Academics have welcomed the appointment of Naledi Pandor as science and technology minister in South Africa's new cabinet, announced on 10 May by President Jacob Zuma.
Pandor previously headed the education department, but some say she may lack the scientific know-how of her predecessor, mathematician Mosibudi Mangena.
Many researchers had hoped Zuma would retain Barbara Hogan, the respected health minister whose appointment in September 2008 signalled a reversal of the government's denial that HIV causes AIDS.
Instead, Hogan was transferred to public enterprises, and replaced by Aaron Motsaledi, a little-known physician.
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For a longer version of this story, see What does South Africa's new cabinet mean for science? .
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South Africa's cabinet a mixed bag for science. Nature 459, 152 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/459152b
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/459152b
