WATCH LIVE: Cyril Ramaphosa announces his cabinet
President Cyril Ramaphosa will announce his Cabinet and other members of the executive (deputy ministers) on Sunday, 30 June at 21:00.
RAMAPHOSA ANNOUNCES HIS CABINET
The South African previously reported South Africa has been without a Cabinet and executive for two weeks, marking a pedestrian start to Ramaphosa’s second term as president.
Ramaphosa’s delay in naming an executive is a consequence of tough negotiations between parties making up the GNU, namely the DA, Inkatha Freedom Party, Patriotic Alliance, Good party and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania. However, the wrangling seemed to be specifically between the Ramaphosa-led ANC and the John Steenhuisen-led DA, with letters from both parties this week revealing a nasty fight for Cabinet and executive positions.
In a leaked letter to ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, Helen Zille said they want the DA to be represented across the board. This would include key departments such as mineral resources and energy, transport, trade, and industry, as well as public works, higher education and public service and administration, home affairs, justice, international relations and communication, and digital technologies.
Zille also said they want a review of all tenders awarded since the elections in departments where it will have ministerial control.
The party also insisted that the contracts of director generals in these departments be terminated in favour of DA-approved appointments
DA ALMOST WALKED AWAY FROM GNU
The Citizen reported that an agreement between the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) on the allocation of Cabinet positions paved the way for Ramaphosa to announce his new executive.
The successful GNU talks came after a dispute, which nearly saw the DA walking away from the negotiating table.
Notably, the Jacob Zuma-led uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are not part of the Government of National Unity.
On Saturday, EFF Secretary-General Marshall Dlamini wrote to Mbalula to propose an exclusive deal.
The EFF proposed a new agreement, or Statement of Intent, between EFF and ANC instead of the ANC’s Statement of Intent agreed to by GNU partners.
The party said they essentially enter into an agreement with the ANC as leader of government and not with other parties it may invite to the government.
“Such an agreement or Statement of Intent must necessarily include fundamental principles informed by the strategic objective of the total liberation of the oppressed as encapsulated in the Freedom Charter and Progressive Internationalism.
“The agreement or Statement of Intent must also necessarily include the principles of Redress and Equality as captured in Section 9.2 of the Constitution, which states that ‘to promote the achievement of equality, legislative and other measures designed to protect or advance persons, or categories of persons, disadvantaged by unfair discrimination may be taken. The agreement must translate into provincial and municipal governments with the aim of government stability and accelerated quality service delivery,” Dlamini said.
