President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet reshuffle is imminent. [Picture: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg]
With expectations about an imminent Cabinet reshuffle swirling around, President Cyril Ramaphosa is under pressure to strike a balance between internal party politics and the urgent needs of South Africans. That’s according to political analyst Levy Ndou.
A Cabinet reshuffle was on the cards since the African National Congress’s (ANC) national elective conference in December. Since then, newly-appointed ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile was sworn into Parliament together with several others. Ramaphosa also hinted at a reshuffle earlier this month when he announced a Minister of Electricity would soon be appointed.
The urgency of the Cabinet reshuffle had also been heightened by the country’s crippling power crisis, South Africa being greylisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the deteriorating state of the economy.
“We understand he has to consult, we understand he has to think very carefully about the decisions that he has to take, but equally, there are urgent issues that have to be dealt with so the president must be able to balance the two,” said Ndou ahead of the expected reshuffle.
Over the weekend, Ramaphosa met with ANC alliance partners Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP). This had been widely interpreted as a step towards a Cabinet reshuffle.
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Tough decisions
“He has to ensure that the individuals that he puts in his Cabinet are people that will be able to take us back where we belong,” Ndou said about appointments to a reconfigured Cabinet.
Ndou said factionalism within the ruling party appeared to have hampered the president’s ability to make important decisions for the country.
“Whether we like it or not, the factionalism within the party is also a factor when the president has to appoint. Some decisions that he must take might have negative implications on the party, especially if they are not managed. “
However, he said, Ramaphosa should allow others to deal with that while he focused on getting the Cabinet reshuffle right.
“My expectation is that he has the responsibility to deal with factionalism and ensuring that there’s cohesion in the party … That can still be done by other people. What he has is the responsibility to the South African nation. That responsibility is for him to assemble a very strong and capable team that must be able to take South Africa forward,” he said.
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Empty seats
Several portfolios within Cabinet would soon require replacements due to resignations. Other ministers may have to be replaced, too.
Transport minister Fikile Mbalula is anticipated to resign by the end of March after being elected as the ANC’s secretary general. The public services and administration ministry has been vacant since Ayanda Dlodlo took up a post at the World Bank. Meanwhile, David Mabuza also announced his resignation just weeks ago.
Ramaphosa is also under increasing pressure to remove ministers who haven’t been able to meet the demands of their mandates. There is also the Minister of Electricity who is yet to be appointed.
“We have got a challenge of electricity in South Africa and we just need to get someone to start working and ensure that South Africans do not talk about loadshedding anymore,” said Ndou.
The current tourism minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, and CoGTA minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, are also expected to be ousted. Sisulu had in recent months become increasingly agitating for the Ramaphosa presidency and had been caught up in a controversial marketing deal.
Dlamini-Zuma may be shown the door because she went against the party when voting with opposition parties to initiate an impeachment process against Ramaphosa.
Inayet Wadee and Levy Ndou also discussed the implications of delayed action in important decisions the president needed to take. Listen to the full discussion here.
