Pastimes: Watching Soccer, going to the gym, reading, listening to music, watching movies and socialising.
Current Positions
Minister of Trade and Industry of the Republic of South Africa since 29 April 2004.
Member of Parliament since 27 April 1994.
Member of the African National Congress (ANC) since June 1999.
Academic Qualifications
Junior Secondary education at Bethel Seventh Day Adventist College, Butterworth and Transkei.
Senior Secondary education at Umtata Technical College - NTC I and II in Electrical Technology in 1977/8 and at Umlazi Technical College NTC III in Electrical Technology in 1979.
Diploma in Electrical Engineering - Heavy Current from Mangosuthu Technikon in Durban, incomplete (1980 - 1983).
Diploma in Economic Principles from the University of London (1995 - 1996).
Macro-economics course, from the American University (January 1995).
Macro-economics course,from the National Institute of Economic Policy (1996).
Economic Leadership course from Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Master of Science degree in Financial Economics from the University of London (2001).
Career/Memberships/Positions/Other Activities
Worked for Norton Abrasives in Isando, Kempton Park, while studying (1981 - 1982).
Worked in the family business in Umtata (July 1983 - December 1984).
Worked for the Umtata Municipality Electrical Engineering section, as a Trainee Electrical
Engineering Technician and forced to leave the job in November 1985 for political reasons.
Went into exile (November 1985).
While in exile worked for the ANC and also in South Africa from November 1985 - April 1993.
Involved in the Convention for a Democratic South Africa and multi-party negotiations ( 1991 - 993).
Regional Elections Co-ordinator for the Transkei Region (April 1993 - April 1994).
Member of Provincial Executive Committee of the ANC in the Eastern Cape (1998 - 2004).
Member of Regional Executive Committee (REC) of the ANC in Transkei (1991 - 1994).
Member REC of the ANC in Umtata (1994 - 1998).
Chairperson of the portfolio Committe on Finance, National Assembly (1997 - 1999).
Deputy Minister of Finance of the Republic of South Africa (17 June 1999 - 28 April 2004).
Former Ex-officio National Executive Committee (NEC)1999 - December 2007.
