Mpumalanga MP advocate Bongani Bongo is Cabinet newcomer
Newly appointed State Security Minister‚ advocate Bongani Thomas Bongo‚ is an ANC MP from Mpumalanga‚ just like his predecessor‚ David Mahlobo.
Bongo is the only new appointment to the Cabinet and is relatively unknown. He was appointed during Tuesday morning’s Cabinet reshuffle and has taken up a role in which people have often been accused of abusing their powers for political ends.
Bongo has been an MP since May 2014.
He is a member of the portfolio committees on defence and military veterans‚ justice and correctional services‚ along with the joint committee on constitutional review and the joint committee on defence.
He is also a member of the ad hoc committee on the funding of political parties.
Bongo was a member of the ad hoc committee that appointed Busisiwe Mkhwebane as public protector.
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At a media briefing in Johannesburg‚ EFF leader Julius Malema said Bongo's appointment as minister of state security did not mean much‚ as he theorised that Mahlobo would effectively govern both departments.
"Bongo is a nobody. He is just a little young man who knows little about himself. Mahlobo is actually minister of energy and intelligence. Bongo is up there‚ because he admires Mahlobo‚" Malema said.
Lobby group Corruption Watch‚ in its role of profiling the members of the public protector ad hoc committee‚ published the views he held on public participation in the nomination of the public protector‚ on its website.
He said public participation was already generally covered as Parliament had a multiparty committee that constituted MPs who were already public representatives‚ adding that everything was covered by the legislation on the appointment‚ and that everyone was allowed to participate in the nomination process.
Parliament’s register of members’ interest in 2016‚ reveals that he is a council member at the university of Limpopo and that he owns property in Nelspruit.