(Sapa) - Western Cape Premier Helen Zille will fail to run her "Bantustan" effectively, because she is preoccupied with other matters, newly-appointed Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande said on Wednesday.

"I'm worried if Helen Zille is still together upstairs," said Nzimande, who is also the general secretary of the South African Communist Party.

He told a mini congress of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), that Zille was running a "Bantustan of special order" in the Western Cape.

He said the Democratic Alliance leader was incapable of explaining why she had appointed an all-male cabinet.

"She says, 'No, I'm a woman and the City of Cape Town has been led by a woman, and the province is being led by a woman.'

"So, she is counting herself three times now," Nzimande said to laughter from the audience.

He said Zille argued that "as the DA, we care about women, because the mother of my children is a woman".

Nzimande was reacting to an outburst of criticism against Zille, not only for her men-only cabinet, but also for comments she made about President Jacob Zuma.

Zille has said, among other things, that Zuma put his wives at risk of Aids if he had unprotected sex with them.

"The SACP strongly condemns the behaviour of Helen Zille. It is completely unacceptable," said Nzimande.

He said she was trying to spoil the "good mood" in the country since the African National Congress won the general elections last month.

"This dear lady is not going to be preoccupied with running the province.

"She is going to be preoccupied about the ANC and Zuma."

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