He takes over from Lulu Xingwana who has been redeployed to head the Ministry of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities.
Mashatile was the last minister to be sworn-in following the recent cabinet reshuffle. He had to be sworn in as a member of parliament before he could actively take up his new responsibility as the man to lead arts and culture on behalf of both the government and the country.
In his new position Mashatile will lead the government-wide program to not only unite all south Africans under the new mantra of ‘inclusive citizenship’ but will bring the role of arts and culture to the fore on national economic development.
Mashatile is a widely known and respected political figure who is an influential personality in provincial politics as the chairperson of the Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee. Also, he is the former Premier of the Gauteng Province, a position he held until he was appointed to serve as deputy minister of arts and culture.
Significantly, his profile is poised to undergo a radical transformation as the new minister of arts and culture. The job will require that he not only be the voice and face of national arts and culture but forge closer relations with the artistic community to redefine national identity and build a new spirit of patriotism.
In the last 17 months the Department of Arts & Culture has re-invented itself to play a leading role in nation-building that will unite all South African citizens across background, race, class or religion. The observation of National Days like Freedom Day and Heritage Day, for example, have provided a glimpse of change in how government desires to use these to inculcate new values of inclusivity that give everybody a sense of belonging.
Mashatile’s is a product of the Mass Democratic Movement. He participated and led many United Democratic Front campaigns that forged closer ties among people of all races in the land. He is the co-founder of the non-racial South African youth Congress and playing a pivotal role in re-establishing the structures of the African National Congress and the SA Communist Party in Gauteng after the unbanning in 1990.
His appointment as Minister of Arts & Culture has been widely welcome by all stakeholders and promises to bring the role of arts and culture in society, especially economic development, into sharper focus.