Godongwana sworn in as MP, cabinet reshuffle looms

Godongwana was amongst two Ministers selected from outside the Assembly in terms of the Constitution by the President - alongside Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel.

The Constitution allows the President to appoint two people to his cabinet who are not members of parliament.

Godongwana will be replacing Mike Basopu who has been an ANC MP since 2021.

Basopu served as a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence, the Portfolio Committee on Communications and the Digital Technologies and Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans.

The new developments come while the President is expected to make changes to his cabinet to align the leadership of the country with those elected at the ANC’s National Elective Conference held in December 2022.

The reshuffle could see a host of senior ministers leaving the executive after they failed to secure a seat on the ANC’s 80-member National Executive Committee (NEC) during the Conference.  

They include Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor and Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa.  

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula will also have to be replaced following his election as ANC Secretary General which bases him full-time at Luthuli House.

Godongwana is the latest ANC member to be sworn in as an MP after ANC second Deputy Secretary-General Maropene Ramokgopa, former Gauteng MEC for Economic Development Parks Tau and former KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikhalala were also sworn in as MPs.

Their deployment to parliament came after Tshilidzi Munyai and Mervyn Dirks resigned as members of the National Assembly.

ANC Deputy President Paul Mashatile has also already been sworn in as an MP, set to take over from David Mabuza as Deputy President of the country.