By: Abigail Visagie
ANC factional battles have seemingly begun to play themselves out openly in government corridors with Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (SACR) MEC Ntombizanele Sifuba allegedly pulling the rug out from under the feet of departmental head, Steve Tshabalala, unexpectedly this week.
A leaked official letter from Sifuba’s office has been making the rounds on social media platforms this week, announcing to all SACR management staff that all delegation duties about the head of department (HOD) had been withdrawn with immediate effect in terms of Regulations 25 and 26 of the Public Service Act of 1994 - including all amendments.
The letter further indicated that all authoritative powers formerly held by Tshabalala’s office have been officially moved over to Sifuba’s office.
“All matters requiring executive attention or decisions formerly handled by the HOD must henceforth be directed to the Executive Authority until further notice,” reads part of the letter.
When Journal News reached out to SACR for comment, department spokesperson Tankiso Zola refused to shed more light on the matter, citing that it was an internal departmental issue.
"The subject matter of your enquiry is an internal departmental matter which, in tandem with employer-employee relations, the Executive Authority of the department cannot offer public commentary about," he said.
Although it is not clear whether Tshabalala has been entirely removed from his role or merely suspended until further notice, Sifuba’s actions have been interpreted as a power move attempt to weaken another faction within the Free State ANC, which Tshabalala belongs to.
Both Sifuba and Tshabalala are believed to belong two opposing internal ANC factions respectively, as members of the ANC provincial executive committee (PEC). These latest developments in the SACR corridors have therefore set the battleground for this unfolding power tussle.
Rife speculations suggest that Sifuba belongs to the ‘Kaizer Sebothelo faction’ - which is currently led by ANC Free State chairperson Mxolisi Dukwana - while Tshabalala is believed to be aligned to the ‘OR Tambo faction’, spearheaded by Free State Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae.
The two factions are believed to be discreetly wrestling for power, with Sifuba’s recent move openly drawing the line in the sand. This political tiff is expected to further intensify with the OR Tambo cohort expected to counter this move in due course.
According to internal sources within the ANC PEC, Tshabalala has faced criticism in the past over alleged misuse of public funds - prompting Sifuba to act.
The source tells Journal News that former SACR MEC Limakatso Mahasa had reprimanded Tshabalala, pointing to the leaked recordings where Mahasa questioned Tshabalala about the R8 million spent on the Premier's Soccer Tournament and another R3 million that was spent on a failed Freedom Day celebrations in Thaba Nchu, where no one from the public showed up.
There are further allegations of Tshabalala channelling departmental funds towards the annual ANC January 8 celebrations, which were held in QwaQwa.
With the Mangaung Cultural Festival (Macufe) looming, further speculations suggest that Sifuba’s withdrawal of Tshabalala’s powers is aimed at safeguarding the festival’s funds against any potential misappropriation.
Meanwhile, ANC provincial secretary Polediso Motsoeneng claimed to not be aware of the tensions between Sifuba and Tshabalala.
Journal News managed to reach Tshabalala when contacted for comment, and he requested to meet for an interview this coming week. This is a developing story.
