Will Mpumalanga see the long-awaited cabinet shuffle to make space for the newly elected ANC chairperson in the province?

This is the question on everyone’s lips after Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, the Mpumalanga premier, called for a special media briefing yesterday afternoon, to be held today.

Mandla Ndlovu was elected chairperson at the party’s elective conference in April. Rumours have been doing the rounds since the party’s top management held their first provincial executive committee (PEC) meeting under the chairmanship two weeks ago.

Last weekend the PEC announced that Ndlovu, a qualified teacher, would be deployed to the legislature. Two days later he was sworn in as the ANC’s newest member of the legislature.

Ndlovu replaced Muzi Chirwa as MPL, who was elected as the provincial secretary for the party during the conference.

The PEC announcement further fuelled rumours that Ndlovu might even be replacing Mtshweni-Tsipane as premier.

Shortly after his election as chairperson, Ndlovu told the media he is not in favour of replacing the premier and suggested that she would be kept in her position until the end of her current term of office.

Regarding a questionyesterday from Lowvelder to Sibusiso Themba, the ANC spokesperson for the province, he said he had also just received an invitation to the press conference.

“I will see tomorrow,” he said.

Ngelosi Ndlovu, the spokesperson for the PEC of the ANC, did not want to comment and referred questions to Sbongile Mkani-Mpolweni, the spokesperson for the premier. Mkani-Mpolweni said, “The premier will announce tomorrow.”

A senior member of the party, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Lowvelder earlier a possible cabinet shuffle and even the appointment of a new premier have been behind-the-scenes talking points since the elective conference.

“I have no clue, except that the premier wants to strengthen the cabinet. Perhaps she will point out the areas of weakness and indicate who to chop and who not,” a source close to the premier, who prefers to be anonymous, said last night.

Jane Sithole, the leader of the DA in Mpumalanga, says the sooner Mtshweni-Tsipane gets replaced, the better for the province.

“I don’t know MP Ndlovu at all, but the DA would support him as anybody would be a better premier than Mtshweni-Tsipane. She has proved so far that she has no leadership skills and has introduced no new development projects into the province since her appointment.

“What Mabuza did by pushing her to replace him at the time, is actually just forcing her to throw the provincial government departments under the bus.”

She also says a cabinet shuffle would be welcomed.

“There are only four MECs who are currently doing their best. They are Mohita Latchminarain of public works, Vusi Shongwe of safety and security, Prince Mkhatshwa of finance and economic development and Amos Majuba of education.”