A plot to oust MECs in motion

NEWS JUST IN: The ANC’s deployment subcommittee in Free State summoned three disgruntled and alleged trouble makers at Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation(SACR) employees into marathon meetings on Monday.

According to sources close to StepUpNews SA, the alleged employees are George Tladi, Takalani Ramabulana and Kostable Selebedi.

The first meeting was reportedly scheduled to start at 10h30 but subcommittee members arrived late, causing it to start later than was expected.

A source close to the subcommittee confirmed the meetings did happen.

“The meetings happened and they were about finding out the state of the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation(SACR),” the source said.

Sources also state that the three alleged employees were chosen for political reasons rather than for those related to the smooth running of the department’s administrative affairs.

“The three guys are very unhappy and it was a very strategic move to invite them because they are disgruntled. They fit right into what the subcommittee wants because it’s made up of disgruntled ANC members who fell out of favour with Ace (Magashule) while he was yet the Premier and now they are power hungry. They want those Blue Lights,” the source said.

Meanwhile, it remains a mystery why a political party especially deployment subcommittee would summon staff members not the political head which is the MEC who is its deployee.

However, speaking to StepUPSANews, was former provincial agriculture MEC and now spokesperson of the IPC, Oupa Khoabane, who says meetings between the ANC’s subcommittees and deployees happen from time to time.

“There are many deployees that have interacted with subcommittees, as members of the ANC. The Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) only engages the reports of subcommittees about their work when they present reports in meetings,” he said.

Khoabane further elaborated that while these meetings do happen rather commonly, it should be noted that the IPC is not responsible for the “reshuffling of the EXCO”, which is the responsibility of the Premier of the province and it can only advise on these matters.

Meanwhile, speaking of reshuffles, questions are mounting as to whether Premier Sisi Ntombela will be reshuffling her cabinet soon. This comes after the MEC of Roads and Transport Sam Mashinini was suspended earlier this year, following an investigation onto the lack of progress into the construction of roads in the province, including the road between Reitz to Tweeling, among others.

With the question of the reshuffling, it remains to be seen whether MEC Limakatso Mahasa will remain in Ntombela’s cabinet as an MEC, following her department’s latest blunder following the recent renaming of the Brandfort, after the unveiling ceremony was postponed.

The postponement came hours after the town’s new name board was vandalized, following which the SACR then sought to postpone the unveiling at a date later to be confirmed.