Free State minister of human settlements Msebenzi Zwane is facing the axe after his national counterpart, Tokyo Sexwale, clawed back R263-million allocated to the province because it failed to meet its housing targets, the Mail & Guardian has been told.
The province’s health minister, Sisi Mabe, and its public works and rural development minister, Fezi Ngubentombi, could come under the guillotine in a Free State cabinet reshuffle, the latest ordered by President Jacob Zuma to improve service delivery. Zwane’s failure to spend money earmarked for housing has angered Cosatu, which described it as “embarrassing and disappointing”.
Said the trade union federation’s Free State secretary, Sam Mashinini: “It cannot be correct that budgets are diverted to other provinces because our own departments fail to use them. It’s a slap in the face of the poor people of the Free State.”
Last week Limpopo Premier Cassel Mathale announced the axing of provincial health and social development minister Miriam Segabutla and treasury minister Saad Cachalia, and their replacement by, respectively, former Mopani ANC regional secretary Thabitha Mohlala and former Young Communist League chairperson David Masondo.
Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, North West and Eastern Cape have all reshuffled their cabinets since Zuma’s national reshuffle in October last year. Since then Zuma has held talks with premiers round the country about improving services.
Meeting Zuma
A senior alliance leader in the Free State who asked not to be named said Zuma met premier Ace Magashule before going to the World Economic Forum in Davos last week and that they agreed on the need to revamp the provincial executive. Magashule’s spokesperson, Wisani Ngobeni, and the ANC provincial secretary, Sibongile Besani, confirmed Magashule’s plan to reshuffle his cabinet, but gave no further details.
Mashinini said Cosatu was also concerned about the lack of delivery by the Free State health department, saying: “If the premier is intending to reshuffle his cabinet, health should be first. We have a huge shortage of nurses in a number of health institutions around the province.” The SACP’s Free State secretary, Phel Parkies, said the party was concerned about the departments of health, human settlements and rural development and public works.
“It doesn’t make sense to combine rural development and public works,” Parkies said. “Rural development should go with agriculture,. That way we could deal with issues such as small farmers, poor women and land.”
It is unclear if Zuma intends to instruct the two remaining ANC-controlled provinces, KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape, to restructure their executive councils. Zuma’s spokesperson, Zizi Kodwa, referred questions to government spokesperson Themba Maseko, who was unavailable for comment. Maseko moved to the department of public service and administration this week.