Dear Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development,
When Limpopo premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba took office she said the appointment of MECs will be done soberly and potential candidates will go through a strict vetting process and in her own words "the candidates will go through the eye of the needle"
Exactly how big is Ramathuba's proverbial needle's eye because some of the MECs bring along a heavy baggage. Take the Finance MEC for instance, the man was fired by the Dept of International Relations and cooperation (Dirco) in 2021 where he served as Director General for the misuse of R118million for a building that was ever aquired in New York. And this man managed to go through Ramathuba's eye of the needle? Something doesn't add up here, Ramathuba is starting on a very wrong footing and we are not going to keep quiet about it.
Just two weeks ago he lost the appeal on the case yet he accepted the appointment to such a huge role, why didn't he disclose that he has just lost a big case like that, or did he forget? Was he appointed deliberately despite his scandals because he belongs to the "right" faction or simply because there's nothing anyone can do about it? How do you appoint someone with such bad track record to lead the finance department? Was Ramathuba sober when he made this appointment or was she forced to do it?