Photo: Premier Stanley Mathabatha
The much-anticipated restructuring of the Limpopo Provincial Executive Council happened today when Premier Stanley Mathabatha discarded three MECs and swopped to others.
Shown the door are Dickson Masemola from Social Development, Polly Boshielo from Transport and Community Safety, and Thandi Moraka from Sport, Arts and Culture.
Thabo Mokone, previously at the powerful Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, goes to Agriculture and Rural Development. Nandi Ndalane takes over from the ousted Masemola at Social Development.
As expected, the re-elected ANC provincial deputy chairperson Florence Radzilani returns to the cabinet via Transport and Community Safety.
Newly elected provincial treasurer, Nakedi Sibanda-Kekana takes over the lacklustre Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, which has for decades failed to deliver the provincial theatre or make any significant impact on the sport, arts and culture scene in the province.
An equally anticipated appointment is that of Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) chairperson and longstanding ally of Mathabatha, Rodgers Monyama to the heavy-duty position of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET). The department last week hosted a successful mining, energy and industrialisation conference.
In a statement released with the cabinet reshuffle, Premier Mathabatha, ascribes the changes to the Executive Council to “further assessment of the performance of the Executive Council with the view to improve service delivery and enhance corporate governance.”
The ANC in Limpopo recently issued a stern statement through the provincial spokesperson Jimmy Machaka, on underspending spending by provincial departments, municipalities and state-owned enterprises.
“The PEC reiterated the need for the comrades deployed in government to remain focused and double efforts in delivering basic services to our people. To that effect, the ANC PEC will be assessing and monitoring the work of its deployees across the province from time to time.”
After the recent ANC provincial conference, victors called for the removal of the MECs who failed to make it to the provincial executive committee. They wanted in particular Radzilani and Sibanda-Kekana to be elevated to the cabinet. Much to their dismay. Mathabatha moved Masemola from Public Works to Social Development and Boshielo from Education to Transport.
With the ANC national conference two months away and Mathabatha at the end of his term as premier and provincial chairperson, he had to appease his backers with a thorough and decisive reshuffle.
There will be another shakeup of the provincial executive committee and cabinet when Mathabatha emerges as ANC national chairperson at the 55th national elective conference in December.