The Free State premier is set to promote the man who helped her into the top spot — and then deploy him as her henchman against African National Congress rivals in the province.
Last week Beatrice Marshoff announced the formation of a new policy coordination unit in her office that will oversee the work of all departments. The man who is likely to head it is Noby Ngombane, widely credited with first putting Marshoff in the Free State provincial cabinet three years ago.
In 2001, Ngombane was the coordinator of the ANC interim leadership committee (ILC) after the ANC disbanded the provincial structure because of infighting.
The then-ILC shuffled the provincial cabinet, in a move seen to be purging it of supporters of ANC provincial chairperson Ace Magashule by removing three provincial ministers and replacing them with three new ones, including Beatrice Marshoff. Marshoff had been a MP until her appointment as social development provincial minister.
Ngombane is the head of department in the tourism, environment and economic affairs department and has been locked in a battle with head provincial minister Benjamin Malakoane. Malakoane has accused Ngombane of undermining his authority, among other issues.
Last week Marshoff announced her plans to redeploy four heads of provincial departments — including Ngombane — and the creation of the policy coordination unit in her office. The heads of the provincial departments are believed to be getting ready to resist their removal.
But Marshoff’s spokesperson, Kgotso Tau, denied that Ngombane is the new man in the premier’s office. “The premier has indicated that she is considering restructuring, particularly in her department. She wants to have a helicopter view of what is happening in the province because she is the accounting officer. She has not mentioned any names of individuals. All she wants to do is to improve efficiency by matching expertise with specific jobs.”
But ANC leaders in the province believe that Marshoff is proving that she is determined to rule without their input. They insisted that in other provinces ANC premiers consult with the organisation when they restructure the provincial government.
“We gave her our support when the president appointed her as premier, but she does not want to reciprocate. She appears to be saying she does not need our support.
“The ANC in this province is paralysed because we do not receive the kind of support that other political structures in other provinces receive. When we intervene in any situation, there is always a level of suspicion about our motives,” said a member of the ANC provincial executive. Despite numerous efforts, the Mail & Guardian was not able to obtain comment from Ngombane this week.
But Ngombane’s supporters say he has become unpopular in the province because of his determination to uproot corruption. They believe he has the respect and support of the ANC national office because of his integrity.