South Africa may have a new deputy president by the end of the month.
This as President Cyril Ramaphosa mulls a cabinet reshuffle after the ANC’s national conference last month that elected Paul Mashatile as the party’s deputy president. He is now destined for the Union Buildings.
ANC insiders told the Sunday Times that Mashatile will be sworn in as an MP within days.
In this regard, the ANC in Gauteng has set in motion a process of adding Mashatile to its province-to-national IEC list of party leaders elected at provincial level who are earmarked for the national assembly.
He needs to go to Sona and tell a different story. You can’t go there with the same old people
— Senior ANC leader
The imminent reshuffle comes on the back of two cabinet vacancies with the resignation of Ayanda Dlodlo as minister of public service & administration and the expected resignation of Fikile Mbalula as transport minister.
ANC secretary-general Mbalula confirmed a cabinet reshuffle was definitely on the cards. “Yes, reshuffle is going to happen. However it is the prerogative of the president. He will do that in consultation with the ANC and call a press conference to announce the changes,” he said.
Whether David Mabuza continues as deputy president or will be compelled to leave is being discussed, said Mbalula.
“There is no conclusion on that matter, and we don’t have any letter of resignation from comrade DD [Mabuza]. But these are matters being considered by the president,” he said.
Several highly placed sources say it is likely there will be “no less than five ministers” on the chopping block with others saying up to 12 may be affected.
Ministers and deputies who have fallen out with Ramaphosa after openly defying him include tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu, Cogta minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and deputy public enterprises minister Phumulo Masualle.
Insiders with the president’s ear have told the Sunday Times that he aims to have a new cabinet by the time he delivers his state of the nation address (Sona) on February 9.
They say Ramaphosa is aware of the “political football” nature of any reshuffle, which must therefore be timed perfectly to avoid a backlash.
“The ANC NEC meets on January 27-28 and must appoint the NWC (national working committee). If the man makes changes before that, the chopped people will be unhappy and go rogue when the NWC gets appointed,” said an insider close to Ramaphosa. “A reshuffle before Sona is likely, and it could even be before the government lekgotla.”
Another Ramaphosa confidante said Ramaphosa will use the reshuffle to stamp his authority as he begins his second and final term as ANC head.
“A reshuffle is imminent. The issue is that there are challenges in the country and will [Ramaphosa] take this opportunity to correct them? My wish is yes, he must fix it so we have a stronger cabinet,” said the insider.
Ramaphosa’s seventh Sona will be critical to the survival of the ANC as it gears up for the 2024 national general elections, people in his circle said. “He needs to go to Sona and tell a different story. You can’t go there with the same old people [cabinet members]. This Sona is critical to the elections, probably the most important,” a senior ANC leader said.
Ramaphosa, according to the leader, has to use the speech to communicate the message that he has a fresh team, including a new deputy president, to tackle critical issues such as the energy crisis and service delivery.
“Besides that, what else do you present at Sona that you haven’t said the past five or six times?” they said.
With NEC members earmarked for appointment into the executive such as Sihle Zikalala and David Makhura not being MPs, the ANC will have to recall some current MPs to make space for new ones.
ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina said: “All the provincial lists are due for reordering. Once province A has reordered its list, it will send it to the secretary-general’s office, which then communicates with me in parliament. Then I alert parliament and they send it for gazetting, which usually does not take more than 48 hours.
“Once that list has been gazetted anything can happen; anyone who is on the list can be appointed to the cabinet. You are not sworn in as an MP until there’s a vacancy.”
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