Cartoon by Carlos.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, and the leaders of all other political parties that took part in the May 29 election, campaigned on a pledge to reduce the number of ministers in South Africa's historically crowded cabinet.
Before the election, Mr Ramaphosa had promised to clean up his “bloated” cabinet, which at the time consisted of 30 ministers and 36 MPs, but Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen said he would lose members. He pushed ahead with the party's Vision 2029 of reducing the number of MPs and fielding 15 members. National executive.
However, when the ANC failed to secure 50% + 1 in national and local opinion polls, President Ramaphosa was forced to change course and added two ministers to his cabinet to accommodate the leaders of the parties he had brought into the government of national unity. and seven deputy members (GNU)).
demands for “high-quality” portfolios from the DA and the need to make room for the Patriotic Alliance (PA), Freedom Front Plus (FF+), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and Azanian Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC); The United Democratic Movement (UDM) and the Good Party meant more ministerial seats, not fewer.
The National Executive currently comprises a staggering 75 members – 32 Ministers and 43 Deputy Members – the largest number in South African history, and costs R239 million a year (excluding perks). I know that.
This would mean a cumulative cost to taxpayers of more than R1 billion (before benefits) if the GNU Cabinet completes its five-year term.
Unsurprisingly, of the parties that benefited from the ANC losing its national majority and from Ramaphosa's contrarian gambit, not a single one complained about the size or cost of the cabinet.
The new cabinet has not spoken about the “bloat” of the civil service since the start of the administration, and the reality that important positions are not being filled and the need to replace skilled staff who leave the system to provide services is being felt across the portfolio. He seems to be feeling the pain right away.
Its job is to help ActionSA, the Umkhonto Wisizwe (MK) Party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and others who reject Mr Ramaphosa's offer to join the unity government or make their involvement conditional on Mr Ramaphosa's removal from office. It is left to the opposition parties.
redrawn line
The former opposition's position on reducing the size of government was not the only “line in the sand” that was ultimately redrawn during negotiations over the composition of the GNU cabinet.
The talks began with the DA's refusal to allow Gayton McKenzie to join the PA, a government that also includes ANC deputy president Paul Mashatil. Prosecutors initially focused on Mashatil's position, arguing that he was eligible for the deputy's post based on his vote share.
These preconditions were quickly withdrawn after it became clear that the PA had already reached an agreement and that the issue of the ANC vice-presidentship was non-negotiable.
The IFP's participation was not difficult after reaching an agreement with the DA and ANC to form a provincial unity government in KwaZulu-Natal with candidate Thami Ntuli as prime minister.
Demands for Ramaphosa's removal in early June led to the expulsion of the EFF and MK parties, which the DA had refused to cooperate with, and the decision to join the national unity government was eased once again.
A common commitment to constitutionalism was identified as a precondition for joining the GNU, while common electoral promises were to be integrated into framework agreements and statements of intent.
Redlining issues such as national health insurance, the Basic Education Law Amendment (Bera) Act (still a bill at the time), broader black economic empowerment and the repeal of the minimum wage law were put on hold by the DA.
The government's existing Brindrela strategy (including the separation of Eskom, port concessions and mineral rights reform) was accepted by all parties and confirmed as viable.
From there, negotiations turned to the details of the distribution of ministerial seats and the interpretation of the distribution formula.
Ten days of back-and-forth between the ANC and DA over the allocation of portfolios followed, with the former official opposition negotiator demanding 12 ministerial seats and control of at least one ministry within the economic cluster.
On 22 June, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula proposed six ministerial posts and seven deputy ministerial posts to the DA, but this was rejected by federal president Helen Zille, whose letter was leaked to the media. .
In his letter to Zille, Mr Mbalula underlined the ANC's commitment to form a unity government based on “genuine inclusiveness” and “promotion of the national interest”, in line with its statement of intent.
Mr Mbalula said the proposal was based on Article 16 of the Statement of Intent, which states “a fair and reasonable method of determining the number of ministerial positions to be appointed by each party”.
It then strengthened the agreement by adding “key positions in the legislative leadership,” including deputy speaker of the state legislature and other portfolios, while reminding the attorney general that other political parties had already signed on. .
In response, Mr Gill said the DA's official interpretation was correct and that it was “clear” that party allocation “must begin by taking into account the relative electoral size of the parties participating in government”.
“By definition, governments are made up of political parties that participate in government. They are not made up of opposition parties. That is the purpose of parliament,” Gill wrote.
He said it was “very fair and reasonable” for the DA to have representation across all ministerial groups, including mineral resources, energy, transport, trade and industry, and that the DA chose which members served in the cabinet. said.
Gill also called for the removal of existing directors in ministries headed by DA members.
Two days later, Ramaphosa drew his own line in the sand, calling on parties in his weekly magazine not to let jockeying over positions derail the process and reminding them that “South Africans are watching.”
“We should not waste our energy on those who stand in the way of our nation's progress or lose momentum over resolvable differences,” the president said.
“South Africans made it clear by voting in last month's elections that they want their elected representatives to put aside parochial interests and work together to build the country. , the GNU must not be indulged in jockeying for positions, fights over appointments, and intra-party and inter-party strife.
“GNU's success will be measured not by who governs, but by how prepared we are to focus on how we govern together.”
Thereafter, an exchange of letters took place between Ramaphosa and Steenhuisen, after which the two leaders
They met to resolve the impasse, ultimately clearing the way for the president to begin forming a new unified cabinet, which he appointed on July 1.
Ramaphosa's 10-party government proved the skeptics wrong, remaining united despite large numbers of participants and vastly different political views.
Tensions between the DA and ANC over the Bera Act and other issues that predate the formation of the coalition government, including the SABC Bill, have been a major stressor for the Ramaphosa government.
There are also differences of opinion regarding foreign policy. The DA accused the ANC of seeking to control other members of the GNU, especially rather than allowing them to express their own positions.
The remaining parties either have fewer policy differences with the ANC, find it easier to work with the party within their cabinets, or keep issues in-house rather than taking them to the media when they arise. is.
Issues over the Vera bill came to a head in September, when Education Minister Siviwe Gwalbe boycotted the ceremony in which the president signed the bill, while the two parties agreed to “find each other'' on two contentious clauses. It was announced that the implementation would be postponed for three months. ”.
The move irritated the president and put pressure on him to fire Gwalbe.
However, he referred the matter to the Cabinet Clearinghouse, which was established the same month to create a forum to discuss and resolve differences on policy issues.
Gwalbe signed a bilateral agreement with trade union Solidarity ahead of a Dec. 13 deadline, saying the terms would not be implemented, raising tensions and sparking new calls for her removal.
However, the problem remained with the clearing house. An agreement was reached that this provision would be enforced, but that the parties' concerns would be addressed in implementing regulations that would be promulgated for full implementation of the new law.
The coalition government also prevents issues at the local and provincial level from tainting the debate, but following the ANC's sacking of DA Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink, Mr Gill may support the party in eThekwini in response. are excluded.
The breakdown in talks between the DA and ANC in Gauteng was not allowed to affect the national coalition talks, nor was the deterioration of relations between the parties in the province allowed to impede the functioning of the unity government.
