Mixed reaction to Cabinet reshuffle
Opposition charges that Ramaphosa merely reassigned deadwood to please ANC insiders
THE long-awaited Cabinet reshuffle by President Cyril Ramaphosa met with mixed reactions yesterday, with the ruling ANC welcoming the move while the opposition felt the president missed a chance to make meaningful changes to the executive.
Yesterday, Ramaphosa announced that Nomvula Mokonyane was leaving her position as Minister of Communications to take up the ministerial position at the Department of Environmental Affairs. That position had been left vacant following the death of Edna Molewa. Ramaphosa also moved Siyabonga Cwele from Telecommunications and Postal Services to Home Affairs. The latter had been vacant since the resignation of Malusi Gigaba.
In what analysts believe is a foretaste of things to come, Ramaphosa announced that he was merging the Ministry of Communications with that of Telecommunications and Postal Services.
The new ministry will be headed by Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, who was until yesterday a deputy minister at Telecommunications.
ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said the consolidation of the two ministries would contribute towards greater alignment of policy and delivery, especially on the fourth industrial revolution and digitisation.
The ANC said the appointments demonstrated a commitment to intergenerational mix and experience, adding that all three ministers were capable of executing tasks in their new portfolios as they have experience in government.
However, the opposition was not pleased with Ramaphosa, saying he should have used the opportunity to fire the likes of Bathabile Dlamini from her cabinet post.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane slammed Ramaphosa for merely shuffling dead wood to please ANC insiders.
“A ‘New Dawn’ cannot be built on the same liars and Zupta loyalists who helped keep Jacob Zuma in power and out of prison. Dlamini and Mokonyane’s watch must end and President Ramaphosa failed to end it. Ramaphosa has made it clear that he is the president of the ANC before he is the President of the Republic,” Maimane said. The IFP expressed similar sentiments, saying the president had merely recycled old ministers in what the party said was a very underwhelming affair.
IFP spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said the changes made by Ramaphosa showed that he was more concerned about the internal politics of the ANC than the people of South Africa.
“He has missed an opportunity to realign the economic cluster in cabinet. The economic cluster now remains as clumsy, ineffective and inefficient in addressing the economic woes of our country,” Hlengwa said.
Bukani Mngoma, also a political analyst, said Ramaphosa may have considered other dynamics in choosing to to rattle the cage. “I think it also had to do with him not wanting to unsettle the functioning of government,” he said.
Mngoma said the president would find it hard to act against the likes of Dlamini who has a defined constituency within the ANC.
Political analyst Protas Madlala said it would have been unwise for Ramaphosa to remove ministers from his cabinet, especially those who did not support his bid for the ANC presidency.
“When your house is burning, you do not add petrol to the fire. He had a delicate balancing act, mainly because he is more of a caretaker president, as he has not won an election yet,” he said.
Madlala said while Ramaphosa’s hand might be strengthened after next year’s elections, it is highly likely that even then he will still try to accommodate the opposing factions within the ruling party.