Sicelo Shiceka
South African Government Information Site (8 June 1966 – 30 April 2012) was a South African politician. A member of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

, Shiceka was a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

and was chosen by President Jacob Zuma as the

Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs is a Minister in the Cabinet of South Africa who is responsible for the Department of Cooperative Governance The Department of Cooperative Governance (DCoG) is a department of the S ...

in May 2009. From 2008 to 2009, Shiceka was the Minister of Provincial and Local Government under interim President Kgalema Motlanthe.Sicelo Shiceka
Who's Who South Africa Shiceka was, until his death, on sick leave (since 24 February 2011), and his duties as Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs were being performed by the Minister of Police,

Nathi Mthethwa Emmanuel Nkosinathi "Nathi" Mthethwa is a South African politician who has served as Minister of Arts and Culture since February 2014. He was appointed again in 2019 for his second term, taking also the portfolio of Sport under his wing. He also ...

, in an acting capacity. Shiceka died from complications relating to a long illness.

Biography

Previous posts Shiceka held included Leader of the Azanian Students Organisation (1987), Provincial Secretary of the SACP (1991), Provincial Secretary of

COSATU The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the largest of the country's three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions.One Union expelled, ...

(1992) and Member of the Gauteng Provincial Executive Council of the ANC (1996). He was also a director of the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

Local Organising Committee. Shiceka earned an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in political economy from the

University of the Free State The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in 1904 as a tertiary se ...

, and diplomas in labour relations from the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

and in economics from the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Shiceka died on 30 April 2012, after "a long illness". No cause of death was given. He was 45.

Controversy

In March 2011, accusations were leveled at Shiceka for allegedly abusing taxpayer money by using public funds to pay for luxury hotel stays, limousine services and first-class air travel tickets while flying for personal reasons. These allegations in turn led to widespread calls from opposition parties for his dismissal, to which

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

's Ethics Committee responded by calling on the

Public Protector The Public Protector in South Africa is one of six independent state institutions set up by the country's Constitution to support and defend democracy. According to Section 181 of the Constitution: * These institutions are independent, and subje ...

to investigate the allegations – the first time MPs from the ANC called officially for a Cabinet Minister to be investigated for corruption since the party came to power in 1994. Following the publication of the report by the Public Protector confirming Shiceka had violated the Constitution and Executive Ethics Act, he was fired from the cabinet by President Jacob Zuma. The Department of Co-operative Governance is now attempting to recover over R800 000 he spent illegally. Additional allegations surfaced regarding an improper relationship between Shiceka and the chief financial officer of the bankrupt

Madibeng Local Municipality The Madibeng Local Municipality is a local municipality in Bojanala Platinum District Municipality, North West Province, South Africa. The seat of local municipality is Brits. The popular tourist area of Hartbeespoort is also located in the mu ...

, Nana Masithela.The Shiceka Syndrome and the Corrupting Power of the Status Trap
by Saliem Fakir, ''South African Civil Society Information Service'', 18 April 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiceka, Sicelo 1966 births 2012 deaths African National Congress politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Government ministers of South Africa Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni University of the Witwatersrand alumni University of the Free State alumni