Appoint a war cabinet made up of our best minds to steer us through this crisis, writes William Gumede

SA needs to abolish the current cabinet and set up an emergency or “war” cabinet, drawing on the best talent in the country, to tackle the multiple crises caused by Covid-19 and prevent us plunging over the cliff.

This is the biggest crisis of our generation, and the way we deal with it will determine if the economy spirals into freefall, political instability surges and the social order breaks down. Unless we change the leadership now, we will have no country left — for ourselves, our children or for generations to come.

An emergency Covid-19 cabinet would be an executive committee focusing on the financial, social and health crises caused by the pandemic. Its main objective would be to bring together all SA’s skills, resources and institutions behind the single purpose of overcoming the impact of Covid-19.

Typically, such war cabinets are small, with a maximum of eight people for nimble decision-making — unlike the existing unwieldy body. Such a war cabinet would be dissolved once the country emerges from the crisis.

This current cabinet, in terms of structure, personnel and the laborious way it conducts its business, is simply not equipped to tackle this crisis. It should be abandoned, albeit temporarily, until the storm has passed.

The oft-repeated mantra from government leaders that we defeated apartheid and therefore we will defeat Covid-19 is not just silly but the cause of the frightening complacency at the highest levels of government.

This crisis can only be defeated with a clear plan, the best people to manage it and the mobilisation of all the country’s resources.

A war cabinet should include the best professionals, industry leaders and politicians — regardless of party affiliation.

The cabinet we have now is not fit for purpose to deal with the crisis. It is likely to fail miserably. Now more than ever, expertise, ideas and energy are needed.

Mike Mlengana summed up the appalling state of the public service when he resigned a few weeks ago as director-general of the department of agriculture, land reform & rural development.

He said he quit because his department was characterised by “large-scale and widespread inefficiencies at all levels”, and that “current structures and human capital are not geared for effective implementation” and there is an “absolute lack of delivery knowledge and work ethic”.

The capacity, resources and talents of the public sector, private sector and civil society will have to be combined to tackle Covid-19. It is certainly delusional for government leaders to carry on as if this inefficient public sector can navigate the country through this terrifying crisis.

A war cabinet would not only oversee the government’s Covid-19 response, but also co-ordinate the project management of the joint efforts of the public sector, private sector and civil society.

To deal with the lack of public sector capacity, the private sector and civil society could each be assigned to deliver specific services that the state is either incapable of doing or is doing ineffectively.