Cape Town — Former tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu has said that she “was not really bothered about” being booted from the Cabinet.
Announcing the shakeup of the national executive on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa replaced Sisulu with Patricia De Lille, who was moved from the public works and infrastructure portfolio.
According to City Press, Sisulu was among those who had been expected to be axed from Cabinet, as she had been a vocal critic of Ramaphosa’s administration and leadership.
“Sisulu’s political ambitions, her hardline stance against Ramaphosa’s presidency and her open disapproval of his leadership was viewed as a possible trigger for her removal from his Cabinet,” the report said.
Speaking to The Citizen, Sisulu’s advisor Mphumzi Mdekazi said that she remains determined to hold on to the ideals she had been brought up with.
“Cde Lindi was not really bothered about this, as she has been through real hell in the history of this country, particularly in her upbringing from apartheid and those who continue to connive and propel colonialist system even today.
“She received a firm foundation from her parents not to trade with the truth for proximity to power, this includes trading with the truth for a Cabinet position to the detriment of the ideals of the ANC,” Mdekazi said.
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He said that Sisulu’s disagreements with those in power was about retaining the principles and values of the ANC, and that she opted to put people first and combat corruption.
Speaking to eNCA, CEO of The Capital Hotels and Apartments Marc Wachsberger said that Sisulu “didn’t do enough for the industry”.
“We were waiting and looking forward to this reshuffle quite frankly because for us, it’s all about back to the basics. Just do the basics; stop with what we say ‘scoring own goals’,” Wachsberger said.
“Get e-visas done, get safety and security in order in this country to the extent that it affects tourists. That’s what we need. This country will perform by itself.
“We have the best assets, we have a really weak currency; we’ll do well internationally if our tourism minister can do the basics and that’s what we’re looking forward to.”
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Picture: Twitter/ @LindiweSisuluSA
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Compiled by Junaid Benjamin
