Some in Limpopo have mixed reactions to President Cyril Ramaphosa's delay in appointing a new cabinet, two weeks after he was elected president by parliament but he is yet to appoint a new cabinet.
Residents say delays in appointing ministers for each ministry will have a negative impact on services. In-fighting over ministerial posts continues within the Government of National Unity (GNU).
Residents say President Ramaphosa should use his constitutional prerogatives and powers to appoint his cabinet.
“From our observation, the delay is due to the large number of political parties vying for government positions. What this election has shown is that people are no longer interested in serving the people but in their own selfish interests and becoming ministers. In Gauteng, the premier was ready to announce the executive but apparently there were calls to stop it so other parties could be brought in,” said resident Khutso Mamabolo.
Another resident mocked District Attorney Helen Gill.
“The delay in information about the government is because of the arrogant attitude of the DA and Helen Ziel. I saw letters saying they were demanding this and that cabinet post. The president is delaying here because he wants to feed the white man's ego. He wants to feed the racist ego. So whether the DA is happy or not, as long as the South African constitution gives him the power, he has no choice but to appoint the cabinet he wants,” said Kamogelo Poto, another resident.
Meanwhile, some small business owners say the delay in appointing the minister is also affecting them. They say a Minister for Small Business Promotion needs to be appointed so that they can receive financial assistance from the government.
“This delay has affected us a lot. We thought the cabinet announcement would be sooner and that the elected people would help us because our small business is struggling and we are self-funding. Even though we are registered, we have not received any financial assistance from the city or any department,” said business owner Brenda Maisela.
Another business owner said the ANC's loss of majority gave other parties more power to claim ministerial posts.
“The ANC party has lost a lot of support and other parties seem to have a bit more power, so they feel they have a say in who should be in cabinet,” said Daniel Mapote, another business owner.
Analysts say parties in the National Unity Government should receive ministerial posts proportionally based on the number of votes they received in the May 29 general election.
“I think the delay is necessary because the 10 parties that make up the Government of National Unity were elected by the people. Now what each party should do is hire a neutral mathematician who will calculate exactly how many posts a group can get. For example, if there are 30 ministerial posts, the ANC would get 18, the DA 9 and the other eight parties 3. So it's easy to determine the number of posts based on the number of votes they got. The second part is the question of which group in which sector will go, which for me is already easy. From the information we have received, they can really find each other. There is no need for them to waste this time because the people have decided that they should follow the number given in the vote,” said analyst Enock Maponya.
South Africans are still waiting for President Ramaphosa to appoint the new cabinet for his seventh administration.
The ANC is also due to hold an emergency NEC meeting this weekend to discuss the issue and how to proceed.
