Cleaning out the Cabinet
President Ramaphosa under pressure to drop ministers implicated in corruption
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa is under pressure to drop ministers implicated in wrongdoing when he assembles is new trimmed-down Cabinet.
Yesterday, the ruling party’s alliance partner Cosatu and the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation were among organisations that called on Ramaphosa to drop rogue ministers, some of whom were also outed by the ruling party’s integrity committee.
This comes after it emerged that groupings in the ANC were embroiled in the debate over the deputy presidency, with indications that Deputy President David Mabuza was no longer guaranteed his position.
Former AU Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and International Relations Minister Lindiwe Sisulu are touted to be the new second-in-command.
The president is expected to announce his Cabinet after his inauguration on May 25.
Today, the ANC national executive committee is meeting to discuss who will be the premiers of the eight provinces the party controls.
Addressing the party’s “thank you” rally outside the organisation’s headquarters in Johannesburg, Ramaphosa indicated his intention to remove tainted ministers once he was officially inaugurated as head of state.
Ramaphosa said South Africans had, through the elections, sent a clear message that they wanted an ANC that was responsive, humble and competent and not corrupt or arrogant.
“Through this election, our people were saying they want an ANC that is going to run government properly. With this election, they were saying state capture must be history.
“We must never ever go back to state capture. The things we hear about at the Zondo Commission must be things of the past,” Ramaphosa said.
“Once the appointment of the Cabinet is done, you will see the ANC. It is going to grow… That will mean the ANC has begun working.
“We are going to appoint men and women who would have dedicated themselves, without fail, to work for the interest of our people. We are going to appoint men and women who are capable and who have great capability, who are visionaries and forward-looking. Men and women who know their story.”
Cosatu expected to be consulted by Ramaphosa before announcing his Cabinet. Spokesperson Sizwe Pamla told Independent Media that the federation’s last central executive committee (CEC) meeting at the end of February was clear about the requirement for meaningful consultation.
Pamla said Cosatu had warned its ally against being legalistic about its senior leaders implicated in wrongdoing, corruption and state capture by saying they had not been found guilty by courts of law. “If you say you are a leader of society, you can’t be legalistic about these matters. You must consider ethics and morality,” he said.
Several senior ANC leaders have been implicated in corruption and in evidence before the commission of inquiry into state capture, including national executive committee members Nomvula Mokonyane, Nathi Mthethwa, Thabang Makwetla and
We are going to appoint men and women who are capable
Cyril Ramaphosa
PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA
secretary-general Ace Magashule.
Cosatu’s secretariat is scheduled to meet today to discuss the elections and the looming Cabinet appointments.
According to Pamla, Cosatu would demand reasons for recycling long-serving ministers such as Jeff Radebe, in the Cabinet since 1994, former Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni, Dlamini-Zuma and Aaron Motsoaledi, who has been Health minister since 2009, among others.
The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation has urged Ramaphosa not to appoint any of the ANC officials and members linked to state capture and corruption when he appointed his Cabinet.
The foundation’s executive director Neeshan Balton said they hoped that Ramaphosa would appoint a “streamlined, competent and capable Cabinet, devoid of disgraced politicians linked to state capture and corruption”.
Balton said that the same yardstick of ethical conduct and efficiency should apply to the appointment of premiers and MECs in provinces.
THE ANC top brass is meeting today to discuss who will be the premiers of the eight provinces the party will be governing following the outcome of last week’s national elections.
The ruling party’s national executive committee (NEC) – its highest decision-making body – will consider three names suggested by the party’s provincial executive committees in each case.
The party will also meet a few days after the inauguration of President Cyril Ramaphosa to decide who will chair the portfolio committees in Parliament.
The changes in the committees come after some senior ANC MPs failed to return to Parliament after they fell off the ruling party’s candidate list.
Some of the key committees are now left without chairpersons, and the ANC’s decisions will have to be taken within the next two weeks.
The structure and composition of the committees has to be aligned with a new, trimmed Cabinet.
ANC acting national spokesperson Dakota Legoete said yesterday the NEC would meet after Ramaphosa had appointed his Cabinet, to consider people to chair committees.
Several committees, including water and sanitation, justice and correctional services, public enterprises and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, are without chairpersons as all their former chairs did not return to Parliament.
Lungi Mnganga-Gcabashe chaired the public enterprises committee, while Lulu Johnson chaired water and sanitation, and Madipoane Mothapo chaired the justice committee.
In the case of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), chaired by the leader of the African People’s Convention (APC), Themba Godi, Legoete said the party would decide whether to continue the tradition of allowing an opposition MP to lead it. This was after the APC did not get a seat in the National Assembly.
Godi had been chairperson of Scopa since 2005.
Legoete said: “The inauguration is on May 25 and the president will appoint his Cabinet on May 26. Whoever remains in the pool after that will be considered for the committees.”
He said the special national executive committee sitting today would not consider the issue of committee chairpersons. The NEC meeting was to discuss the provincial premier candidates only.
The committees of Parliament have key issues outstanding to discuss, including Steinhoff and SAA. Steinhoff posted a loss of more than $4 billion.
The embattled retail giant was appearing before the joint committees of Parliament, including Scopa, the standing committee on finance, the appropriations committee and the public service and administration committee, over its collapse.