Stan Mathabatha set to reshuffle Limpopo executive body

ANC Limpopo deputy chair Florence Radzilani is set to make a comeback in government when premier Stan Mathabatha reshuffles his executive committee on Thursday.

Radzilani was removed as Vhembe district municipality mayor after being implicated in the alleged looting of billions from the VBS Mutual Bank.

She was welcomed back into the provincial executive committee (PEC) in 2020 after the national executive committee (NEC) said she could continue in her role after stepping aside in 2018 and had not been criminally charged.

She was elected as deputy chair when the province held its conference in June.

Radzilani and newly elected provincial treasurer Nakedi Sibanda-Kekana are expected to be appointed to Mathabatha’s executive on Thursday.

The PEC and top officials gave Mathabatha the green light to make changes to his executive, with at least five departments rumoured to be affected.

The five MECs expected to get the axe are aligned to the losing slate of public works MEC Dickson Masemola, who challenged and lost the chair position to Mathabatha.

The affected MECs are said to be Masemola; education’s Polly Boshielo; the treasury’s Charlie Sekoati; sport, arts and culture’s Thandi Moraka; and agriculture and rural development’s Nandi Ndalane.

Insiders said there were still discussions on Masemola, Sekoati and Ndalane, who the premier is said to be considering keeping in the executive despite strong objections from most PEC members. The sources said previously said the changes were based on the performance reviews of the MECs, which showed they fared dismally.

Mathabatha is said to have refused to pull the trigger two months before the May conference, when the performance reviews came in. He is said to have told those around him the move could have been interpreted as him acting against those challenging him at the then-looming conference.

With the conference over, Mathabatha is expected to swoop.

“The performances of MECs are reviewed every April and the department of education is doing very badly. Masemola was also said to be doing badly,” said a highly placed source.

“It will depend on the new PEC when they meet next week, but a reshuffle is imminent.”

The insider said removing Masemola two months before the conference could have allowed him to campaign using the “sympathy card”, which could have spelt disaster.

“Luthuli House is aware and they gave him [Mathabatha] the go-ahead,” the insider said.

The MECs all failed to make the cut in the PEC elective conference.

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