Former human settlements minister Tokyo Sexwale was locked in a meeting with his top management team in his office shortly before noon on Tuesday when his phone rang.
It’s not clear who was on the other side of the phone, according sources.
Sexwale rushed out to answer it. He took his time before returning to the office to resume the discussions.
Eventually, the businessman and former Gauteng premier returned to the room to share the bad news: He was about to be fired.
A well-placed source said: “He was in a top management meeting in his office. It’s clear it was people from the Presidency who called him. It’s sad.
“I sympathise with him for that. To be called and be told it’s over while you are dealing with issues you care so much about is not a good feeling.”
Departmental sources said Sexwale eventually went back to the meeting and informed his staff that he was about to be a former minister.
“It seems he won’t even go back to Parliament to be a backbencher,” an insider added.
Sexwale’s spokesman Xolani Xundu could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. He failed to respond to repeated calls and an SMS.
Sexwale "respected" President Jacob Zuma's decision, The New Age newspaper reported on Wednesday.
"I respect whatever decisions are made by the president," said Sexwale.
"Whatever they are, we respect it."
A few hours later, President Jacob Zuma sealed the fate of Sexwale and two other ministers – former communications minister Dina Pule and former co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister Richard Baloyi.
It was Zuma’s fourth cabinet reshuffle since 2009.
“Ladies and gentlemen, 20 years of democracy have changed the face of our country, and the last five years have pushed that change forward.
“To take that change forward, to take it further, I have decided to make some changes to the national executive,” he said.
Zuma did not mention Baloyi, Pule and Sexwale by name. While the previous reshuffles were prompted by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s adverse reports against former public works minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde and former national police commissioner Bheki Cele – indicating that Zuma was perhaps responding to the concerns of the public – on Tuesday’s move seems to have been motivated by various developments in and outside the government.
Pule has a cloud over her head over allegations that she misused public funds and allowed her boyfriend to hijack her department, while Baloyi is perceived to have largely failed to take the crucial service delivery department forward.
Sexwale, on the other hand, appears to have paid the price for challenging Zuma openly ahead of the ANC’s Mangaung conference last December and his subsequent failure to try to mend relations after the fallout.
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