Cabinet reshuffle: President Ramaphosa prioritises loyalty to ANC factions over interests of South Africans

6 March 2023                  

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s long-awaited cabinet reshuffle is underwhelming at best, demonstrating the dearth of talent in the ruling party.

The promised “New Dawn” has been completely abandoned in the interest of political expediency evidenced by this recycling of the usual incompetence.

President Ramaphosa’s decision to appoint Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa as Electricity Minister after his disastrous time as the Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane is evidence of just how seriously he takes the electricity crisis that has besieged the Republic.

While the reshuffle was an opportunity to remove the coal-obsessed Gwede Mantashe from the Energy Department, Ramaphosa has instead decided to leave our energy security in the hands of a Minister more interested in keeping the unions happy rather than dealing with our lethal over-dependence on coal. It is not lost on ActionSA that Gwede Mantashe only retains this position because he is a crucial ally that secured his re-election as ANC President. Proving once again that Ramaphosa will always choose the ANC over the South Africans to which he is dutybound to serve and protect.

With roughly a year to the 2024 elections, there is practically no chance Ramaphosa’s reshuffled cabinet would be able to make a meaningful improvement to the lives of ordinary South Africans and the reshuffle was instead a weak attempt to project renewal.

Throughout the cabinet reshuffle process, Ramaphosa - who promised the country an electricity minister a month ago - showed how incapable he is to show the leadership necessary to lead the country, and that he would instead delay appeasing factions within the ANC.

Nowhere in the process did Ramaphosa indicate that the interests of South Africans lay at the heart of the reshuffle. The President time and time again showed how reluctant he is to lead the country during this difficult time amidst a stagnant economy, spiralling crime and load shedding.

Ultimately, this reshuffle is tantamount to rearraigning the deck chairs on a sinking ship. This cabinet proffers no hope for the millions of South Africans who waited with baited breath for change that might bring some reprieve to the interminable loadshedding that has disrupted their lives for 15 years.

South Africa can thrive and once again be the leading economy in Africa, but this will only happen once President Ramaphosa and his band of kleptocrats in the ANC are removed from power, and an ethical government takes over that prioritises the interests of South Africans.

Change and a better future are possible, and ActionSA will dedicate itself to removing President Ramaphosa and the ANC from power in 2024, and installing ethical leaders committed to fixing South Africa and improving our people’s lives.

Issued by Herman Mashaba, ActionSA President, 6 March 2023