Former Johannesburg mayor Parks Tau has ascended to cabinet, with President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday evening announcing his appointment as deputy minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs.
Tau, who serves as the president of the SA Local Government Association (Salga), will serve under Cogta's new minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
He lost his position as Johannesburg mayor after the 2016 local government elections in which a DA-led coalition took over the city. Last week, he resigned as a councillor in the city and fell short for a position in Gauteng premier David Makhura's newly established provincial cabinet.
His is one of two appointments the president is constitutionally allowed to make from outside the National Assembly.
Another surprise cabinet position was awarded to the ANC's Youth League secretary-general Njabulo Nzuza.
Ramaphosa announced that Nzuza, an emerging leader within the league, will serve as a deputy minister to Aaron Motsoaledi at the department of home affairs.
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