from 17 October 2017 and held it until 26 February 2018. In Cyril Ramaphosa's first cabinet, she was appointed as Minister of Public Service and Administration on 27 February 2018, replacing Malusi Gigaba, a post she held until 29 May 2019. Her current appointment in Cyril Ramaphosa's second cabinet is as Minister of State Security, from 30 May 2019. She is a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress and serves as the chairperson of the Legislature and Governance subcommittee. Dlodlo is also the South African Representative on the Open Government Partnership.
