In the
2009 general election, Nxesi won election to a seat in the
National Assembly, the lower house of the
South African Parliament; he stood as a candidate for the
African National Congress (ANC), Cosatu's
Tripartite Alliance partner. He was one of three unionists – the others being
Alina Rantsolase and
Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya – who represented the ANC by way of the Tripartite Alliance. Nxesi joined the executive in a cabinet reshuffle announced by President
Jacob Zuma on 31 October 2010. He was appointed as
Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, serving under Minister
Gugile Nkwinti. Sadtu welcomed Zuma's announcement.
Minister of Public Works: 2011–2017 In another cabinet reshuffle, announced on 24 October 2011, Zuma promoted Nxesi to the position of
Minister of Public Works. He succeeded
Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, who was fired amid an investigation into a lease scandal that also implicated police commissioner
Bheki Cele. Mahlangu-Nkabinde's former Deputy Minister,
Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, was moved to a different ministry at the same time, leaving Nxesi without a deputy. One of Nxesi's first acts as Minister was to accept, on behalf of
the cabinet, a memorandum of protest from the
ANC Youth League, which had marched to the
Union Buildings to demand
land expropriation without compensation. Nxesi said that he would review the ministry's workings and embark on "a listening campaign" before deciding on a strategy to turn around his new
department.
Tripartite Alliance elections In the run-up to the 13th National Congress of the
South African Communist Party (SACP), held at the
University of Zululand in July 2012, Nxesi emerged as a likely candidate to succeed
Joyce Moloi-Moropa as Deputy National Chairperson of the SACP. He had recently been co-opted onto the party's
Central Committee. When the elections were held, he was elected unopposed, deputising
Senzeni Zokwana. Months later, at the ANC's
53rd National Conference in December 2012, Nxesi was elected to a five-year term as a member of the ANC
National Executive Committee. By number of votes received, he was ranked 60th of the 80 ordinary members elected to the committee.
Nkandlagate Minister of Sport and Recreation: 2017–2018 Shortly after midnight on 30 March 2017, Zuma announced a cabinet reshuffle in which Nxesi was moved to a new office as
Minister of Sport and Recreation. Nxesi succeeded
Fikile Mbalula in that office, and he said that his top priorities would include the transformation of sport and the promotion of
school sports and youth development.
Tripartite Alliance elections Despite Nxesi's perceived support for Zuma during the Nkandla saga, the
Mail & Guardian observed by February 2016 that Nxesi and the SACP had "drifted apart" from Zuma. Indeed, during ANC National Executive Committee meetings over the next year, Nxesi reportedly voiced support for both of two unsuccessful
motions of no confidence in Zuma's ANC presidency, one tabled by
Derek Hanekom in November 2016 and another tabled by
Joel Netshitenzhe in May 2017. At the same time, SACP National Chairperson Senzeni Zokwana's failure to support the ANC motions of no confidence apparently drew the ire of a group of Zuma opponents in the SACP, who reportedly conspired to remove Zokwana from his post and remove him with Nxesi. However, when the SACP's 14th National Congress was held in July 2017, both Zokwana and Nxesi were re-elected unopposed to their positions. That December, at the ANC's
54th National Conference, Nxesi failed to gain re-election to the ANC National Executive Committee.
2018 Davis Cup boycott While Sports Minister, Nxesi personally boycotted a
tennis match between
Israel and South Africa, held in Pretoria during the
2018 Davis Cup. He was a supporter of the
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. In an open letter, Nxesi wrote:[G]iven the concerns that activists and fellow South Africans are raising regarding the presence of an Israeli team, I believe that it would not be proper for me to attend. International solidarity and the
boycott against Apartheid South Africa played a big role in our liberation. Indeed, one of the most well-known slogans came out of that context – 'no normal sport with an abnormal regime!'His letter accused Israel of "
practicing apartheid" in
occupied Palestine, and it also said that Nxesi had himself "experienced Israeli discrimination and occupation" when Israel denied him entry to Palestine years earlier. == Ramaphosa presidency ==