PLAYING POLITICS

Cyril Ramaphosa may be looking to the long political game, but some questionable cabinet choices could trip him up

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s new cabinet is reminiscent of the government of national unity that presided over SA from the first democratic elections in 1994 until February 1997: a government made up of adversaries, forced to co-operate in the name of running the country.

Of course, the situations are not exactly the same.

The government of national unity was made up of different political parties, with ANC comrades working alongside members of the National Party (NP) and the Inkatha Freedom Party. Ramaphosa’s government springs from the factionalism that split the ANC in the lead-up to the party’s national conference in December — factionalism so severe it was akin to two different parties vying for control. His cabinet — in essence a reshuffle of former president Jacob Zuma’s administration — can thus be seen as a modern-day government of unity, albeit of ANC unity. Ramaphosa, after all, was the ANC’S chief negotiator in the talks that led SA to its first democratic elections.

Following his election as president of a divided ANC, Ramaphosa emphasised that unity of the party was paramount. He also swiftly returned to the tradition of consulting the ANC’S alliance partners before making his first cabinet reshuffle — a move to strengthen the alliance following the period in which it was at its weakest, with Zuma at the helm of the ANC.

It will be interesting to see if Ramaphosa’s adversaries, such as the thoroughly demoted Bathabile Dlamini, will stick around or whether she and others who aligned with Zuma will choose the route once taken by the NP, which opted out before the time was up.

Alternatively, Ramaphosa has left the door open for an ignoble exit for many in the current executive, having said the bloated cabinet has yet to be reconfigured. More ministers will be axed if ministries are combined or eliminated.

The highlights of Ramaphosa’s cabinet reshuffle on Monday were the return of Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister and Pravin Gordhan as public enterprises minister.

Gordhan has been a formidable force in parliament’s portfolio committee on public enterprises, doggedly grilling those who appeared in the Eskom inquiry about their role in allegations of state capture at the power utility.

With the appointment of Gordhan came the axing of Lynne Brown. And with Nene’s appointment as finance minister, Malusi Gigaba — Brown’s predecessor at public enterprises — was shifted from treasury to home affairs. Both ministers have been accused of peppering the boards of the country’s stateowned enterprises with Gupta associates.

During the parliamentary inquiry there were allegations that Brown had called former Eskom board chairman Zola Tsotsi to a meeting at her home at which Rajesh “Tony” Gupta and family associate Salim Essa were present. She was also accused of withholding information from parliament relating to contracts between Eskom and consulting company Trillian.

What it means: Retaining some dead wood in his cabinet could hamper Ramaphosa’s long-term political project