Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

Nyanda was appointed minister of communications in May 2009. He is also a member of the Public Investment Corporation’s board.

He comes from a military background, having attended military courses in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in 1976 and 1986, Moscow in 1985 and South Africa in 1996 and 1997.

He has a BA from the University of South Africa, a postgraduate diploma in economic principles from the University of London, and an MSc in financial management from the University of London.

In 1994 he was appointed as co-chairman of the Joint Military Co-ordinating Committee of the Transitional Executive Council and was chief of staff for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) between 1994 and 1997. In 1997 he was the general officer commanding at Gauteng Command. He was appointed deputy chief of the SANDF in 1997 and held that position until 1998 when he was appointed chief of the SANDF.

DEPUTY MINISTER: Dina Pule

Pule was appointed the deputy minister of communications in May 2009.

She has a teaching diploma, a BA, certificates in public relations, women in leadership management skills and report writing, and is currently doing BA honours in communication.

She worked as a teacher between 1990 and 1993. She was a community liaison officer at the Department of Health in 1996 and 1997 and the head of communications at the Department of Health between 1997 and 2000; she has also been head of communications at the Department of Agriculture (2000-2004).

She was a member of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature in 2004 and 2005 and a member of the Executive Council for Safety and Security between 2005 and 2007.

ACTING DIRECTOR-GENERAL: Gerda Grabe

Grabe was appointed the acting director-general of the Department of Communications in February 2009 after Lyndall Shope-Mafole stepped down from the post.

Grabe joined the department in 2005 as the chief operations officer and deputy director-general in charge of administration.

She remains the chief operations officer of the department.

At the time of her appointment, she was seen to possess the necessary administrative skills for the post, even though she does not have a background in policy-making.

Grabe is a social worker by training.