Cabinet reshuffle: ‘Simelane doesn’t belong in Cabinet, end of story’

The Democratic Alliance (DA) said President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to redeploy embattled Justice Minister Thembi Simelane to Minister of Human Settlements is “short-sighted and disrespectful to South Africa.”

Ramaphosa reshuffled his cabinet making four changes to the executive.

Without further details, the Presidency announced the executive changes on Tuesday night saying they are effective immediately.

Swopping portfolios, Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi will take over Simelane’s spot as Justice and Constitutional Development Minister.

‘Simelane does not belong in Cabinet”

DA spokesperson on Justice and Constitutional Development Advocate Glynnis Breytenbach said while Ramaphosa finally addressed the “untenable conflict of interest of having a Minister of Justice accused of corruption,” his decision to simply move her somewhere else does not address the underlying issue of her being accused of corruption and is subject to investigations.

“Simelane does not belong in Cabinet, end of story. Human Settlements is a vital department for providing housing to South Africans. It must be led by a credible individual.

“The indecisiveness of the President, who has explicitly committed to fighting corruption is especially shocking and quite blatantly insincere.

“Mister President, our country deserves better. Remove Simelane from your Cabinet in the interest of our Republic,” Breytenbach said.

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‘Cabinet corruption’

ActionSA Parliamentary leader Athol Trollip said the party “rejected Ramaphosa’s last-ditch cowardly cabinet reshuffle.”

“Simply put, if the Minister was deemed no longer fit to serve as Minister of Justice due to allegations of potential corruption and questionable sources of wealth beyond her declared earnings, then surely the President cannot now expect us to believe that she is perfectly suited to lead a critically important portfolio like Human Settlements, overseeing billions of rands.

“This cowardly move by the President also highlights that his own Phala Phala demons continue to hamstring his actions when dealing with corruption in his cabinet,” Trollip said.

VBS Bank loan

Ramaphosa’s decision to reshuffle Simelane comes as she faced severe criticism over a R575,600 “commercial loan” she received from Gundo Wealth Solutions, a company accused of brokering unlawful investments of R349 million by the Polokwane Municipality into the now-defunct VBS Mutual Bank.

Simelane used the “commercial loan” from Gundo Wealth Solutions, owned by Ralliom Razwinane, to purchase a coffee shop in Sandton.

She vehemently denied wrongdoing, asserting that she handled everything transparently and repaid the loan in full.

In September, Ramaphosa vowed not to sweep the allegations against Simelane, related to the VBS bank scandal, under the carpet.

ALSO READ: Thembi Simelane ‘may not survive’ VBS allegations – analyst