Susan Shabangu completed her high school career at Madibane High School in Soweto in 1977.[1]
Trade union activism
Before being elected to government,Shabangu was active in the labour movement.[2] From 1980 to 1985,she was Assistant Secretary for the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW)[citation needed].[1] She was also a member of the Federation of Transvaal Women (FEDTRAW). In 1981 she was part of the Anti-Republic Campaign Committee. In 1982,she worked with the Release Mandela Campaign Committee. During 1984-85 she organized the Amalgamated Black Workers Project. She served on the Industrial Council and was the National Women's Coordinator of the Transport and General Workers Union (T&GWU). She served on the National Women's Sub-committee of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).[3]
On 28 March 1996,President Nelson Mandela announced that he had decided to create the office of the Deputy Minister of Minerals and Energy. Shabangu was appointed as the inaugural holder of the office.[7] She deputised Pik Botha of the opposition National Party until May 1996,when Botha's party left the Government of National Unity;from then onwards she was deputy to new Minister Penuell Maduna.[8] While serving in the ministry,Shabangu was also an advisor to COSATU's September Commission,which,under the leadership of Connie September,surveyed unionism's prospects in the post-apartheid era.[6]
Shabangu served as Deputy Minister of Minerals and Energy until the April 2004 general election,a period that spanned the remainder of Mandela's presidency and the first term of Thabo Mbeki's presidency.[6] After the 2004 election,announcing his new cabinet on 28 April 2004,President Mbeki appointed her as Deputy Minister of Safety and Security under Minister Charles Nqakula.[9] In that portfolio she was best known for the widespread controversy that arose in April 2008,when,speaking of criminals,she told an audience of police officers in Pretoria that,"You must kill the bastards if they threaten you or the community".[10][11][12]
In August 2012,following the Marikana massacre at Lonmin Platinum Mine near Rustenburg where 44 people were killed after police opened fire on striking workers belonging to the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU),Shabangu visited the area. Tasked with investigating what had happened,she reported to Parliament on 21 August 2012 that she had engaged all "affected parties". When questioned at the Marikana Commission of Inquiry on 26 August 2014 she admitted that these did not include the AMCU or representatives of the striking workers.[16]
Women:2014–2018
Shabangu was re-elected to the National Assembly in the May 2014 general election and she was appointed to Zuma's second-term cabinet,which was announced on 25 May. Zuma named her as Minister of Women,a reconfigured portfolio newly relocated to the Presidency.[17][18] When the Department of Women tabled its five-year strategic plan in 2015,the Mail &Guardian noted that 40 per cent of the department's R200-million annual budget was allocated to administration,remarking that the plan suggested that "Shabangu is supposed to be running some sort of research-heavy lobby group that spends too much money on administration and is unlikely to actually advance the cause of women one iota".[19]
Shabangu was re-elected to her parliamentary seat in the May 2019 general election,ranked 63rd on the ANC's national list.[28] However,Ramaphosa's second-term cabinet,announced on 29 May,did not include Shabangu.[29][30] The following week she announced her resignation from Parliament.[31][32] The resignation took effect on 3 June 2019.[28]
Shabangu's third term on the ANC National Executive Committee ended at the party's 55th National Conference in December 2017,and she was not re-elected.[35]
Personal life
In March 2003 Shabangu was charged with public indecency after an altercation with an airport security official at Johannesburg International Airport.[36] She had lifted her dress in exasperation after repeatedly being asked to pass through a metal detector.[37]
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