Police website

Profile of New National Police Commissioner Ms

Mangwashi Victoria “Riah” Phiyega

Riah Phiyega is the first woman to be appointed as the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service.

She was born in Polokwane and received her primary and secondary education at various schools in Limpopo.

She holds a BA degree in Social Work from the University of the North, a BA Hons degree in Social Sciences from Unisa, an MA degree in Social Sciences from the University of Johannesburg and a postgraduate diploma in Business Administration from the University of Wales in Cardiff.

She also attended executive development programmes at the National University of Singapore and Wharton University in Pennsylvania in the USA.

Ms Phiyega was a Group Executive at Absa Bank Limited. While at Absa, she chaired the AllPay boards of Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. She was also a board member of Absa Actuaries, Chair of the Gotswelela Trust and Trustee of the Absa Foundation.

Mangwashi victoria phiyega biography of martin luther She was born in Polokwane and received her primary and secondary education at various schools in Limpopo. She was also a Group Executive at Transnet, where she was a member of the Executive Committee and an attending member of the Transnet Board. She served on numerous Transnet subsidiaries. Ms Phiyega was part of a team of senior executives who were responsible for the restructuring of the old Portnet into two major separate entities: Port Operations and Port Authority. Subsequent to the above restructuring, she became part of the Executive of the National Ports Authority of South Africa.

She was also a Group Executive at Transnet, where she was a member of the Executive Committee and an attending member of the Transnet Board. She served on numerous Transnet subsidiaries.

Ms Phiyega was part of a team of senior executives who were responsible for the restructuring of the old Portnet into two major separate entities: Port Operations and Port Authority.

Subsequent to the above restructuring, she became part of the Executive of the National Ports Authority of South Africa.

She served as Director for Development at the National Council for Child Welfare. She started her career in Child Welfare in Pretoria. She spent a few years at the Chamber of Mines as an employee well-being consultant.

Prior to joining the South African Police Service, she was appointed as Chairperson of the Presidential State-Owned Enterprise Review Committee.

Mangwashi victoria phiyega biography of martin short She takes over the reins of the South African Police Service SAPS at a time when government has prioritized and intensified the fight against crime; a time when despite the successes we have attained as a collective, we believe that more still needs to be done. Based on her previous and current expertise, Ms Phiyega brings wealth of experience on strategic leadership and sound management background, both from public service and private sector. We believe such vast experience will stand her in good stead as she steers the SAPS towards better compliance, systems integration, effective and greater accountability. Her appointment as the first black female National Commissioner of the SAPS in the history of our country; further indicates our serious commitment to transformation of the police. We believe that her appointment is well deserved as her CV speaks volumes and that her previous achievements in various management echelons, are not coincidental but achieved through dedication and hard work.

The Committee was tasked with the responsibility of reviewing State-Owned Entities and to make recommendations for their future repositioning.

Ms Phiyega was the Vice Chairperson for the Independent Commission for Remuneration of Public Office Bearers.

She chaired the Road Traffic Management Corporation Investigation Task Team which looked into maladministration, corruption and poor corporate governance.

The task team made major intervention and restructuring recommendations to the Minister of Transport, assisting to improve the corporation.

Ms Phiyega has served in other significant national structures, which included serving as a board member of the Bid Committee that managed the hosting of the Soccer World Cup by South Africa, Commissioner for the Commission of the Road Accident Fund Commission led by Judge Satchwell, who made recommendations about reasonable, equitable and accessible systems of payment by the Road Accident Fund.

She was also Chairperson of the National Welfare Forum that actively participated in the Social Welfare Restructuring Committee responsible for the development of the post-apartheid Welfare White Paper. She also sat on the Council for Medical Aid Schemes.

Ms Phiyega was a member of two university councils, namely Medunsa and the University of Limpopo.

She served on Council Committees of the Technikon Witwatersrand and the Tshwane University of Technology. She offered her services to several NGO boards, notable among which are the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and the Southern Africa Trust.

Apart from the above, Ms Phiyega is involved in women empowerment.

Mangwashi victoria phiyega biography of martin lawrence

She was appointed to the office by South African President Jacob Zuma on 12 June [ 1 ] and was the first woman to hold the post. Phiyega was suspended on 14 October by the President following a recommendation of the Farlam Commission of Inquiry into the deaths of protesting miners in Marikana in Phiyega was born on 29 May [ 2 ] in the village of Leolo near Burgersfort and received her primary and secondary education at various schools in Limpopo. She was also a Group Executive at Transnet and served on numerous Transnet subsidiaries. She was part of a team of senior executives who were responsible for the restructuring of the old Portnet into two major separate entities: Port Operations and Port Authority.

She is a member of the International Women’s Forum of South Africa (IWFSA), served as a coach and mentor linked to mentoring programmes of various organisations including, among other things, the Association for Black Securities and Investment Professionals (ABSIP), the International Women’s Forum: SA (IWFSA), the African Women Chartered Accountants (AWCA) and The Graca Machel Scholarship.

She is also actively involved in the church.

Ms Phiyega has received recognition awards for her leadership in business, community development and women initiatives. She is driven by what she calls the ISE philosophy, ie Integrity, Service to others before self and Excellence. She is a wife, mother and grandmother.