By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
African National Congress (ANC) Deputy President Paul Mashatile says from next month he will travel across the country to address issues of service delivery.
Mashatile made the announcement during a Good Friday service at the Grace Bible Church in Soweto.
He said President Cyril Ramaphosa has requested to go throughout the country and find solutions to poor services experienced by many communities.
“We have to deal with despair as I go out to the provinces,” Mashatile told the congregation.
“It will be the time to give our people hope that tomorrow will be better than yesterday. Our people need hope that things will get better as they face the problem of unemployment, housing, gender based violence all the challenges that they’re facing from potholes.
“We will go out and work with them to give them hope to solve the problems with them. That’s why the President said, go out and intervene, the Bishop didn’t say go and analyse. We know the problems that our people are having. He says go and intervene because he wants us to go and solve the problems of our people.”
The comments by Mashatile come at a time when many parts of the county experiences a rapid decay in essential infrastructure, coupled with the ongoing power cuts and a high unemployment rate.
Mashatile is also tasked to chair the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cabinet committee. This committee coordinates the work of the ministers who are collectively charged with ensuring safety and stability in the country.
The Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cluster was among several cabinet “clusters” established during former president Thabo Mbeki’s tenure. This has cemented a tradition of intergovernmental cooperation ever since.
Mashatile also serve on the National Security Council, which is chaired by the president.
The entity is mandated to coordinate a national security strategy. It also oversees the annual formulation of a budget and priorities by the country’s intelligence service. It is responsible for coordinating the work of the security services, law enforcement agencies and relevant organs of state to ensure national security. In addition, it receives coordinated, integrated intelligence assessments from the national security structures, and mandates these structures to attend to matters of national security as required.
Ramaphosa has entrusted important functions to his deputy. This suggests a level of confidence and cooperation between the two men, rather than a rivalry. Neither can afford to let the ANC fail in government, as this would augur badly for its prospects in the 2024 general elections.
Mashatile could be the new broom that sweeps clean. Ramaphosa’s apparent confidence in him suggests that he has some latitude to do so.