The Democratic Alliance said that the cabinet reshuffle announced on Tuesday by President Jacob Zuma was the beginning of the purge of his critics in his cabinet.
The biggest casualty was the SA Communist Party's Blade Nzimande, who was axed as Minister of Higher Education and Training.
Nzimande and the SACP have been vocal critics of state capture and the Guptas and have called on President Zuma to resign.
DA leader, Mmusi Maimane, said that this is the latest move in Zuma's war against anyone who opposes his project of State Capture.
“The SACP has been dealt an insulting blow, and they must now decide how long they will put up with this abuse, or if they will now do what they know is right, and begin to work outside the ANC,” Maimane said.
“Blade’s axing has also provided the pretext for yet another reshuffling of Zuma sycophants, none more pliant than new Minister of Energy, David Mahlobo. This smacks of an attempt to reignite the ANC’s efforts to chain our country to a multibillion rand nuclear deal with the Russians,” he said.
Meanwhile, the SA Federation of Trade Unions, Saftu, said that the latest Cabinet reshuffle was a self-serving bid to consolidate power with a view to the ruling party’s elective conference, with no consideration for the good of the country.
“It is about Jacob Zuma first and the country last. It is not about advancing any revolutionary agenda. It also has nothing to do with advancing the republic,” said Zwelinzima Vavi, Saftu general secretary.
“It is about consolidating power in Cabinet, It is also about consolidating power in time ahead of (the ANC conference in) December 2017 and the elections in 2019.” he added.
Vavi said shifting loyalist David Mahlobo from the state security to energy portfolio was a blatant attempt to push through contested plans to build new nuclear power reactors.
He said he doubted the firing of South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande as higher education minister would prompt the SACP to walk away from the tripartite alliance. The time for the junior partner in the alliance to do so was the firing of Pravin Gordhan as finance minister in May, and it had chosen not to do so.
“He knows they like the perks and they are unlikely to walk in solidarity,” he said.
Vavi added: “Zuma is very smart as footwork.” The president had named National Secretary of the Young Communist League of South Africa, Buti Manamela, as deputy minister of higher education in a divisive move meant to make the SACP think he was not acting against it as a whole, he said.
