Ambassador Ntshinga represents the Department of International Relations and Cooperations (DIRCO) on the Necsa board. He holds a Master of Law degree obtained fin 1984 from the University of Sofia, Bulgaria. He has also participated in various training programmes in the field of diplomacy and international relations.
He served as Deputy Director-General (DDG) or Head of Americas and Europe at the Department of Foreign Affairs (now Department of International Relations and Cooperation). It was at a time when the new South Africa’s entered the global stage anchored on a new foreign policy implemented in a dynamic and challenging world order. As the DDG responsible for South Africa’s bilateral relations with both developed world of the North and developing in South America, the formulation and administration of foreign policy had to respond to unfamiliar realities.
In 2006-2010, he served as South Africa’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China. This was a period when the relations between the two countries was building momentum. Ambassador Ntshinga was instrumental in the development of cooperation framework between the two countries that led to a multi-fold growth in volume and substance.
From 2010-2013, Ambassador Ntshinga served as South Africa’s High Commissioner to the Republic of Kenya, non-resident Ambassador to the Republic of Somalia, and Permanent Representatives to the United Nations organisations stationed in Nairobi.
Between 2013 and 2019, Ambassador Ntshinga served as South Africa’s Permanent Representative to the African Union and the UN Economic Commission for Africa; South Africa’s Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; and also non-resident ambassador to the Republic of Djibouti. As the South Africa’s Permanent Representative to the African Union (AU), Ambassador Ntshinga had an opportunity to serve as Chair of the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) twice, in July 2015 and March 2017 respectively. During his tenure as Chairperson, the PSC dealt with the important issue of the cooperation between the AU Peace and Security Council and the United Nations (UN) Security Council. During this period, Ambassador Ntshinga played roles in various continental peace building initiatives and Post Conflict Reconstruction (PCRD) such as in South Sudan, Central African Republic, Burundi, and Somalia.
Since October 2019 to-date, Ambassador Ntshinga has been the Deputy Director-General for Africa at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, and currently also acting as Deputy Director-General for Global Governance and Continental Agenda.
