Deputy President Paul Mashatile is no longer in danger and recovering well at home. This was revealed by his acting spokesperson, Keith Khoza, in a statement last night. Though he is feeling better, Khoza said the Deputy President has requested a postponement of the session for an oral reply to questions that was scheduled for today with the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).

NO LONGER IN DANGER

Khoza said Mashatile has also been advised by his medical team to take a week off his official duties to rest and recover following his collapse in Limpopo over the weekend. "While the deputy President is no longer in any danger and is in high spirits, he is following the medical team's advice and has withdrawn from scheduled official duties for the current week," Khoza said. Mashatile had a health scare on Saturday while giving a speech at the N'wamitwa Day celebration at N'wamitwa village, outside Tzaneen, in Limpopo. He was giving his speech when he collapsed and had to be carried to his cars by his security detail. At the time, his office said he collapsed because of the heat in Tzaneen. Khoza denied that it might have been food poisoning that the deputy President suspected he suffered from a day before the event.

POSTPONED

Mashatile was due to brief the council on the 7th Administration's plans to improve the performance of municipalities and accelerate service delivery challenges in some municipalities. Khoza said NCOP chairperson Refilwe Tsipane has agreed to postpone the session. "The deputy President will work closely with the NCOP chairperson to find a suitable date for the rescheduling of the session as soon as possible," Khoza added. He said in the statement that another reason Mashatile requested the postponement of the briefing was because of the late ANC stalwart Pravin Gordhan's funeral today. "The Deputy President thought it prudent to allow members and former colleagues of the minister the opportunity to fully pay their respects and to show their support to the Gordhan family at this difficult time," said Khoza, adding that Mashatile is looking forward to having an opportunity to apprise Parliament of the Government of National Unity's efforts to improve municipal governance and service delivery.