There has been mixed reaction from stakeholders in the education and social development sectors to the recent cabinet reshuffle by Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi.
Lesufi made changes to his executive, bringing in the EFF’s provincial leader Nkululeko Dunga as the new finance MEC.
The changes also saw ANC Gauteng strongman Lebogang Maile shifted from finance to education and sports.
Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko has been moved from the health department to social development, effectively swapping posts with Faith Mazibuko.
Matome Chiloane was dropped from the executive in a move Lesufi described as painful but necessary, as the provincial budget would not be passed without assistance from the EFF.
Matakanye Matakanya, general secretary of the National Association of School Governing Bodies, said the reshuffle was largely driven by political factors.
“Neither hate nor angry, but it’s something we do not have control over,” he said.
He added that coalition politics played a role.
Dr Edzani Mphaphuli, executive director of Grow Great, an NGO supporting pregnant women and mothers, welcomed the leadership change.
“Grow Great is happy about the reshuffle, especially with all the things that are coming from social development,” she said.
She said the shift could help strengthen links between social development and health, particularly in addressing child welfare challenges.
“Seeing the background coming in from DSD into a health perspective and just seeing all that come together is something exciting, and we look forward to the new leadership on board,” she said.
Matakanya said the ANC is a minority party, and such reshuffles are unavoidable.
However, he maintained that the new MEC for education should be given a chance.
“Let’s give him a chance. Let’s give him time.”
Matakanya said the focus should remain on existing priorities in the education sector.
“The priority is to ensure that we have qualified teachers, we have proper infrastructure, we have enough resources,” he said.
Mphaphuli said tackling stunting should remain a priority.
“We’d love to see a greater focus on heeding the call from the president to prioritise stunting and really end stunting by 2035,” she said.
However, governance expert Prof Alex van den Heever raised concerns about the broader implications of the reshuffle.
“From a governance perspective, the reshuffle appears less like a reform initiative and more like a political manoeuvre to avoid the accountability that would have come with a coalition arrangement involving the DA,” he said.
He warned that risks in key departments remain.
“In Gauteng, the key risk remains unchanged: departments with the largest procurement budgets, especially health, are highly vulnerable when executive authority is used to control appointments and, through those appointments, procurement decisions.
“There is little reason to expect a meaningful shift in governance practice. Health, in particular, is therefore likely to remain exposed to administrative failure and procurement abuse,” he said.
Alex van den Heever, a governance expert at the University of the Witwatersrand, said the reshuffle does not signal a change in the provincial government’s approach.
“The reshuffle does not suggest a break with the underlying governing approach under premier Lesufi. If anything, it points to the consolidation of a minority administration sustained by tacit political bargains in the background.”
He added that the key issue is the political arrangements behind the changes.
“The central governance question is therefore not whether a reshuffle occurred, but what political quid pro quo underpins it, and at what cost to institutional integrity and public accountability.”
TimesLIVE
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