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Panyaza Lesufi has made a return as the MEC for Education and Youth Development in an overnight provincial executive reshuffle made by Premier David Makhura.
The reshuffle came after Lesufi was initially appointed to the Finance and e-Government portfolio on Wednesday.
At the swearing in of his new Cabinet on Thursday, Makhura indicated that he was giving serious consideration to requests made by South Africans to have Lesufi return to the education portfolio.
During the swearing in ceremony Makhura justified the decision to move Lesufi saying: “He’s the kind of a man I need to fight corruption. Clean governance is the key mandate of that portfolio.”
However, in a sudden turn of events, Makhura, on Friday, redeployed Lesufi to education.
“While there is an appreciation of the appointment of MEC Panyaza Lesufi to the finance and e-government portfolio, the overall non-partisan feedback from society, the education sector and the movement in general is that it will serve Gauteng better that he remains in the education portfolio to continue the good work of ensuring that our province is the leader and pioneer of educational transformation,” Makhura said.
This comes after a number of South Africans took to social media to address their disappointment and shock at the premier’s decision to move Lesufi to the finance and e-government portfolio.
Lesufi, who served as the education MEC for five years, made strides in the province’s education system. His achievements included the introduction of the Paperless Classroom Project in 2015 and a partnership with German car maker BMW.
According to Makhura, the position of finance and e-government MEC will now be headed by MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, who had previously been chosen to run the education portfolio.
Social media again went ablaze on Friday following Makhura’s decision to return Lesufi to his previous portfolio with many applauding his action.
Attempts to reach Lesufi yielded no results.
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