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Mondli Gungubele |
Mondli Gungubele knows what it is like to take a stand against corruption at the highest level, which might explain why president Cyril Ramaphosa made him deputy finance minister.
In July last year, Gungubele said he would back a motion of no confidence against Jacob Zuma, whose years as president of the African National Congress (ANC) and South Africa were plagued by scandal and corruption, including allegations that a wealthy family from India used their links to the president to influence government decisions and the awarding of tenders.
Gungubele, a loyal member of the ruling ANC, was one of the few senior figures in the party to publicly criticize Zuma, South Africa’s most divisive president since the end of white minority rule in 1994.
As a member of parliament, Gungubele was known as a supporter of Ramaphosa, South Africa’s deputy president at the time. When Gungubele spoke out, outraged Zuma loyalists called for disciplinary sanctions against him, saying he was problematic, crude and defiant.
In February, Zuma was forced out of office and Ramaphosa stepped into his place. Within days, the new president had removed or demoted several Zuma loyalists from top posts, including at the finance ministry, where he appointed Nhlanhla Nene as the new finance minister and Gungubele as his deputy.