Business Day
*Confident Zuma rings the changes in Cabinet*/Third reshuffle shifts Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele after e-tolls debacle/
*Sam Mkokeli, Natasha Marrian and Amanda Visser, Business Day, Johannesburg, 13 June 2012*
TRANSPORT Minister Sbu Ndebele has taken the fall for the government's chaotic management of the e-tolls project, as President Jacob Zuma yesterday shifted him from the crucial state department in his third Cabinet reshuffle in three years.
Yesterday's reshuffle came shortly after a political victory for Mr Zuma on Monday night, when the national executive committee of the African National Congress (ANC) dismissed a call to overturn the expulsion of Julius Malema, who has been campaigning for a change in the party's leadership.
Mr Ndebele and his deputy Jeremy Cronin have been shifted to new portfolios, opening up an opportunity for new leadership in a frontline ministry at the centre of the government's ambitious infrastructure programme.
Ben Martins, who was deputy public enterprises minister, was promoted to transport minister.
The shuffle also shows Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba 's influence --- his former deputy is now in a portfolio that will work closely with his. Mr Cronin moves to the Department of Public Works, again as deputy minister.
The shifting of Mr Ndebele and Mr Cronin comes after court action halted the contentious Gauteng highway e-toll system.
A task team, headed by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe , was appointed to sort out the mess that followed Mr Ndebele's capitulation at a meeting between the ANC and the Congress of South African Trade Unions, at which he agreed to suspend tolling.
The government is concerned that delays in its implementation will bring down credit ratings of SA and the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral), making it difficult for the country and state-owned enterprises to raise funds on the international market.
Moody's downgraded Sanral in March due to uncertainty over the repayment of bonds raised on international markets to pay for the highway upgrade, despite a state-guaranteed R20bn loan to the agency should the tolls not be implemented on their due date.
The country's infrastructure and energy investment drive relies on international loans and foreign investment.
A Presidency official said yesterday Mr Ndebele was blamed for not "enthusiastically" pushing for the implementation of the e-tolls. He was associated with Cabinet ministers who rejoiced when the tolling was interdicted.
Mr Ndebele is now correctional services minister, hardly a frontline department.
Lindiwe Sisulu has been moved from defence to the Department of Public Service and Administration to replace Roy Padayachie, who died in April.
Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has been moved from correctional services, and goes to the defence portfolio, a senior post.
Ms Sisulu joins her new department in the middle of salary negotiations with trade unions threatening a strike, and pressure on Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan from ratings agencies to cap the hikes.
Her move is seen to be a demotion, considering the importance of the defence force, and SA's role in peacekeeping on the continent, and fighting piracy and terrorism on the east coast.
Mduduzi Manana, a national executive committee member of the youth league, has been appointed deputy higher education minister. This is seen as a reward for Mr Manana, who recently stood up to Mr Malema. He was an MP, and is closely associated with Mr Gigaba.
Mr Manana's dramatic rise could also be attributed to Mr Gigaba's growing influence in the ruling party.
Hlengiwe Mkhize, deputy higher education minister, is now deputy economic development minister, filling a vacancy created by Enoch Godongwana's resignation in December.
Sindisiwe Chikunga, chairwoman of Parliament's portfolio committee on police, is the new deputy transport minister, and Gratitude Magwanishe, deputy chief whip of the ANC, has been appointed as deputy minister of public enterprises.
Asked about Mr Zuma's reshuffle, presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said: "It is his prerogative to reshuffle his Cabinet --- obviously he intended to make the executive function better."
He defended the frequency of Mr Zuma's reshuffles, saying the latest was prompted by death and resignation, among other reasons. When pinned on the changes in the transport ministry, Mr Maharaj said: "Well, you check out your rugby team --- you know what happens with a rugby team --- sometimes they have to shift positions. Are you happy with how your captain played? Or do you think he was put in the wrong position?"
The reshuffle was widely welcomed. The South African Communist Party was pleased that Mr Martins, a central committee member, was appointed.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions was cautious, sending out a short statement which welcomed the changes, and wished the new appointees well.
While Mr Zuma satisfied most ANC allies and leagues in the reshuffle, none of the new appointees are linked to the unions.
There were rumours that Mr Zuma would fire Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale, who has criticised his leadership of the ruling party and the government.
An official said Mr Sexwale had expected to be fired, having taken on Mr Zuma in the ANC's political battles.
Insiders said he heavily criticised Mr Zuma for stifling debate in the ANC, when he argued for Mr Malema's expulsion to be overturned during a special meeting of the ANC national executive committee on Monday.
Mr Sexwale could challenge Mr Zuma during the ANC's Mangaung elections in December.
He has support in the Eastern Cape's branches, which are expected to nominate him ahead of the December elections. A dismissal would have boosted Mr Sexwale's campaign, as he would be seen as a victim.
Mr Zuma benefited when Thabo Mbeki fired him as the country's deputy president in 2005, as many in the ANC saw him as a political victim and rallied behind him.
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