Mr Ohm Collins Chabane

Before being appointed in May 2009 as minister in the presidency responsible for performance monitoring and evaluation – as well as administration – Ohm Collins Chabane served twelve years as a member of the executive council (MEC) in the Limpopo provincial legislature. MEC in the premier’s office in 1997, he was redeployed to public works between 1998 and 2005, and then to economic development, environment and tourism where he remained until becoming a member of cabinet. Chabane was a member of parliament in the National Assembly from 1994 to 1997, during which time he served on the joint committee on defence and intelligence, as well as on the standing committees on constitutional affairs, finance and mineral and energy affairs. In exile between 1980 and 1984, he received military training as a member of Umkhonte weSizwe (MK) in Angola. On returning to South Africa as a member of the ANC underground movement, Chabane was arrested under the Terrorism Act and imprisoned on Robben Island in 1985 until his release in 1990. He then played a leading role in re-establishing ANC structures in what is now Limpopo province, serving as provincial secretary until 1998. While on Robben Island, he studied for a higher diploma in electrical engineering through Technikon South Africa. Chabane also has a diploma in management from the University of Arusha in Tanzania and a diploma in leadership management from the graduate school of leadership at the University of Limpopo.