Public Works Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde and Minister of Cooperative Governance Sicelo Shiceka have both been fired by President Jacob Zuma.
Zuma made his Cabinet reshuffle announcement at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Monday afternoon.
He also suspended police National Commissioner General Bheki Cele on full pay and benefits pending an investigation into the police leasing scandal.
Former Constitutional Court judge Yvonne Mokgoro will head up the Cele inquiry.
General Nhlanhla Mkwanazi has been appointed as acting national commissioner in Cele’s place.
Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform Thulas Nxesi has been appointed public works minister in place of Mahlangu-Nkabinde.
Minister of Public Service and Administration Richard Baloyi will take over Shiceka’s portfolio at cooperative governance and traditional affairs.
Minister of Communications Roy Padaychie will move over to public service, while deputy minister for performance monitoring and evaluation Dina Pule will take over from him as the new communications minister.
Zuma also announced a two-year time frame for the arms deal inquiry under Justice Willie Seriti of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Many commentators on Twitter praised Public Protector Thuli Madonsela for her role finding Shiceka, Mahlangu-Nkabinde and Cele’s activities were against the law.
Madonsela found Mahlangu-Nkabinde and Cele’s actions in the police leasing saga amounted to maladministration.
She also found that Shiceka had wasted taxpayers’ money in his roughly R500Â 000 trip to Switzerland and additional hotel bills he had run up, some while he was on sick leave.