President Cyril Ramaphosa has needed to make space to appoint a non-Cabinet member to his executive to become the minister of electricity - which is why his Cabinet reshuffle has been delayed.
By law, Ramaphosa is allowed to appoint two Cabinet ministers who are not MPs to his Cabinet, and, currently, Enoch Godongwana and Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel are occupying these positions.
News24 understands that the ANC national office reached out to the Eastern Cape provincial executive committee (PEC) to ask a Member of Parliament to step down, creating space for Godongwana to be sworn in as an MP.