By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Cyril Ramaphosa’s victory in the race to lead governing party clears the way for him to overhaul his cabinet and intensify reforms needed to reinvigorate the ailing economy.
Ramaphosa, secured a second five-year term at the party’s helm after comfortably beating rival Zweli Mkhize, a former health minister.
The two candidates for the leadership of the ANC have had to fight off allegations of corruption, reinforcing the widespread perception that the party is riddled with graft.
Transport minister Fikile Mbalula has been elected as the party’s secretary-general, which is a full-time position at Luthuli House.
Speaking to the media following the election, Mbalula said that he would resign as transport minister as a result but did not give an indication of when this would be.
When Mbalula steps down from the position, Ramaphosa will be sitting with two big gaps in his cabinet, with the position of minister of public service and administration still sitting vacant after former minister Ayanda Dlodlo was appointed as an Executive Director on the board of the World Bank in Washington in the United States earlier this year.
Minister of employment and labour Thulas Nxesi has been serving as acting minister for the department since then.
Transport and Public Service and Administration are two key departments that cannot sit vacant for long. This was demonstrated for the latter in recent months when public servants embarked on – and continue to participate in – nationwide strikes, pushing back against the government’s unilateral 3% wage hike.
Roads, railways and licencing departments are also in a dire state that requires keen focus and attention within the transport department.
While Ramaphosa has given no indication of how he would go about a cabinet reshuffle, his resounding victory at the ANC conference may give him the confidence to axe ministers who vocally opposed his bid for a second term, and in cases, actively worked against him to topple him politically.
This includes Tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu, whose own political ambitions put her at loggerheads with the president as far back as January 2022, when she started speaking out against Ramaphosa and his leadership.
Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is another minister that has actively spoken out against the president, and was the first ANC member to break ranks during the Phala Phala vote in parliament last week and voted to adopt the report which could have led to Ramaphosa’s impeachment.
Dlamini-Zuma defended her decision but still faces possible disciplinary action within the party for going against orders. When asked whether she would resign from her position as a cabinet minister, she said that she would decide after the elective conference – but would not hold it against Ramaphosa if he fired her, as is his right.
Further executive vacancies may arise from shifting out deputy ministers such as Deputy Public Enterprises Minister Phumulo Masualle, who stood on the Mkhize slate.
Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane would have to be accommodated in Cabinet in one of the many consequences of deals and horse-trading that must unfold. Mabuyane, a Ramaphosa ally, got 1,858 votes against 2,018 for ex-treasurer Paul Mashatile, and failed to become party deputy president.
But Mashatile is not an MP. And according to section 91(3)(a) of the Constitution, “The president must select the deputy president from among the members of the National Assembly.”
So Ramaphosa must wait — until May 2023 when the electoral regimen allows the amendment of public representatives lists, to get Mashatile on those after a vacancy is created by resignation, and then manoeuvre a vacancy on the ANC benches in Parliament for Mashatile to take up a seat there.
While the policy debating commissions had completed their business on Sunday night, reports were still before adoption in plenary. The resolutions are expected to be published on Tuesday, when the ANC said the conference would close.
With the new NEC still to be determined, it remains to be seen how much leverage the president has to act.