ONLY ZUMA CAN FIRE DLAMINI – RAMAPHOSA

DEPUTY President Cyril Ramaphosa has distanced himself from calls for embattled Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini to be axed.

Ramaphosa told MPs yesterday that only President Jacob Zuma was in a position to evaluate the performance of ministers and make a determination on whether they remained in their jobs.

He was responding to a range of questions in the National Assembly, including questions about the social grants crisis facing Dlamini. He pleaded with MPs to allow Dlamini and the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) space to manage the crisis that could see 17 million grants beneficiaries not being paid at the end of the month.

Ramaphosa said the entire social grants debacle was being dealt with by the Constitutional Court.

“Members of the executive are evaluated by the president, who appoints them. The president evaluates the deputy president and members of the executive on an ongoing basis. In his hand rests the power to appoint and do otherwise. It really belongs to realm of presidential prerogative and it’s the president only who can do so.”

He was responding to a question from DA leader Mmusi Maimane, who initially wanted to know what Ramaphosa – in his capacity as leader of government affairs in parliament – had done since his appointment in May 2014, to ensure that Dlamini appeared before committees of the national legislature when required.

Dlamini was under fire last week for snubbing a meeting of the standing committee on public accounts to discuss the social grants fiasco, which she only attended on Tuesday.

“There is a point as South Africans to stand on the side of the poor. Would you support the call to say Minister Dlamini should in fact resign for this crisis over social grants?” asked Maimane.

UDM leader Bantu Holomisa also weighed in, asking Ramaphosa if Dlamini was fit to remain in office, given her “undermining the National Assembly” and bringing the “executive and country into disrepute”.

“Would you advise the president to consider evaluating [her] fitness to hold office? The same woman who said when we asked about deductions [of social grants], said she was investigating yet it’s part of the agreement with CPS. When are you evaluating her?” he asked.

Ramaphosa said in terms of constitution, members of the cabinet are accountable collectively and individually to parliament on how they performed their functions.

“The National Assembly and parliament have much more overriding powers than the leader of government business because here we’re talking about what the constitution sets out.”