Nyiko Floyd Shivambu is a South African politician serving as a member of parliament. He does so under the Economic Freedom Fighters political party that he co-founded and maintains the roles of Deputy President and lieutenant commander-in-chief.
Shivambu ranks as one of the most affluent people in his country. He has made his wealth in politics and through his work as a writer. As a result, the Malamulele town native lives a well-tailored life of luxury. A closer look tracing down to his earlier years in life would, however, reveal that he has had his fair share of hard times, being one of seven children in a home clad with poverty as his parents could hardly afford the necessities of life. But despite his humble beginnings, Floyd was able to get the best type of education which has paid off pretty well in recent years.
Floyd Shivambu Has A Very Impressive Educational History
It is quite remarkable to see that someone with such a humble background like Floyd Shivambu was able to climb the ladder of success. The affluent politician had grown up in a house without running water or electricity and his parents made a living out of the sales of handmade duvets and pillowcases.
However, he was able to get a very good education and though he had an initial desire to become a technician, he switched his interest and went on to study Politics and International Relations at the University of Witwatersrand. Prior to this, he had attended and graduated from the Mphambo High School, Malamulele, in 2001. The change in his academic pursuits did not make him handicapped in any way as he earned himself an Honors Bachelor’s Degree in Political Studies and International Relations. He even went on to graduate with a distinction Master’s Degree in Political Studies in 2004.
Alongside his educational pursuits, Floyd Shivambu continued to explore his political interests as he was elected president of the University’s Student Representative body in his third year. He would go on to join the African National Congress Youth League; this served as a launching pad for him as he went on to take on more roles in the academic cum political sector. This began with him representing the Students Council as their president from 2004 to 2005. He then became the National Executive of the South African Students Congress, and later on, from 2006 to 2007, he was the Student Representative of Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition. From 2008 to 2012, Floyd Shivambu became a Board member of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.
His Political Career Has Also Progressed Over The Years
In 2008, Floyd Shivambu began piecing his way into mainstream politics as he was made the spokesperson of the African National Congress Youth League. However, a turn of events led to his suspension from the party. The young man then went on to form a coalition with another suspended ANC member, Julius Malema, to form the Economic Freedom Fighters political party.
In 2014, Shivambu won elections and became a member of Parliament. In that same year, he also became a member of the Pan-African Parliament, positions he continues to hold to date. Due to his prowess in the various positions he had held, Floyd was placed on several committees, in which he still functions to date. He is a non-voting member of the Ad Hoc Committee to amend section 25 of the constitution. He is also a member of the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ interest as well as an alternate member of the Constitutional Review Committee.
Floyd Shimvabu Has Earned Sumptuous Salaries From His Political Career
As a result of his hard work, Floyd Shivambu has retained several offices for a period of time. These offices each come with some monthly benefits and a sumptuous basic salary. This comes together to prove that his net worth of about R10 million can be traced, to a larger degree, down to politics.
As a parliamentarian in 2016, the politician reportedly earned R1.03 million a year for being a member. In 2018, the money went up to approximately R1.1 million and in 2019 when he began to serve as chief whip, he earned a sum of R1.1 million for membership and an estimated sum of R1.2 million for being chief whip.
In 2020, the South African President increased the salaries of parliamentarians in a bid to improve performance, and Shivambu earned R1.2 million for membership and R1.3 for being the Chief Whip. The year 2021 also came with its own increase in salary and as of now, Floyd is receiving a sum of R1.4million for membership and R1.2million for being Chief Whip. More so, the politician gets several other benefits from being a member of various committees.
Does Shimvambu Have Any Investments That Contribute To His Net Worth?
With a net worth as high as R10 million, many wonder how the politician has managed to accumulate such a fortune. Although he has pointed out on several occasions that he was a businessman before he entered politics fully, there are no details available to the public about that aspect. The only other thing that the world knows he does is to write; he co-edited the book, The Coming Revolution, published in 2014. Floyd has gone on to publish several other articles on his blog (he has been a blogger since 2005). The book is currently available for sale on Amazon and it is believed to earn Shimvambu some extra cash.
The Politician’s Luxurious Lifestyle Has Attracted Allegations Of Looting
Floyd Shivambu is notable for living a luxurious lifestyle; he drives some expensive cars that include a Range Rover Sport and a BMW 7 series. Sometime in 2018, there were talks of him owning an apartment at Pine Avon complex but he denied the claims stating that it was his brother who wanted to buy an apartment there. Within the same period, there was news going around that the politician connived with his brother to keep some money for himself from the no-longer operational VBS Mutual Bank – it was with this money that he allegedly purchased his Range Rover Sport.
In addition to the luxury SUV, the VBS funds were also said to have been used to fund a bulk of his luxurious lifestyle, ranging from shopping sprees at Sandton City and V&A Waterfront, to a trip to Zambia for his birthday, and his wedding expenses. All these funds allegedly came from the Sgameka Projects Pty Ltd and Grand Azania Pty Ltd accounts which are companies operated by Floyd’s brother. Many questions are still left unanswered by the politician, but he claims to have clean hands in all of these allegations.
