Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has been appointed as South Africa’s acting Minister of Health, temporarily taking over the portfolio from Dr Aaron Motsoaledi.
The Presidency announced the appointment on Sunday, 23 August 2026, confirming that Ndabeni-Abrahams will serve in the position for more than a month.
According to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, the appointment takes effect on Monday, 24 August, and will run until 30 September 2026.
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“President Cyril Ramaphosa has, in terms of section 98 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996, appointed Minister Stella Ndabeni as Acting Minister of Health with effect from 24 August to 30 September 2026,” Magwenya said.
Magwenya added that Ndabeni-Abrahams would undertake all functions associated with the portfolio during this period while Motsoaledi remains on sick leave.
Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams Takes Over Health Portfolio
The temporary appointment comes as Ndabeni-Abrahams continues with her responsibilities as Small Business Development Minister.
Her move into the health portfolio also comes during a politically significant period, with South Africa preparing for the local government elections scheduled for 4 November 2026.
Ndabeni-Abrahams is also the chairperson of the ANC’s local government intervention task team and has been involved in the party’s preparations and discussions around municipal governance.
Ndabeni-Abrahams Criticises Joburg’s Decline Under DA
While campaigning remains under way ahead of the local government elections, Ndabeni-Abrahams addressed the media in Johannesburg on Wednesday about the state of the country’s largest metropolitan municipality.
She said the deterioration of Johannesburg began in 2016, when the DA took over the city’s government.
“It only got messed up and went down after they took over when they were working with the EFF.”
Ndabeni-Abrahams also argued that Johannesburg was in a stronger financial position when the ANC governed the municipality without a coalition arrangement.
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“When they took over from comrade Parks Tau, this municipality had huge reserves,” she said.
Her comments come as political parties intensify their campaigns ahead of the November local government elections, with the performance of Johannesburg expected to be a major issue for voters.
ANC Says It Has Learnt From Municipal Governance Failures
Despite criticising the DA’s record in Johannesburg, Ndabeni-Abrahams acknowledged that the ANC had also learnt lessons since the 2021 local government elections.
She said the party wanted to address weaknesses identified in municipal governance and pointed to reforms introduced through the white paper.
“We have introduced 13 reforms through the white paper because we have seen that certain challenges that are faced by municipalities are not entirely dependent on them.
“We have also learnt that we can put certain mechanisms in place in terms of accountability, but that does not mean the application of the mechanisms, and the ANC has been the only party, by the way, that has tried to be transparent and take responsibility for the failures,” she said.
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Ndabeni-Abrahams further said the ANC had identified political instability within municipalities as one of the factors contributing to delays in service delivery.
The acting health minister appointment means Ndabeni-Abrahams will now temporarily balance her national government responsibilities with the health portfolio until Motsoaledi’s expected return at the end of September.
