Even under the best of circumstances, cabinet appointments never receive universal approval. In 1994, even after consulting widely with his party and other political entities, former president Nelson Mandela was still criticised for some of his ministerial choices. The trend has continued with every president since, with public opinion always divided on the suitability of those appointed to the various portfolios.
Hence it is a surprise to no-one that there is such a divergence of views on the composition of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s new cabinet. Ever since the president and the ANC announced their intention to form a government of national unity (GNU) in the aftermath of a disastrous election in which the governing party saw its share of the seats in parliament reduced to a mere 40%, it was clear we were headed for an eclectic national executive.
That on its own is not a bad thing. In fact, it could be a great strength, as it pulls together diverse skills and ideas that may help the country reach new heights. But it remains disappointing that, in his bid to be as inclusive as possible by accommodating almost all the parties that are signatories to the GNU, the president opted to increase the size of the national executive — reneging on his past commitment to a smaller cabinet.
Perhaps it is true he could not reduce the number of cabinet posts to fewer than 30 and still have a well-functioning administration. But did he have to appoint more than 40 deputy ministers? To make matters worse, in some ministries more than one deputy minister has been appointed.
It should be clear from the beginning that there are no ANC, IFP, DA or FF+ ministers — they are all government ministers and when they speak they should do so as such
In a tough economic environment where all are being asked to tighten their belts, and the poor are being persuaded to be patient as the state cuts back on some of the services they badly need, appointing so many deputy ministers sends out the wrong message. It may well be that in some of the departments the amount of work requires more than a minister and one deputy, but must it really be so many departments that require this additional capacity?
It will be hard for Ramaphosa’s administration to convince the public that some of these appointments were not merely for political expedience — to keep all members of the GNU happy — and have little to do with delivering services to the people. Hopefully, as the months and years go by, and the president gets a chance to reshuffle his executive, he’ll use the opportunity to trim the number of appointees.
But more than the size of the executive, what is most concerning about our new government is the possibility of it being paralysed by ideological and political differences between the member parties. Even though its control of more than 70% of the seats in the National Assembly means the GNU is a very stable administration, its members are drawn from often competing schools of political and economic thought, and this is a source of worry for many.
Even during the years of the ANC’s huge dominance, we saw how policy differences between individual ministers often led to paralysis — especially in instances where the head of government, the president, was not someone with a strong vision of where the country was going. There were years, especially during the state capture period, when the cabinet came across as more of a “confederation of ministries” — each of them pulling in its own direction — than a united executive there to assist the president to carry out his executive duties prescribed by the constitution.
President Cyril Ramaphosa should avoid this happening in his new cabinet. That it is made up of ministers from different parties does not mean it should send out conflicting messages. It should be clear from the very beginning that there are no ANC, IFP, DA or FF+ ministers — they are all government ministers, and when they speak they should do so as such.
In the coming days, the president will convene a cabinet lekgotla where all the ministers, deputy ministers, premiers and mayors of various metros will gather to discuss the government’s programme. It is what is adopted at that meeting that should matter most, not what each individual party hoped to implement if it won power after the elections. Keeping in mind that no single party convinced enough voters to be able to form a government on its own should be enough to humble all those in the GNU to work together with honesty.
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