By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile says though a reshuffle is imminent, the party has decided to sequence its work before reaching to that stage.
Serious consultations are expected at the end of January.
Mashatile says a decision on changes to the national executive is inevitable and will take place after the ordinary sitting of the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) and the ANC NEC Lekgotla at the end of the month.
The meetings of the ANC’s highest decision-making body will be in preparation for the State of the Nation Address (Sona) in Parliament on 9 February.
“We’re going to have the Lekgotla of the NEC, finalise the plans [and] once we are done; the president will then begin to look at where he should make changes,” said Mashatile.
He made the remarks on Sunday, while speaking to the media on the sidelines of the ANC’s January 8th birthday celebrations at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in Mangaung, Free State.
Ramaphosa has come under increasing pressure to reshuffle his Cabinet following his re-election as ANC president in December at the governing party’s 55th elective conference in Nasrec.
Mashatile is poised to be sworn in as South Africa’s deputy president and take over from incumbent, David Mabuza, after he declined nomination for re-election from the conference floor.
He said the ANC didn’t want to rush Ramaphosa to make a decision on the reconfiguration of Cabinet.
“This is also necessitated by the fact that other comrades may leave. The secretary-general has to be full-time at Luthuli House, so at some point, he has to leave.
“The president will at that point begin to look at what to do next, but we thought we shouldn’t rush to make changes before we finalise our plans,” he said.
Mashatile also denied breaking protocol by speaking to the media after President Cyril Ramaphosa read the January 8 Statement on behalf of the NEC.
He said officials have agreed to give all officials a chance to speak to the media with the president having a scheduled interaction with the media.