ActionSA's parliamentary leader, Athol Trollip, has criticized President Cyril Ramaphosa's decision to move Thembi Simelane from Justice Minister to Human Settlements Minister in the recent cabinet reshuffle. Simelane has been implicated in the VBS scandal, and Trollip believes that Ramaphosa should have either fired her or placed her on special leave, rather than transferring her to a different department.
Trollip argued that the fact that President Ramaphosa himself is entangled in the Phala Phala scandal makes him less likely to take strong action against corrupt officials within his own government. He called the move to transfer Simelane a "cowardly" one, suggesting that Ramaphosa's leadership is compromised and lacks the strength to deal decisively with corruption.
