Cape Town - Newly elected ANC provincial chairperson in Mpumalanga Mandla Ndlovu has been appointed MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in the province.
Premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane announced the Cabinet changes on Tuesday where she also moved Busi Shiba to the agriculture portfolio.
Shiba takes over the department full-time after former MEC Mandla Msibi was fired from the position last year after he was charged with murder.
Msibi was recently elected ANC provincial treasurer in Mpumalanga, forcing the NEC to tighten its step-aside rule.
Msibi had already stepped down from his position in the ANC before the elections in November and was axed as MEC when he was charged.
But when the party went into conference recently he contested and was elected.
The NEC has taken a decision that no member facing charges will now be allowed to contest for any position in the party.
In announcing the changes in her provincial Cabinet, Mtsweni-Tsipane said she had worked with Ndlovu in the past.
“Having worked extensively with Mr Ndlovu over the last couple of years, I am certain that his familiarity with the wide array of challenges we face in the local sphere of government as well as his natural ability to be analytical and solution-orientated will aid our efforts to operate in a co-ordinated and integrated manner with the local sphere of government,” said Mtsweni-Tsipane.
She added that Shiba will now become MEC for Agriculture after she had acted when Msibi was axed from the position.
She said Shiba had done a good job in the last eight months while she was Co-operative Governance MEC and acting MEC for Agriculture.
The appointment of Ndlovu as MEC in Mpumalanga comes after another ally of President Cyril Ramaphosa, Oscar Mabuyane, retained his position as provincial chairperson.
Ndlovu openly backed Ramaphosa after he was elected in Mpumalanga.
His backing was followed by Mabuyane on Monday after he was re-elected ANC provincial chairperson in the Eastern Cape.
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