I have heard some interesting arguments in defence of trade, industry & competition minister Ebrahim Patel. One: “He does not steal”, and I hear that often. I struggle to argue against this, as it is a wild line of argument, and advances no positive facts about what he does exactly. Also, I am of a strong view that interfering managers invariably create a fertile environment for inefficiencies and corruption by others.
Patel’s penchant for long hours should never be confused with hard work. Micro-management is a disease rooted in insecurity.
I have no doubt there was a large sigh of relief at the “DTI campus” housing his department on Friday after the news that Patel had “decided” to retire after 15 years in the cabinet.
The writing was on the wall when the ANC left him out of its parliamentary list, a sign that he is not one of the thinkers the party’s rank and file regard as worthy representatives.
The only people who will feel sad about his retirement are in the events ecosystem and the consultants who wrote or packaged his gobbledegook. The man ran the most well-organised conferences, and finding someone who hosts events as regularly as he did will be hard.
Who replaces him? A shortlist that does not include David Masondo, now the deputy minister of finance, will not be complete. He has been deputy finance minister for five years, having worked under Tito Mboweni and now Enoch Godongwana. Previous roles included being CEO of the Automotive Industry Development Centre, an agency of the Gauteng government.
Masondo is seen as a potential finance minister in the future. Stepping into Patel’s shoes would be a sign of career growth. As far as detours go, nobody is sure if it will make it easy to ultimately achieve the finance minister dream.
If he gets to replace Patel, that would open the Treasury No 2 post to a rising star like Zuko Godlimpi to become deputy finance minister. Godlimpi is one of the emerging voices in economic policy thinking in the ANC national executive committee.
Masondo is a sensible intellectual who is capable of speaking to both communists and businesses alike. It’s not a done deal, though. He has to hope that the ANC does not lose the portfolio to its coalition partners should the party fall below 50% in the May 29 poll, introducing the need for horse-trading.
He also has to hope the secretaries in the tripartite alliance do not block him at the last moment, when President Cyril Ramaphosa shares his preferences, as he has done in the past, before announcing the cabinet.
The trade and industry aspect of the portfolio involves tap dancing with businesses about what support the government can offer. It’s also about deal-making, what the government is willing to give to create jobs and grow the economy. Patel never got that; he saw himself as the guy who thought for everyone instead of being a negotiator.
He leaves a department that resembles Hollywood, where every senior official is “acting”. That is more by design than accident, as he failed to retain the services of good technocrats. It is hard for a domesticated civil service to produce good policy. Those who praise his hard work fail to show us the results of their favourite helicopter minister. Some in the unions like him because he is “clean”. I don’t know how to debate at that level.
Anyway, Cosatu, his biggest torchbearer, can have its favourite star back. They can invite him to volunteer as their chief of everything and see how many days they can coexist with him. I hope he shares his hefty pension with them, being the good socialist he is.
Ramaphosa is not limited to the 400 MPs in parliament; he can always cast his net wider, as the constitution allows him to choose up to two people who are not MPs to his cabinet. History shows he chooses the politicians we are accustomed to rather than looking for people of different skills and backgrounds.
He has wasted the talents of good people in the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and other bodies he introduced. He has appointed big names from business, like Sipho Nkosi (red tape) and Daniel Mminele (climate finance), to quasi-advisory roles, but it’s clear they are not able to help him and his impermeable administration.
From the campaign and manifestos, we can tell that policy-wise, there is nothing new under the sun. When Ramaphosa returns, only then will the new administration look around for what can be done. It will be a good start that a slow-as-a-snail control freak like Patel won’t be there. The economy can breathe better in his absence.
• Mkokeli is lead partner at public affairs consultancy Mkokeli Advisory
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