President Cyril Ramaphosa swapped his Human Settlements and Justice Ministers in an unexpected Cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday, including a minister who is involved in the VBS mutual bank scandal.
Ramaphosa’s sudden changes come on the back of an ongoing conflict between the Justice Department and the NPA regarding the Zondo Commission records on state capture.
Corruption-accused Thembi Simelane moves from Justice to Human Settlements, changing position with Mamoloko Kubayi who will now head the Justice Department.
Simelane is accused of allegedly accepting an R575,600 "loan" from Gundo Wealth Solutions, a business closely associated with illegal municipal fund investments in the now-defunct VBS bank. She reportedly obtained this loan to buy a Sandton coffee shop when she was the mayor of Polokwane.
The move to redeploy Simalene comes after she also failed to produce the loan contract in Parliament.
What is a cabinet reshuffle?
A cabinet reshuffle is when government ministers are moved between positions.
This happens when the head of state switches the head of government and several ministers, or when the head of government rotates or modifies the ministers in the cabinet.
Who is who and where in the cabinet?
Kubayi leads the Justice Department, Simelane chairs Human Settlements, and Phumzile Mgcina is appointed the Deputy Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources.
Mgcina has been serving in the national executive as the Deputy Minister of Labour and Employment.
Judith Nemadzinga-Tshabalala is appointed the Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour. Nemadzinga-Tshabalala has been serving in the national executive as the Deputy Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources.
These are the only changes that Ramaphosa has made so far. The move has been criticised by many, saying Ramaphosa was just protecting Simelane.
Political parties have also condemned the decision, stating that Simelane must be out altogether.
IOL Politics