Axed public service and administration minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi said the manner in which President Jacob Zuma changed his Cabinet was a wake-up call to all South Africans.
Hlengiwe Nhlabathi
Ngoako Ramatlhodi
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Axed public service and administration minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi said the manner in which President Jacob Zuma changed his Cabinet was a wake-up call to all South Africans.
Ramatlhodi was among those who publicly came out to say he had declined a social engagement with the Gupta family shortly after Zuma appointed him to his previous job as mineral resources minister, before being removed and replaced by one of Zuma’s allies, Mosebenzi Zwane.
This week, Ramatlhodi told City Press that he considered his removal with others a blessing in disguise because “at least the public now knows what we are dealing with”.
“I think it’s a moment that had to come at some point. It’s a lesson for this country and also a blessing at the same time, in many ways.
“You saw the spots of the leopard last night,” he said, referring to Thursday night when news broke that Zuma was making changes to the executive.
He leaves with a clear conscience and has appealed to South Africans to rise up and not despair as he will be among those that will stop at nothing to continue flying the flag and do good for the country.
“There is a generation of us who are fearless and care deeply about this country and not about ourselves. We are not self-preserving. We call ourselves guardians. We are guarding the future of our country.”
He was not worried about losing his Cabinet job and perks because he never wanted to serve in that Cabinet in the first place.
“I was fired before I could resign. I would have left anyway. We have to sometimes make hard choices”.
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