Fikile Mbalula Denies Claims Ramaphosa Kicked Him Out Of Meeting
Fikile Mbalula, the Transport Minister, has dismissed allegations that he was kicked out of a cabinet meeting due to a lack of preparation.
This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa allegedly told him to leave a meeting on economic sectors, investment, employment, and infrastructure development last week, according to the Sunday Independent. According to the report he was ejected from a virtual meeting due to being unprepared and unaware of the situation for which he was briefed.
The Transportation Minister is a lightning rod for controversy. His cosy relationship with the Guptas and recent Twitter behaviour has drawn criticism, but his main critics are concerned about his job performance.
Mbalula dismissed the allegations during a Sanral media briefing on Monday, saying that nobody would be treated like that, and that cabinet is not run “like a spaza shop.”
“Such nonsense cannot happen in cabinet — not even in a spaza shop … cabinet does not operate that way.”
Mbalula said he would not address the matter publicly. “You are free to lie with your source because you know we are constrained by the law because we can’t talk about cabinet issues in public, we’re constrained.”
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Mondli Gungubele, Minister in the Presidency, previously dismissed the allegations, calling them unfounded and intended to mislead the public.
“Cabinet discussions are confidential. This has been a long-standing convention and these allegations are unfounded. Cabinet decisions are in a transparent manner shared with the public by the minister in the presidency. The allegations made by the Sunday Independent are unjustified and malicious,” said Gungubele.
