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President Cyril Ramaphosa swears in front of the new joint cabinet. But can its mix of allies and enemies speed up the implementation of urgent reforms?
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who led the ruling African National Congress to victory in the May 8 parliamentary elections, announced Wednesday in a televised speech to the nation that he was reducing the number of ministers from 36 to 28, in the purpose of tackling the problem. government "inflated" the country and improve efficiency.
Half of the new ministers are women and Naledi Pandor is at the head of the cream of 14 remarkable women. Pandor, a member of all governments since 2004 and occupying the portfolios of education, science and technology and home affairs, takes over the very important Ministry of International Cooperation of Lindiwe Sisulu, appointed to the head of human settlements.
Heavyweight
The others are the former mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille, chosen to head the department of public works and infrastructure. Barbara Creecy, Science and Technology, decided to "clean up the corruption" of the Minister of the Environment, Forestry and Fisheries.
Thoko Didiza returns to the position of Minister of Agriculture, a position she held for eight years under former President Thabo Mbeki. Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane is the new patron of tourism in the country, Ayanda Dlodlo, Minister of State Security, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, Communications and Telecommunications, while Khumbudzo Ntshavheni takes over the portfolio of small business development.
The former President of the African Union, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who had held ministerial posts in various governments since 1994, has resumed his functions as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
"After leveling the playing field in the Cabinet, South Africans can finally seek to level the playing field in society," Eye Witness News comments. According to the newspaper, "the country can now focus on defending women's rights in areas such as pay equity, violence against women, health and family policies."
Winners and losers
One of the moves that put Ramaphosa's negotiating skills to the test was his ability to keep Tito Mboweni as finance minister, against the wishes of the labor union. COSATU, member of the tripartite alliance in power.
Mail and Guardian reports that ANC Treasurer, Paul Mashatile, and the party in Gauteng had submitted a motion supporting Barbara Creecy's candidacy for the position, due to her popularity with the business community and the ## 148 ## 39; investment.
President Ramaphosa's decision to appoint the leader of the South African Communist Party, Blade Nzimande, to the newly-configured Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology is also part of his plans to involve the entire country. world.
The same goes for its decision to merge the mining and energy departments into a single portfolio managed by former ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe. But according to BizNews' online publication, the merger seems to be "too difficult".
Keep nearby allies and enemies even closer
Ramaphosa's decision to appease the ANC's Jacob Zuma / Ace Magashule faction was also significant after the dismissal of Bathabile Dlamini, ANC's all-powerful president of the Women's League, in as Minister of Development.
"She has a constitutional case against her, which has strengthened Mr. Ramaphosa's hand," said Natasha Marrian, political editor of Mail and Guardian, based in Johannesburg.
No phones business
Marrian, who has spoken with RFI during an exclusive telephone interview, is the author of a survey report published by M & G that describes in detail "of unprecedented behind-the-scenes negotiations in which names of potential ministers have been placed on the list. "
"The negotiations started before the elections and continued until the very last moment. After the president informed alliance partners and senior ANC officials on the final list of ministers and their deputies on Wednesday night, the small group was kept inside the Union buildings.
Their phones were confiscated: no one would want to talk about the president's grand unveiling, "wrote Natasha Marrian.
She says that even if the president managed to keep his close allies and enemies even closer, it would probably not mitigate the hard fight he had to carry out to carry out the reforms in a country. suffering from chronic unemployment, inequalities, racial tensions and crimes. .
Walking from a low base
"We are sitting with a record 27% unemployment and an energy crisis on our doorstep, with ESKOM, our electricity supplier, on the verge of disaster in terms of finances and capabilities," says Natasha Marrian.
"We are starting from a very low base," but I hope this team will be on the right track and will actually try to revive the economy, warned the famous South African journalist.
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