Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe yesterday refused to get involved in the growing controversy around the possible role of his wife, mining magnate Bridgette Radebe, in the removal of Ngoako Ramatlhodi as minister of mineral resources. Ramatlhodi was unexpectedly ousted from his key portfolio by President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday night and instead given the task of grinding out civil service salary agreements with unions as minister of public service and administration.He was replaced as mineral resources minister by Mosebenzi Zwane, a former Free State agriculture MEC who only became an MP 25 days ago.Zwane has no experience of mining but is associated with the powerful Gupta family, whose influence on Zuma has been criticised by several ANC insiders. The Guptas own mining interests in South Africa.mini_story_image_hleft1Zwane is also a close associate of Free State premier Ace Magashule, a prime mover and shaker in ANC power politics.At a post-cabinet-meeting media briefing yesterday, Radebe was asked if Ramatlhodi's move to a new portfolio had anything to do with his poor relationship with Radebe's wife."The appointment of the cabinet is the prerogative of the president. I have no opinion on that," said Radebe.Besides being married to the minister in the presidency, Bridgette Radebe is also the sister of mining magnate Patrice Motsepe and the sister-in-law of Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.Since the cabinet reshuffle, speculation has been rife that her well-documented dislike of Ramatlhodi was what cost him his position.Bridgette welcomed the removal of Ramatlhodi in a radio interview this week, having criticised him heavily in public for months, implying that his interests in Anglo American as a shareholder made him unsuitable to be the minister in charge of mineral resources.The cabinet meeting this week addressed the issue of the annual national assessments carried out in schools by the Department of Basic Education, Radebe said.Minister Angie Motshekga has postponed the tests to December after teacher unions threatened a boycott."Cabinet noted recent developments around [the assessments] and urges all parties to work towards a solution that prioritises and protects the rights of the learners," a cabinet statement released yesterday read.Radebe urged all parties to put education and the interests of pupils first, and to resolve the impasse."The [assessment] programme must go ahead. It was agreed to in principle by all interested parties when it was launched," Radebe said.Motshekga has invited teacher unions and school governing body associations to an urgent meeting on Friday in a bid to resolve the conflict.story_article_right1Teacher unions have decided to order their members to refuse to administer the tests. This came days after Motshekga's surprise announcement that they would go ahead from December 1-4, despite her having earlier agreed they would be postponed.Nearly nine million pupils from grades 1 to 9 are scheduled to write them.Motshekga said the meeting this week would be an opportunity "to reflect on the administration of the assessment programme and to come up with resolutions".Basil Manuel, president of the National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa, said the union looked forward to engaging with the minister on the issue. "We will look at the value of this meeting given its broad-based nature."Motshekga also invited the nine provincial education MECs, provincial heads of department, the South African Principals' Association and pupil organisations to attend the meeting.The unions said in a statement that the tests, in their current form, "are not in the best interest of our learners or for the provision of quality education".The tests, which were introduced in 2011, are designed to assess pupils' literacy and numeracy...