New Energy Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has moved swiftly to bring her personal touch to the office and has placed its administration firmly in the hands of a former State Security Agency (SSA) official.

Described as “nothing but a purge”, two former employees claimed Kubayi has terminated the services of “everyone from the driver all the way to senior officials”.

“The new minister arrived with her chief of staff and private secretary. This is often the case when ministers are transferred from one ministry to another, but this minister was appointed straight out of Parliament,” a former employee said.

Kubayi, a former MP, was one of several new additions to the Cabinet following President Jacob Zuma’s controversial axing of Pravin Gordhan as finance minister on March 31.