New health minister: Motsoaledi

The newly elected president Jacob Zuma made sweeping changes to Cabinet on Sunday as he unveiled a team of 34 ministers.

One of the surprises in the new cabinet was when Zuma named Aaron Motsoaledi health minister and moved Barbara Hogan to the key ministry of public enterprises after just six months at health, during which she was widely praised for taking into hand a shambolic portfolio.

The new Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, has a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Natal. He is a former acting premier in the Limpopo province and was previously also an education MEC in the same province. His deputy Molefi Sefularo was health MEC in the North West province and appointed Deputy Health Minister by Motlanthe last year.

The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) announced their surprise at the appointments and said: "One would have expected Barbara Hogan to have been reappointed as Minister of Health in view of the widespread acclaim she has received in this position. The relatively unknown Dr Aaron Motsoaledi who has been appointed in her place leaves unsure whether his appointment will bring the necessary service delivery in this important ministry."

They added that it was hoped that Hogan's reassignment to public enterprises would bring a fresh approach to this ministry in view of the huge challenges facing parastatals such as SA Airways, the SABC and others and the billions of rands of state funds being spent on parastatals. – (Sapa, May 2009)