Cape Town — Jabu Mbalula, the brother of ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, was appointed as the Free State’s acting Premier, replacing Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae.
Mbalula, who is the MEC for Roads, Transport and Community Safety, is set to take over from Letsoha-Mathae, who has taken leave. He will be in the post for one month until 15 December, IOL reported.
In an internal memo, the corruption-accused Letsoha-Mathae sent to her cabinet, and the ANC discussed possible disciplinary action against the Premier last month, on the accusations of corruption.
According to TimesLIVE, the ANC’s Free State secretary, Polediso Motsoeneng, said Mbalula’s appointment was not a takeover from Letsoha-Mathae, who is under investigation by the Hawks.
“The ANC in the Free State has noted media reports that comrade Letsoha-Mathae has been ‘instructed’ to take sick leave. The laughable yet unsurprising reports emanate from the swearing-in of comrade Mbalula as the acting premier while comrade Letsoha-Mathae is recuperating,” Motsoeneng said.
He said the premier was not instructed to take sick leave and dismissed that notion as “laughable” and confirmed the ANC’s long-held suspicion that women leaders were deliberately undermined.
“There is no leader in his/her right mind who would agree to be instructed to take sick leave,” he said.
Mbalula was appointed as the acting Premier by Letsoha-Mathae deemed him to be fit enough.
He said the premier appointed Mbalula, who is also the MEC for community safety and transport because she “deemed” him fit enough.
ActionSA provincial chairperson Patricia Kopane questioned Mbalula’s appointment. She questioned the suspicion of his appointment so soon after Letsoha-Mathae’s accusations surfaced.
“ActionSA questions the timing and motives behind Mbalula’s appointment as it undermines the ANC’s claims of commitment to fighting corruption.”
According to EWN, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the Free State has criticised the development and said her leave is a loophole aimed at avoiding her early exit from office.
The EFF has also rejected the appointment of the young Mbalula to the acting role, claiming he’s also corrupt and that this decision is merely to appease his older brother.
Letsoha-Mathae, along with her husband, Lawrence Mathae, were accused of accepting two cars from a well-known Free State businessman.
This comes after WhatsApp conversations claiming that the pair had taken bribes in the shape of a BMW 7 Series and a Mercedes-Benz V300d went viral.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
