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Newly elected KwaZulu-Natal Premier Willies Mchunu. Picture: Siyanda Mayeza
Newly elected KwaZulu-Natal Premier Willies Mchunu has downplayed
rumours of a widespread cabinet shuffle, saying only changes necessary to the
smooth running of the province would be made.
Speaking to the media after being elected unopposed in the
provincial legislature in Pietermaritzburg yesterday, Mchunu said he would
continue with the government programmes initiated by his predecessor Senzo
Mchunu (unrelated).
Senzo Mchunu, who lost out in the ANC provincial leadership race
last November to the current chairperson Sihle Zikalala, was forced to resign by
the governing party on Monday after months of pressure from Zikalala’s
supporters that he quit.
“Obviously I am new in this office and still have to meet with
colleagues from the executive council, heads of departments, staff members in
the office of the premier and many other stakeholders, as part of the processes
to ensure that I hit the ground running,” Mchunu said.
“We will continue where Macingwane [the Mchunu clan name] left off,
and ensure we move towards realising the vision of a better life for all of the
people of this province,” Mchunu said.
Mchunu, the ANC deputy provincial chairperson, said he would not
take any decisions on reshuffling the cabinet to fill the transport and public
safety portfolios he currently holds. The ANC youth league in the province is
pushing for wholesale changes to the cabinet to remove supporters of Senzo
Mchunu who have been voted off the provincial executive committee.
He said it would be “very abnormal of me to come in and say there
is going to be a reshuffle”, said Mchunu in response to questions.
If there was no need to reshuffle, the status quo would
remain.
However, pressure from the youth league has not ceased. They want
six sitting MECs removed and replaced with leaders from the slate on which
Zikalala was elected.
The axing of Senzo Mchunu and the proposed reshuffle are not
sitting well with the ANC’s alliance partners, with the South African Communist
Party in the province yesterday calling the governing party’s assertion that
they had been consulted and approved of the move “dishonest”.
