ID'S REACTION TO THE ZUMA CABINET

ID President Patricia de Lille says the Independent Democrats respects the President's Constitutional right to appoint a Cabinet of his choice.

‘The creation of a National Planning Commission (NPC) is long overdue because in the past 15 years there has been a vacuum between policy making and policy implementation,' Ms De Lille says.

‘We also hope that the NPC will ensure that they transform all the departments so that they can deliver on their Constitutional obligations. Transformation must bring about excellence in terms of delivery.

‘The ID also welcomes the introduction of a Monitoring and Evaluation Minister in the Presidency,' says De Lille.

‘We welcome the creation of the new Ministry for Women, Youth, Children and People with Disabilities. The first task of the new Ministry of Economic Development should be to review the Gear policy, which has failed to deliver on its set targets.

‘Overall we are satisfied that this is a well-balanced team - we have always brought up the urgent need for proper planning and implementation and we feel that the new Cabinet has the potential to make improvements,' De Lille says.

‘All Ministers must be thoroughly screened to prevent any conflicts of interest in their new ministries. We also call on President Zuma and the Premiers to establish a performance management system to monitor and hold Ministers to account for service delivery targets.

‘These performance assessments must be made public every 3 months,' says De Lille.

‘The Independent Democrats will continue to make sure that the principle of the separation of powers is observed and that Parliament plays its oversight role.'

Statement issued by Independent Democrats leader, Patricia de Lille, May 11 2009

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