Nomzamo Radebe: Corruption Buster, Led by Faith

by Daluxolo Moloantoa · Published February 16, 2024 · Updated February 16, 2024

Nomzamo Radebe

In her professional life, Nomzamo Radebe tackles corruption, but outside her work, she is dedicated to her faith and Catholic youth, as she tells Daluxolo Moloantoa.

If there was a contest for the biggest South African buzzword for the past decade, “corruption” would likely win it hands-down. This national scourge has dampened the spirit of South Africa, and given rise to despair to the nation’s young people in a drastic way. But a Catholic youth leader is playing her part in the struggle to end the plague of corruption.

Nomzamo Radebe is a deputy-director in the National Treasury for Business Continuity Management and Anti-Corruption. She has worked in various capacities in government over the past ten years. “I view my work in government as a service to others, as Jesus did as a sign of love to his brothers and sisters,” she told The Southern Cross.

Nomzamo was born on June 21, 1989, in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria. She is a twin in a family of two sets of twins and two other siblings. She and her twin brother Xolani are the youngest of six children, three boys and three girls.

She has attended Mass at St Charles Lwanga church in Soshanguve since childhood. The parish became synonymous with anti-apartheid activist priest Fr Smangaliso Mkhatshwa during the struggle against apartheid in the 1980s. Nomzamo did all her schooling and tertiary education in Pretoria, before joining public administration.

Since 2013, she has traversed the scale of work in government with positions in various departments, including in the Office of the Presidency. “This is where the human resources, the finance and the supply chain obligations of the president’s office are managed,” she said. Previous public service engagements include the Gauteng Department of Social Development in 2014, the Gauteng Department of Economic Development in 2018, and Helen Joseph Hospital in 2020.

Her current position in the National Treasury entails ensuring that crisis situations are promptly dealt with, and instances of corruption are efficiently handled by the department. “Basically, my role is to ensure that operations continue as normal in the event of a disaster. This means implementing measures to avoid catastrophic damage in, for example, service delivery, and reaching operational goals,’ she said. “In relation to anti-corruption, I am responsible for conducting preliminary investigations in cases of fraud and for the implementation of the department’s Ethics Programme — awareness, lifestyle audits, other remuneration outside the public service, and so on. We also identify ethics risks which exist within government.”

In terms of her career goals, “my dream is to one day become a chief risk officer of a public or private institution”, she said.

A leader of youth

Beyond public service, it is in her role as a youth leader in the Church that Nomzamo finds the greatest fulfilment. She is a long-time member of Young Catholic Adults (YACO), and has held various leadership positions in the organisation. One highlight as a youth leader was attending World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow, Poland. Another highlight was participating in a gala fundraising dinner for St Charles Lwanga church in August this year.

Nomzamo has served as YACO’s parish chairperson, and is currently part of the liturgy leadership team in the North-Western deanery in the archdiocese of Pretoria. Recently she was one of five YACO members who were chosen to form part of the liturgical proceedings for this year’s North-West deanery celebration of the feast of the Assumption at the church of Mary Assumed into Heaven in Jonathan, west of Brits (see www.rb.gy/c31c9 for our report),

Nomzamo’s activism within the Church goes back to her days in the Chiro youth movement, the Altar-Servers’ Association of the archdiocese of Pretoria, and now YACO. “Having joined YACO fresh from the Chiro movement in 2018, I have found the journey to be immensely fulfilling, especially in terms of my spiritual growth. A foundation in Christ is a lifetime blessing, so as a young woman I believe that the Church needs us to stand together in unity and plant love, peace and joy to become builders of our Church,” she said.

This activism within the Altar Servers’ Association, Chiro and now YACO has facilitated growth in the Catholic Church. “Beyond being a part of the arrangements for the liturgical part of retreats, revivals, feast days and so on, I have also embraced my ability to inspire and motivate young people through praise, worship and at times also meditation exercises. Every time I am with young people, I feel so content in knowing that Christ indeed works through me.”

Women must stand together

Nomzamo believes that the role of women in the Church has long been undervalued, and this is an area which needs to be increasingly recognised. “Women in the Church occupy a very important and critical role. They are the cornerstones of the Church. They are the pillars on which the Church stands, and on which it needs to remain strong,” she said.

This also applies to the role of women in society generally. “Women are the builders of families and communities. They are nurtures of faith, love, peace and joy to others. We, as women, must always strive to support and fix each other’s crowns as queens — displaying unity beyond it all. We must ensure, for example, that children who are orphans do not feel the void. Instead, like all other children, they too should feel the warmth of experiencing motherly love.”

Young women in the Church, in particular, need special attention to address their many trials. “There are a lot of challenges facing our young girls today. We need older women to become sisters to the younger generation, providing support, mentorship and moral guidance,” Nomzamo said.

“A lot of young girls fall pregnant at a very young age. We need to advocate to young girls that pre-marital sex carries undesirable repercussions. We can achieve all of this through initiatives such as the Take a Girl-child to Work initiative, through hosting seminars and other activities geared towards the girl-child. We are the examples and role models to young women to show that we live in Christ and work for Christ.”

In the near future, she would like to see herself helping to expand YACO’s footprint not only within the archdiocese of Pretoria but also into other dioceses and beyond South Africa. Nomzamo would also like to see the youth and young adults in her archdiocese become active leaders and shepherds of other young people within the Church.

She recommends the following for a fulfilled life: “Always put God first, before anything. That means, when making decisions, consider the importance of involving God to ensure that these decisions become fruitful. Love God, family and community. A child is raised by nations and your success is the success of the nation. Furthermore, also dream big, knowing that even if that big dream does not come through, something worthy will manifest out of your dream.”

Published in the November 2023 issue of The Southern Cross magazine