Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams (born 30 June 1978) is a South African politician and the Minister of Small Business Development in the cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa. She previously served as Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies and Deputy Minister of Communication. Ndabeni-Abrahams is a member of the

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

(ANC) and serves as a member of the party's Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) and Provincial Working Committee (PWC) in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

Early life

Ndabeni-Abrahams was born in Sakhela, a village near

Mthatha Mthatha , formerly Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known as the K. D. Matanzi ...

, in 1978. She is the first-born of six children in her family and her parents were

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

s. She completed her secondary school education at the Holy Cross Senior Secondary School in Mthatha.

Career

Ndabeni-Abrahams is a recipient of an Advanced Certificate in Project Management,

Rhodes University Rhodes University is a public university, public research university located in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, ...

;

Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) traces to the British Empire's Pacific Cable Board in 1901, though in its current form, was created by international treaty, the ''Commonwealth Telegraphs Agreement'' between Commonwealth Nat ...

Diploma in Telecommunications and Management Systems; a Certificate in Telecommunications, Policy and Regulation Management from

Wits University 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 ...

, as well as a Project Management Diploma from Cranefields College. She was previously the Deputy Minister of the Department of Communications (DoC) from 26 May 2014 to 30 March 2017. Prior to the 2014 elections, she held the same position in the then DoC (now Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services) from 25 October 2011 until 25 May 2014. Prior to being an MP, Ms Ndabeni-Abrahams was a Project Manager for the Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council from 2003 to 2009. On November 22, 2018, she was appointed as Minister of Communications, Telecommunications and Postal Services and had overseen the unification of the two ministries.

Controversy

Yekani allegation

In 2020 the

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

reported that the East London based electronics firm, Yekani, was forced into liquidation because its owner, Siphiwe Cele, refused to sell a controlling stake in the company to Ndabeni-Abrahams' husband. At the time of the alleged offer in April 2018 Ndabeni-Abrahams was deputy minister of communications. In the article Cele is quoted stating that this resulted in the company not receiving financial support from the Eastern Cape Government leading its liquidation and the shuttering of the factory, resulting in the loss of 500 jobs. A spokes person for Ndabeni-Abrahams stated that it was "disingenuous" to blame Yekani's financial problems on the minister's husband. Yekani later refuted Cele's statement.

Covid-19 sanctioning by the President

Around 7 April 2020, amidst the 21-day national

lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...

due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa The COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa is part of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). On 5 March 2020, Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize had conf ...

, Ndabeni-Abrahams was at the center of a nationwide controversy after ANC

NEC is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It prov ...

member

Mduduzi Manana Mduduzi Manana was the South African Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training and member of parliament from 2009 to 2017. Manana earned a BA degree in Political Science and Sociology from University of Natal and was elected to the Regi ...

posted a photo online of them having lunch together. Manana captioned the (subsequently-deleted) picture: "It was great to host a former colleague and dear sister Cde Stella Ndabeni- Abrahams (Minister of Communication and Digital Technologies) on her way back from executing critical and essential services required for the effective functioning of our country during the nationwide lockdown". She was immediately criticized for ignoring lockdown regulations. President

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

then summoned her to explain to him why she appeared to have broken lockdown regulations and directed her to deliver a public apology to the nation. Ndabeni-Abrahams released a video apology, directed to the President and the country. Ramaphosa accepted the minister's apology for the violation, but in a statement said he "was unmoved by mitigating factors she tendered". Ndabeni-Abrahams was temporarily relieved of her duties for two months, with one month unpaid. She paid a R1,000 fine and now has a criminal record. On 5 August 2021, president Ramaphosa reshuffled the national executive and appointed Ndabeni-Abrahams as Minister of Small Business Development, replacing Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, who took over as Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies.

Personal life

Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has three children and is married to Thato Abrahams.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ndabeni-Abrahams, Stella Living people 1978 births African National Congress politicians Communications ministers of South Africa Members of the National Assembly of South Africa People from Mthatha People from the Eastern Cape 21st-century South African politicians 21st-century South African women