How Zuma fired and appointed new members of Cabinet

The president deviated from the traditional course of employment when he appointed new ministers over the phone.

According to The Sunday Times, new minister of police Fikile Mbalula was at friend’s party when he received the news that he had been removed from his former position as a sports minister and would now be filling the shoes of Nkosinathi Nhleko as minister of police.

Meanwhile, Gigaba was enjoying his evening at a gala dinner and fashion show in Cape Town when he also got a personal phone call from the president appointing him as the minister of finance, a position that previously belonged to Pravin Gordhan.

READ MORE: Gigaba was living it up in Cape Town, enjoying jazz during Cabinet reshuffle 

Former deputy minister of communication Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams got the news a day earlier than the rest. She told Sunday Times she received the news on Wednesday night while watching television at home.

“I am super excited by the youthfulness brought into the Cabinet because when we say young people are the future of this country, we mean this,” she said.

While Mbalula, Gigaba and Abrahams were celebrating good news and new positions, some ministers had to deal with being told they had lost their jobs.

Former minister and ANC MP Ben Martins was appointed as the new deputy minister of public enterprise. He expressed his thoughts on his new position via Twitter.

“On being announced as a deputy min a friend said: ‘It may be a blessing in disguise.’ I replied: ‘At the moment it seems effectively disguised’,” he tweeted.

Former tourism minister Derek Hanekom and former minister of public service and administration Ngoako Ramatlhodi learned via news reports on television and social media that they had been kicked to the curb.

ALSO READ: Derek Hanekom says he found out about his axing in a press release 

Meanwhile, former transport minister Dipuo Peters was fired in the midst of launching a new safety campaign in the Western Cape.

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Cosatu isn’t impressed with Gigaba, says he is unqualified for finance ministry

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