MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works: Mr Sipho Caiphas Nkosi
MR SIPHO CAIPHAS “KK” NKOSI was born in April 1958 to both illiterate parents who were farm workers in the Louwsburg area between Vryheid and oPhongolo in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Educational qualifications
He completed Matric in 1980 at the Umbelebele High School in Umlazi and enrolled for a Senior Secondary Teachers Diploma (SSTD) at the University of Zululand in 1983, followed by attainment of a Bachelor of Paedagogics qualification which he obtained in 1984. He continued to advance his appetite for education when he bagged a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) Degree from the University of Natal in 1987.
Work Experience
MEC Nkosi started his teaching career at Lamontville High School from 1984 to 1985 before moving to Ziphembeleni High School where he served as an educator from 1986 to 1989.
In 1990, he was appointed as a Lecturer at KwaGqikazi College of Education in Nongoma. The following year (1991), he joined Isibonelo High School in KwaMashu where he served in the capacity of the Head of Department for English, a position he held until 1994.
He was later promoted to the position of a Deputy Principal at Zakhe High School in KwaMashu from 1995 to 1996, prior to his appointment as a Principal at Ekuthuleni Combined School in 1997, a position he occupied until 2002.
The Ekuthuleni Combined School enrolment was strategically split into two groups giving birth to the JG Zuma High School in 2003 where Mr Nkosi headed this institution until May 2009.
After the 2009 National and Provincial Government Elections, he was deployed to serve as a Member of the Provincial Legislature, MPL representing the ruling party.
Two years later in 2011 he was appointed Chairperson of the Legislature Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) a position he held until 2014 when he was appointed Chairperson of the Finance Portfolio Committee a position he held until the 23 May 2023
On the 23 May 2023 he was sworn-in as the MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works in KwaZulu-Natal.
Political Activism
MEC Nkosi has had an illustrious political activism career spanning a number of years since he was first recruited into the underground political operations in 1978. He is a founder member of the anti-apartheid student organization, the Congress of South African Students (COSAS) which was established in June 1979.
In 1981 he joined the Azanian Students Organisation (the predecessor of the present South African Students Congress (SASCO). In 1983 he joined the now-defunct United Democratic Front (UDF).
Being born of peasant parents, it was a natural progression that MEC Nkosi would be imbued with a sense of justice for the working class struggles on the shopfloor hence he joined the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) in 1987.
In December 1990, he formally joined ruling party and the South African Communist Party (SACP)
In addition to his trade union activism, MEC Nkosi is the founder member of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) which was launched in October 1990.
As a SADTU member, he has held Branch, Regional and Provincial Secretary positions. On the same token, he served in various positions within the ruling party which include his selfless participation in the relevant Regional Executive Committee (REC).