South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took his first step toward revamping his cabinet after 8 May elections, removing Environment Minister Nomvula Mokonyane, who\u2019d been accused of taking bribes during a judicial probe.<\/p>\n
Ramaphosa has made the fight against graft a top priority since taking office 15 months ago, replacing Jacob Zuma, whose nine-year tenure was marred by a litany of scandals.<\/p>\n
While he removed several Zuma appointees with tainted reputations from their cabinet posts, others remained as he sought to cement his control over the deeply divided ruling African National Congress – a problem he\u2019s partly addressed by securing a five-year mandate from voters.<\/p>\n
Mokonyane will take a senior position in parliament, ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule told reporters in Cape Town on Monday after a meeting of the party\u2019s decision-making National Executive Committee. Mokonyane has denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
The ANC has also decided to appoint Thandi Modise as speaker of Parliament in place of Baleka Mbete and Pemmy Majodina as its chief whip, in place of Jackson Mthembu.<\/p>\n
Mbete and Mthembu are both senior ANC members who backed Ramaphosa\u2019s campaign to win control of the party in 2017, and could be in line for ministerial posts.<\/p>\n
Ramaphosa is due to be sworn in on 25 May and name his cabinet a day or two later. He\u2019s indicated he will trim his executive, which currently has 34 ministers and 35 deputies, to save costs.<\/p>\n