Statement by President Jacob Zuma on the appointment of the new Cabinet, May 10 2009

Members of the media,

Good afternoon and thank you for joining us.

We have since the launch of the ANC Manifesto indicated the type of new administration we envisaged in terms of size, shape and political focus.

We wanted a structure that would enable us to achieve visible and tangible socio-economic development within the next five years.
It should be a structure which would enable us to effectively implement our policies.

The structure of Cabinet and national departments has therefore been re-organised to achieve better alignment between the structure, our electoral mandate as per our election Manifesto, and the developmental challenges that need to receive immediate attention from government.

In summary, some of the changes in the structure of government are the following:

Following extensive research on international models on how governments in other parts of the world plan and monitor performance, we have decided to establish a National Planning Commission which will be based in the Presidency.

The NPC will be responsible for strategic planning for the country to ensure one National Plan to which all spheres of government would adhere.

This would enable us to take a more comprehensive view of socio-economic development in the country.

We have also created a monitoring and evaluation competency in the Presidency, to monitor and evaluate the performance of government in all three spheres.

There will therefore be two Ministers in the Presidency, one responsible for the NPC and the other for Monitoring and Evaluation as well as administration in the Presidency.

Other changes are the following:

• The Department of Minerals and Energy will be split into two separate departments of Mining and of Energy, each with a Minister.
• The Department of Education will be split into separate Ministries, one for Basic Education and the other for Higher Education and Training.
• The Department of Housing will be called the Department of Human Settlements to take on a more holistic focus.
• There will be a new department of Rural Development and Land Affairs, which are part of our key priorities for the next five years.
• The Department of Water affairs and Forestry becomes the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs.
• A new Department of Economic Development has been established to focus on economic policymaking. The implementation functions will remain with the Department of Trade and Industry.
• A new department of Tourism has been created.
• Agriculture becomes Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
• The Department of Provincial and Local Government becomes Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
• A new Ministry has been created for Women, Youth, Children and People with Disability, to emphasise the need for equity and access to development opportunities for the vulnerable groups in our society.

The Cabinet that will fulfill our objectives is composed as follows:

The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa will be Mr Kgalema Petros Motlanthe.

The rest of Cabinet in alphabetical order is as follows:

We stated clearly during the campaign that we want an efficient, caring and effective administration, which will be accessible and responsive to the needs of the people.

We reiterate that we will not tolerate laziness and incompetence, and that we will emphasise excellence and achievement from the Cabinet and the public service.

With these objectives in mind, I am confident that the new structure of government will enable the state machinery to speed up service delivery.

Civil servants will not lose their jobs as a result of these changes. This is a matter of principle in terms of the country's labour relations dispensation.

I however want to stress to our public servants that the era of hard work has begun. Public servants who do their work diligently and efficiently have nothing to worry about.

I wish the new team all the best with their responsibilities.

We request the South African public and all key sectors of our society to support them in their national service.

Let me also take this opportunity to wish all South African mothers well on Mother's Day today.

Mothers are the backbones of our families, communities and our nation.
We truly appreciate their role in our society, in both the public sphere and within families.

I thank you.

Issued by The Presidency, May 10 2009

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter