4 Of The Worst Ministers We Definitely Won't Miss

The list of allegations have stacked up against these ministers, who just got the boot under Ramaphosa's administration.
President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses MPs after being elected president in Parliament. February 15, 2018.
President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses MPs after being elected president in Parliament. February 15, 2018.
Mike Hutchings / Reuters

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday threw out a few rotten eggs from his Cabinet basket.

Some of the ministers who got the chop have dark clouds hanging over their tenure, with allegations of tender fraud, rampant corruption, dodgy dealings and state capture blackening their names.

These are four of the worst ministers from Jacob Zuma's Cabinet that South Africa probably will not miss:

1. Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown

Brown oversaw, and at points denied, rampant corruption and maladministration at state-owned enterprises including Eskom, Transnet and Denel. She was responsible for some of the key figures at the parastatals' executive levels who are alleged to be involved in state capture.

In a report by public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, her office found that Brown inadvertently or deliberately made a misleading statement to the National Assembly regarding payments from Eskom to Gupta-linked company Trillian.

Mkhwebane found Brown had acted in breach of the executive ethics code and the Constitution, further recommending that Ramaphosa take "appropriate action" against the minister.

Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown.
Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown.
Sowetan via Getty Images

2. Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane

Zwane has been fingered for his facilitation in the awarding of the Estina dairy farm project in Free State to the controversial Gupta family. The portfolio committee on mineral resources has resolved to institute a full-scale inquiry into allegations of state capture leveled against him.

South African Minister of Mineral Resources Mosebenzi Zwane delivers a speech during the 2018 Investing in African Mining Indaba at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, on February 5, 2018, in Cape Town. The Mining Indaba is the worlds largest mining event in Africa. / AFP PHOTO / RODGER BOSCH (Photo credit should read RODGER BOSCH/AFP/Getty Images)
South African Minister of Mineral Resources Mosebenzi Zwane delivers a speech during the 2018 Investing in African Mining Indaba at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, on February 5, 2018, in Cape Town. The Mining Indaba is the worlds largest mining event in Africa. / AFP PHOTO / RODGER BOSCH (Photo credit should read RODGER BOSCH/AFP/Getty Images)
RODGER BOSCH via Getty Images

3. Energy Minister David Mahlobo

Mahlobo's appointment in the energy portfolio was widely seen as a move by Zuma to put a seal on the controversial nuclear deal.

It was alleged that just before his surprise Cabinet reshuffle, a high-level delegation acting for Russian president Vladimir Putin met with Zuma to instruct him to conclude the nuclear deal with the Russians. Mahlobo and a presidential aide reportedly met with the Russians on Monday, a day before the Cabinet reshuffle.

Under his leadership at the State Security Agency, state information was allegedly leaked to the Gupta family.

Days before Mahlobo announced an inquiry into claims that former public protector Thuli Madonsela was a CIA spy, Atul Gupta allegedly knew what was coming. The Gupta Leaks showed that Gupta had been sent an e-mail containing a link to the blog that Mahlobo cited in support of his allegation.

Minister of Energy David Mahlobo.
Minister of Energy David Mahlobo.
AFP/Getty Images

4. Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Des van Rooyen

Commonly known as the "weekend special" for his four-day-long appointment as finance boss in 2015, Van Rooyen came under fire after he admitted to meeting the Guptas to enlist their help for the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA).

Mkhwebane found that Van Rooyen deliberately misled Parliament when he answered a question about his meetings with the Guptas. He later admitted that he met with the Guptas in his capacity as the MKMVA treasurer-general.

David Douglas Des van Rooyen.
David Douglas Des van Rooyen.
AFP/Getty Images
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