Reaction to President Jacob Zuma’s reshuffling of the Cabinet came from all quarters in South Africa‚ even the Automobile Association (AA).

“Thurday night’s Cabinet reshuffle has left more questions than answers for motorists‚ who‚ among other things‚ are today left wondering why former Minister of Transport Dipou Peters was replaced‚” the AA said.

The new transport minister is Joe Maswanganyi‚ who serves on the Parliamentary portfolio committee on transport.

The AA said the former minister was making progress‚ especially in relation the alarmingly high road death toll and replacing her‚ without explanation‚ raised a red flag.

“Mr Maswanganyi’s appointment is‚ regrettably‚ tainted by the fact it was made along with so many other new appointments‚ which have clearly been politically motivated‚” the AA noted.

Corruption Watch said the target of the reshuffle was the national treasury‚ which will not only affect the functions of the Treasury but also the state’s financial institutions — namely South African Revenue Services‚ the Reserve Bank and the key financial and banking regulatory institutions.

The last hope for the South African democracy rests with South Africans and their parliamentary representatives‚ the organisation said in a statement on Friday.

It said the ruling party has been captured by a narrow clique around the president and his corrupt business cronies.

“We call on the South African public to make their dissatisfaction known on the streets‚ in the branches of their political parties and at the ballot box.

The reshuffle had been “a slap in the face” for Parliament‚ which had recently called for the removal of Faith Muthambi‚ yet Zuma had chosen instead to promote her to head public service. Parliament had also expressed its acute dissatisfaction with Bathabile Dlamini‚ yet the president retained her.

Corruption Watch said it backed a motion of no-confidence in the president; “the public can then see who stands with the rogue president and who supports the South African democracy”.

ANC stalwarts and veterans‚ signatories to the document‚ “For the Sake of our Future”‚ said the firing of Gordhan and Jonas was not about “so-called white monopoly capital” because the decline in the rand affects the value of every worker’s pension and can only harm the most vulnerable South Africans.

“The scope and scale of the reshuffle in the executive could be seen as a factional move to undermine attempts to honestly confront the crisis the country and our movement faces. Given the way the decision was apparently taken and the lack of consultation also shows a marginalisation of the ANC by the president.”

The elders said ministers must be appointed on merit and not self-interest and incompetence should not be tolerated. “There are serious question marks over the criteria used for this reshuffle.”

 The University of Cape Town added its voice to dissatisfaction with Zuma’s move‚ calling for him to restore transparency and accountability to the office of the president and to abide by the Constitution.

“The president’s actions are simply the most recent in a string of activities that demonstrate contempt for the South Africans he is sworn to serve‚” it said in a statement on Friday.

The university said its chair of council‚ Sipho Pityana‚ had warned of this crisis when he told the Cape Town Press Club on February 2: “Corruption‚ under Zuma’s hand‚ has its hand at the throat of government service delivery. It is getting tighter as the grip of state capture rips the soul out of state-owned companies‚ encourages gross financial mismanagement‚ and promotes unfettered looting.”