Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
Ms Thokozile Didiza
Angela Thokozile Didiza is currently a Member of Parliament (MP), serving as Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development in the sixth administration under the leadership of President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa.
She has recently been elected as the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Ministerial Specialised Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment.
Educational qualifications
In 2007, she completed a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree from the University of South Africa (UNISA) and in she completed a Masters Degree in Tertiary Education Management from the University of Melbourne in Australia.
Ministerial positions
1994–1999: Served as the first woman Deputy Minister of Agriculture during the late President Nelson Mandela’s tenure.
1999–2004: Appointed as Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs.
2004–2006: Continued in the same portfolio as Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs—it was during this term of office that Didiza convened the National Land Summit in 2005 involving a wide range of stakeholders to reflect on South Africa’s land reform policies.
In 2006–2008: Honourable Didiza was appointed as the Minister of Public Works.
Other career positions and activities
Honourable Didiza was re-elected as a Member of Parliament in the fifth administration and appointed as the House Chairperson: Internal Arrangements.
In 2016, she was elected as the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Africa Region.
Prior to becoming an MP, Minister Didiza worked in a number of organisations in various capacities such as:
- Legal Secretary at Mafika Mbuli.
- Programme Officer at Diakonia.
- 1989–1992: Youth Co-ordinator of South African Council of Young Women Christian Association (YWCA).
- 1992–1994: Secretary-General of the Women’s National Coalition that produced the Women’s Charter for Effective Equality; which was tabled in the first Parliament of South Africa.
- 2005: Young Global Leader named by the World Economic Foundation.
- 2011–2014: Project Consultant at the University of South Africa responsible for the establishment of the Archie Mafeje Research Institute on Applied Social Policy.
Board membership
Minister Didiza serves on the board of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation and Ohlange Institute.
Politics
She has served as a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and National Working Committee (NWC) of the African National Congress from 1997–2007 and was re-elected in 2012 to date.