‘I’m used to naysayers’ – Motshekga hits back at ‘loud mouths’ over defence appointment

Former Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, has taken a dig at her detractors amid criticism regarding her new portfolio assignment.

Over the weekend, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the executive for the seventh administration, appointing Motshekga as the new minister of defence and military veterans.

This decision sparked a flurry of memes and funny remarks on social media, with many questioning her suitability for the role.

Angie Motshekga takes dig at naysayers

Motshekga has since hit back at her “naysayers”.

“I’m used to naysayers so it is part of the terrain… what I know from experience, you have a million well-wishers [and] you have 10,000 loud mouths. So you should not ignore the fact that millions of people wish you well,” she told eNCA ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet on Wednesday.

Motshekga was the longest-serving minister for basic education, having been appointed to the position in 2009.

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Her 15-year tenure in education was marked by calls for Motshekga’s resignation due to the poor condition of many schools in the country, some of which still rely on pit toilets.

The cabinet minister’s transition to the defence role has raised eyebrows, particularly since her deputy, United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader Bantu Holomisa, has been widely regarded as more suitable for the position due to his military background.

Holomisa was a general in the Transkei Defence Force during the apartheid era.

But Motshekga has expressed her readiness to take up her new portfolio assignment, acknowledging challenges such as budget cuts to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

“I expect problems everywhere. I think there are no problems which are surmountable; we will have to do what we have to do with resources that are there,” the minister said.

She claimed that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana informed her that his department has “approved a decent sum of money to recapitalise the army”.

“I am not too optimistic to deal with the problems, but government has started a process to address some of the problems which have been raised by my predecessors,” Motshekga added.

Holomisa on SANDF troops

Meanwhile, Holomisa stated that one of the ministry’s immediate priorities is to ensure the safety of SANDF members on military missions abroad.

“We have read that things are not looking good so we have to see the commander-in-chief and find out what is the next step in order to make sure that those troops are safe in Mozambique as well as in the DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo],” he told Newzroom Afrika.

Last week, two SANDF soldiers were killed when M23 rebels attacked the town of Sake in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), while four others were critically injured.

At least 2 900 SANDF soldiers were deployed to provide support in combating illicit armed factions in the eastern region of the DRC.

The deployment was authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa to fulfil the country’s obligation towards the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission to the DRC.

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