The good and the bad of the Cabinet reshuffle, Ramaphosa clearly a captive of the ANC

27 February 2018

The Cabinet reshuffle, announced last night by President Cyril Ramaphosa, has some good and bad elements to it, but when looked at in terms of the bigger picture it is a clear indication that the president is being held captive by the ANC and that he is unable to really leave his mark on government as everyone expected him to.

Despite the fact that the president last night undertook to make his Cabinet smaller in the foreseeable future, he missed a golden opportunity to do so now and it is sad that the did not have the courage or the permission of the ANC to take decisive action.

There are quite a few disappointing moves that raise questions about how serious President Ramaphosa is about eradicating state capture. The first concern is Deputy President David Mabuza. Mabuza is a controversial figure with a cloud of allegations of corruption, political assassinations and Gupta links hanging over his head. This confirms the fact that the ANC takes precedence over South Africa for President Ramaphosa.

Another rotten apple that was kept in the basket is Minister Malusi Gigaba who was “redeployed”, in typical ANC fashion, to the position of Minister of Home Affairs. While he was Minister of Home Affairs in the past, he sped up the Guptas’ application for South African citizenship.

It is an indication that the ANC tail is directing the movements of the State President. This is unacceptable and serves as proof that President Ramaphosa’s threats to take action against state capture are no more than empty words.

Another blunder is the appointment of the totally inept Minister Bathabile Dhlamini, who failed as Minister of Social Development, as the new Minister for Women in the Presidency.

She was once again summoned to appear before the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and she is not fit to be a minister. This is yet more evidence of President Ramaphosa’s party loyalty.

Positive appointments include bringing back Minister Pravin Gordhan as Minister of Public Enterprises and Minister Nhlanhla Nene as the Minister of Finance.

These appointments will increase investor confidence particularly seen in light of the fact that the credit rating agencies identified public enterprises and their administration as one of the main reasons for why South Africa’s credit rating was downgraded.

Concerning the position of the Minister of Police, here one cowboy (Fikile Mbalula) was unfortunately replaced by another, Bheki Cele. This is a step backwards for policing in South Africa.

When examined closely, it is clear that the new leader of the ANC and the country still puts the interests of the ANC above the interests of South Africa.

Issued by Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader, 27 February 2018