nowhere to be found and the event had to be postponed.
When they were eventually sworn in on a later date, Marshoff warned
them that ‘they would not have the luxury of settling into their posts’,
but would instead have to get to work immediately.^2
As agriculture MEC, Magashule showed a willingness to directly
involve himself in matters affecting the industry. As an example, when
an emerging black farmer near Heilbron decided to sell his farm and
equipment because of a lack of support and mentorship, the MEC
intervened by personally phoning the auctioneer to put a stop to the
auction and telling the farmer that he was not allowed to sell the land
because the transaction would have worked against government’s land-
reform objectives. Magashule’s department then promised the farmer
funding of more than R 300 000 to convert the farm into a dairy and
cattle venture.^3
Other emerging farmers were not as lucky. Shortly after Magashule’s
appointment, his department froze a development programme that had
been funded by the European Union. Magashule maintained that the
programme showed signs of irregular expenditure, but the Democratic
Alliance (DA) accused him of leading its beneficiaries to financial
ruin.^4 The DA in the province later stated that Magashule had ‘totally
failed’ in his role as MEC for agriculture.^5
Less than a year into his tenure, in April 2005 , Marshoff dropped
Magashule when she reshuffled her executive council. Another victim
of the reshuffle was economic affairs MEC Benny Malakoane. Both
men were shifted to the provincial legislature.^6
Marshoff was rather cryptic about her reasons for axing the duo,
saying at the time that the reshuffle was meant to improve service
delivery in the province. She told the Mail & Guardian that the axed
nora
(Nora)
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