Two of the ministers who resigned but who the ANC said were willing to serve in Cabinet again, indicated on Thursday they were in fact not available for re-appointment.

Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi and Public Works Minister Thoko Didiza have both resigned as members of Parliament.

This is contrary to a statement by ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe earlier this week that Didiza and Fraser-Moleketi were among seven ministers who resigned following Mbeki's departure, but who were still available for re-appointment.

Fourteen cabinet ministers resigned in total, but Mantashe said seven of them were willing to serve in Kgalema Motlanthe's Cabinet.

After the announcement of the 14 resignations, Mantashe told reporters he had done "a simple exercise" and phoned all those ministers who had resigned.

"We spoke to everyone on that list... Having done that, we can confirm that there's no crisis. Six of the ministers have confirmed they would not come back," he told reporters in Johannesburg.

But Fraser-Moleketi's spokeswoman Ramona Baijnath told Sapa: "That was misinformation. She's not available at all. They [the ANC] had it wrong."

Didiza's spokesman, Thami Mchunu, said she had resigned.
"The minister has resigned as a member of Parliament. She has resigned from the National Assembly as an MP effective from last night [Wednesday].

"If the minister is a not a member of the National Assembly, she cannot be a member of the executive. Do you get that?," he asked, declining to answer any other questions.

Fraser-Moleketi's office announced her resignation as MP in a statement.

"The former minister has expressed her availability to assist the incoming administration in the hand-over process and with any other assistance that might be sought from her," the statement read.

She thanked Thabo Mbeki for the opportunity to serve the country under him.

"I would like to express my unequivocal appreciation to the former president for his inspired leadership and the confidence that he placed in me by appointing me to various ministerial positions," she said.

Fraser-Moleketi congratulated Motlanthe, saying she had had a "long and productive working relationship spanning the course of her political career" with him.

She added that she would always remain a "committed member of the ANC".

Motlanthe was expected to name his new cabinet after being sworn in on Thursday.