The current ANC provincial deputy chairperson, Bentley Vass, is to become the new MEC for Cogta and replace Alvin Botes who has been deployed to parliament. The MEC for the Health Department, Lebogang Motlhaping, has been moved to lead the Transport Department. Matlhaping’s move, however, comes amidst allegations that his department has spent approximately R1.8 billion on a psychiatric hospital which has now been under construction for more than a decade. Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health has in the past weeks during their visit to the province lambasted his department for allegedly failing to give details on the psychiatric hospital and how its costs have escalated to billions whilst it’s still incomplete. Northern Cape’s Premier, Sylvia Lucas, explains what influenced her cabinet reshuffle.

“Two things that have influenced the changes is the fact that in our province, after consultation with the officials as well as the national officials, we acknowledged that it is unprecedented in the province that there is no official of the ANC in the Executive Council, because of that we had to effect the changes to bring in the officials which are now the Treasurer and the Deputy Chairperson. Furthermore, the province has decided to redeploy comrade Alvin Botes to the National Assembly to strengthen our team there after the resignation of both comrade Dipuo Peters and Tina Joemat-Pettersson”

The MEC for Transport and Safety, Pauline Williams, will now become the MEC for Environmental Affairs. The Treasurer of the ANC, Fufe Makatong, is now the MEC for Health.

Lucas says MEC’s for other departments will remain the same.

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