Will President Ramaphosa reshuffle his Cabinet? Analysts weigh in on Nkabane's future

Political analysts predict that President Cyril Ramaphosa may soon reshuffle his Cabinet as he cannot afford to ignore the growing noise around embattled ANC ministers whom the opposition wants action taken against.

Following the sudden cancellation of Nkabane's travel to China on Friday, many were anticipating an announcement regarding her future on Sunday.

According to weekend reports, she was instructed to stay in the country after being stopped at OR Tambo International Airport as she was getting ready to catch a trip to China.

Weekend papers reported that she was stopped at OR Tambo International Airport, preparing to board a flight to China, and told to remain in the country.

According to the reports, this was a sign that the president had decided to take action against her for allegedly misleading members of Parliament on the panel that was in charge of appointing the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) boards.

The president, however, made no mention of Nkabane or the other ministers the DA wants ousted due to their participation in the State Capture Commission when he addressed the nation on Sunday.

Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast said he did not believe that Nkabane had survived, saying maybe the president was still applying his mind. 

“I don’t think she is off the hook, there are many possible reasons why the president did not say anything about and one of them was that maybe the president was mulling a cabinet reshuffle and felt he should separate or he is just allowing the parliamentary processes to unfold and see whether she would be eventually found guilty by those processes,” said Breakfast.

The University of Zululand-based political analyst, Professor Sipho Seepe, also could not rule out the possibility of a reshuffle.

He said he did not see Ramaphosa forever ignoring the Nkabane issue since she also has the support of some important education stakeholders, like students.

“The minister has also lost the confidence of important stakeholders in the education sector, and I do not think the president will ignore that. There is a possibility of a Cabinet reshuffle, perhaps the president did not want to conflate the important security matter with other issues,” said Seepe.

Nkabane has faced significant criticism from the DA, which accused her of lying in Parliament when announcing that the appointment of Seta boards was overseen by an independent panel of experts, when it was later discovered that some of the panel members were her office staff.

The DA alleges that Nkabane abused her ministerial powers and facilitated ANC cadre deployment to SETA boards.

The party accused her of fraud and lying to Parliament under the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament Act.

It then laid charges against her, which last week the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) confirmed to IOL that it was investigating.

Nkabane’s problems have now been compounded by the denial of some of the people she had announced were part of the process.

Also on the DA's radar is Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane, whom the party has been calling for her head. She has been embroiled in what the opposition called a dubious loan agreement she entered into with a company linked to VBS.

It was reported that Simelane received a R600,000 loan, which she used to buy a coffee shop in Sandton, which the DA maintained was dirty money.

Instead of sacking her as per calls, the president moved her from the Justice Ministry to the Human Settlements last year.

Ramaphosa’s pressure has been exacerbated by his decision to fire DA Deputy Minister Andrew Whitfield for taking an overseas personal trip without his approval. For this, the president has opened himself up to accusations of double standards.

willem.phungula@inl.co.za