By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Top African National Congress (ANC) officials are losing patience over president Cyril Ramaphosa’s constant delays in reshuffling his cabinet.
Both City Press and The Sunday Times have highlighted the growing frustration.
Ramaphosa is set to reshuffle his cabinet to appoint new ministers to positions that are or will soon be vacant, while analysts speculate that several other ministers are on the chopping block for their political manoeuvring against the president or failure to make it into the ANC’s top decision making body at its last elective conference.
Confirmed positions that need replacements include:
- The transport minister, as incumbent Fikile Mbalula is now ANC secretary general, a full-time position;
- The public services and administration minister, a position that has been vacant for a couple of years;
- The deputy president, after David Mabuza announced his resignation; and
- The new minister of electricity, announced by Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address.
Other positions that may see changes include the tourism portfolio, due to the increasingly antagonistic incumbent Lindiwe Sisulu, and CoGTA, after minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma openly defied the party line and voted with opposition parties to have an impeachment process launched against Ramaphosa.
However, despite these – and possibly more – positions coming into focus, the president has been in no rush to make the changes.
Analysts had initially expected him to announce cabinet changes before the SONA, but this was pushed back to after the address. Now, the latest is that the reshuffle will happen sometime after the Budget Speech, or before the end of the month.
According to ANC insiders, the various departments that know or have an inkling that changes are coming are frozen in wait, while their ministers are ‘hands-off’ and neglecting their duties.
Insiders said there is a sense of anxiety and confusion among government departments over the delay, especially as new MPs have been sworn in to fill positions, and those on the out – such as Mabuza – have already clearly stated they no longer want to be in government.
The constant delays also completely contradict Ramaphosa’s stated sense of urgency when dealing with the country’s electricity crisis. The president announced the position of a minister of electricity to deal with the crisis, but is now seen waiting weeks to appoint someone to the role.