Cabinet Reshuffle: Cyril Ramaphosa Fires Lindiwe Sisulu and Nathi Mthwetha, a Look at Their Scandals
Former ministers Lindiwe Sisulu and Nathi Mthwetha had to give up their cushy minister jobs after President Cyril Ramaphosa reshuffled them out of his Cabinet. After years of being followed by controversies, it seems like no surprise the pair were axed.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa shook things up when he announced the long-awaited Cabinet reshuffle on Monday, 6 March. The president welcomed new ministers into the government, meaning a few were canned.
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Lindiwe Sisulu and Nathi Mthwetha are the two most notable ministers who lost their cushy jobs. The firing of both ministers probably does not come as a surprise as they are known to have a few scandals under their belt.
Briefly News looks at some of Sisulu and Mthwetha's scandals and how they spent their time in government.
1. Tottenham Hotspur's R1 billion deal was the last blow to Lindiwe Sisulu's reputation
Former Minister Lindiwe Sisulu's ministry, the Department of Tourism, was dragged earlier this year after news leaked that SA Tourism was planning to spend close to R1 billion to bring Tottenham Hotspurs to Mzansi shores.
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The story was broken by the Daily Maverick and all eyes were on Sisulu, with many believing that the former minister had signed off on the proposal.
SA Tourism thought it would be a good idea to spend millions to bring the UK football team to Mzansi to encourage tourists to visit South Africa. While the SA Tourism board was happy about the possible deal, Sisulu and SA Tourism were slammed for using taxpayers' money for useless things.
Sisulu stated that the Tottenham Hotspurs deal was formulated before she took over the office and she hadn't been formally briefed. The former minister doubled down and said the SA Tourism department did not need her sign-off for such deals.
Sisulu's presence in one of the meetings to discuss the deal made many people outraged because it looked like she did not care about the pressing matter.
The former minister later left that meeting early, saying, "Executives are not supposed to have programmes on the eve of the State of the Nation Address."
2. Nathi Mthwetha tried to spend R22 million on a flagpost
Former Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthwetha goes down as the minister who tried to spend a ridiculous amount of money on a South African flag monument.
According to IOL, the flagpost idea drew outrage from ordinary South Africans, including notable celebrities such as Bonang Matheba and actress Rami Chuene.
Mthwetha and his team backed the flag idea and claimed that it would draw in tourism and become a national landmark because people would want to see the 100m flag that would be placed at Freedom Park in Pretoria.
According to BusinessTech, the monumental flagpost idea was put to rest after President Cyril Ramaphosa told Mthwetha to shelve the idea.
3. Lindiwe Sisulu drags Ramaphosa and the SA Constitution in an attempt to become the next president
The late Walter and Albertina Sisulu's daughter had her eyes set on being announced as the next president of the African National Congress at the 55th elective conference last year, but her plans failed dismally.
Coming from a family of political heavyweights, Sisulu kicked off her presidential campaign by launching scathing attacks on the South African Constitution and the judiciary.
Sisulu first wrote an open letter titled: Who's law is it anyway?. The former minister criticised the judiciary for not helping poor black South Africans and even threw in a few insults at black jurists, according to the Mail & Guardian.
In addition to throwing jabs at the Constitution and judiciary, Sisulu took it a step further by publically defying President Cyril Ramaphosa. According to The Citizen, she was among the few who openly slammed Ramaphosa leading up to the December conference at Nasrec in 2022.
Sisulu earned favour in the radical economic transformation (RET) faction, which supported former President Jacob Zuma when she accused Ramaphosa of only winning the presidency in 2017 because he bought votes.
Despite all her efforts, Sisulu left the conference empty-handed when she failed to gain enough nominations to run for the presidency. She was even snubbed for the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) position.
So her canning comes as no surprise to South Africans.
4. Nathi Mthwetha dragged by socialite Bonang Matheba for not caring about artists
The South African entertainment industry might be breathing a sigh of relief now that Nathi Mthwetha is out of the picture.
The former minister of Sports, Arts and Culture was notoriously known for neglecting the needs of struggling artists, especially when the Covid-19 pandemic hit South Africa.
Media personality Bonang Matheba was among the many celebrities who would occasionally blast Mthwetha on social media for his incompetence. Bonang started calling out the former minister at the height of the pandemic in 2020.
The socialite called Mthwetha "annoying" after he congratulated RnB singer Elaine when she received a record deal of a lifetime from US record label Columbia Records, according to TimesLIVE.
The drags did not end there. In 2022, Bonang referred to Mthwetha as "useless" and clueless when he defended his department's plan to build the R22 million flagpost on eNCA. Bonang wrote on social media:
“Fire this man. Please. You’re useless and we all hate you. You have no clue what you're doing. Go away.”
Bonang never shied away from showing Mtwetha her disdain and called the former minister out for not paying Banyana Banayana the money they deserved after the ladies won the Women's Africa Cup of Nations.
At the time, Mthwetha's department had planned to spend R30 million on an orchestra, and Bonang felt that the Banayana Banayana champions deserved that money.
"Please. These girls deserve money! Open. Your. Wallet. Akere you want an orchestra?! So useless! Resign."
Ramaphosa reshuffles Cabinet, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa appointed as Minister of Electricity
Briefly News previously reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Monday night the changes to his Cabinet after he kept South Africans waiting for an hour and a half.
Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was named the new electricity minister and will be responsible for reducing the severity of loadshedding and implementing the Energy Action Plan.
Paul Mashatile was chosen as the Deputy President and is replacing David Mabuza, who resigned from his position, reported BusinessTech.
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Source: Briefly News
