If Bathabile Dlamini was on fire and I needed a toilet break, I’d hold it in.

Ok, that’s quite hectic, but she epitomises everything that is wrong with the modern-day ANC. Zero desire to serve the people, zero accountability, and many ill-gotten zeros in her bank account.

When President Cyril Ramaphosa announced yesterday that he was partaking in a little ‘Cabinet Reshuffle’ (a word fraught with danger in this country), many South Africans thought that finally, finally, Dlamini’s goose was cooked.

Sadly, that was not the case, as the Citizen reports:

In a mini Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, Ramaphosa announced Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams as minister of telecommunications and moved Siyabonga Cwele to home affairs, while Nomvula Mokonyane was appointed as minister of environmental affairs.

Cwele’s former telecommunications and Mokonyane’s former communications departments were merged under Ndabeni-Abrahams.

The president shocked almost everyone when he failed to remove Dlamini, who was highly anticipated to be axed.

Why was she expected to be axed? Well, the current Minister of Women was so bad at her previous job as Social Development minister that the courts found her guilty of perjury, for one.

So, how exactly did she avoid the axe?

President Cyril Ramaphosa could not remove Minister for Women in the Presidency Bathabile Dlamini because he still fears infuriating the strong hand of Jacob Zuma, KwaZulu-Natal and the entire Zuma camp, an expert has said.

Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said there was no substantial reason for Ramaphosa to keep Dlamini in his Cabinet, except that he was “worried because the balance of forces were still heavily against him in the ANC”.

He said Ramaphosa’s reason for opposing the DA’s high court application to have Dlamini axed made no sense because he should have dismissed her himself if he was to still defend the principle of his presidential prerogative to appoint and fire ministers.

Dlamini is also president of the ANC Women’s League (which tells you everything you need to know about that organisation), an important constituency in the ANC, and one that Ramaphosa doesn’t want to anger.

According to the Daily Maverick, he has managed to anger Cosatu:

“People like Mama Bathabile Dlamini and Mama Nomvula Mokonyane should be among those who are released from government, when considering their questionable actions in their previous positions,” said the labour federation.

“We reminded the president that these compromised characters will continue to remain an albatross around his neck as long as they continue to serve under his leadership and will haunt his executive until he acts.”

We all want a new dawn, as was promised amidst much fanfare, but as long as the rot remains within the ANC, and within powerful government structures, it remains a dawn deferred.

As is to be expected, MPs were less than impressed:

Sadly, that nice bottle of bubbly that will be popped when Bathabile is shown the exit remains on ice.

[sources:citizen&dailymaverick]