A month after being reaffirmed as the chairperson of the ANC for the third term, Limpopo Premier Stanley Chupu Mathabatha has flexed his muscles by reshuffling his cabinet on Wednesday afternoon.
In what is considered a chess game, Mathabatha has reconfigured his executive council to exert influence on his challenger Dickson Masemola and Polly Boshielo.
Masemola has been moved from the department of public works to the department of social development while Boshielo has been shown the door from the department of education and moved to the department of transport, safety and liaison.
According to senior government officials, Mathabatha was not happy with Masemola and Boshielo’s performance in rendering service delivery to the people.
READ: Is a reshuffle on the cards after five Limpopo MECs dumped from provincial executive committee?
Mathabatha said in a statement that he believed that changes in the executive council would strengthen good corporate governance and improve service delivery in the province.
The premier spokesperson, Willy Mosoma, told City Press that Mathabatha reconfigured his executive based on the performance assessment contract he entered with all the MECs last year.
“It has nothing to do with politics, but everything to do with service delivery agreements they entered. But, that does not mean they failed, it’s just that the premier is not convinced that they have achieved on their agreements and mandates.”
Mosoma said Mathabatha made a commitment to enter into service delivery agreements with MECs to enable him to constantly monitor and assess their performances.
Several senior officials in the province say the move is to stifle Masemola before he is completely removed.
One senior official:
Masemola swopped the portfolio with Nkakareng Rakgoale, who was voted number six in the ANC’s additional list during the provincial conference earlier this month.
Masemola failed to make it into the provincial executive committee after challenging and losing to Mathabatha.
The premier also replaced Boshielo with Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya in the department of education.
Lerule-Ramakhanya came in at number four on the ANC’s additional list during the provincial conference.
READ: Limpopo backs Mashatile for deputy president
“This was a warning shot by Mathabatha. He didn’t want to completely remove them now because it was going to give credence to the idea that it was revenge for challenging him. There will be another reshuffle before the end of January where the two might be axed,” added the official.
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