LETTER: Does the president have power over his ministers?
Resident and well-known author is of the view the president has the power and authority to appoint cabinet ministers. But, in the case of the GNU, how much power does the president have over his appointed ministers, especially those from other political parties?
Thabile Mange writes:
The Government of National Unity (GNU) has many political parties. I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad thing. What I see is that this move will weaken the opposition parties, who lack the numbers to challenge the parties in the GNU.
For the longest time, our country has been without an effective opposition because the opposition parties had no numbers to push or veto certain policies in parliament. On the other hand, the governing party passed policies using numbers to its advantage. Are we there again, in a different format?
The GNU matter seems to be more complicated than I have thought. There are many political parties in one bag. It is also composed of cabinet ministers and deputy ministers from different parties. Isn’t that a disaster waiting to happen? Let’s wait and see.
Interestingly, the president has the power and authority to appoint cabinet ministers. In the case of the GNU, how much power does the president have over his appointed ministers, especially those from other political parties?
The PA leader Gayton McKenzie has been appointed as a minister of sport, art and culture. McKenzie is expected to bring about change in that department. In the past, artists were not happy with how previous ministers handled their issues. Not long ago, the overzealous PA leader publicly named artists who had benefited from his ministry, before he became sport, art and culture minister. This has solicited different reactions. Cultural expert Dr Sipho Sithole said McKenzie has “shamed artists”.
The curious question is: Is this (publishing artists’ names) the position of government? Sithole further said President Cyril Ramaphosa has made a “grave mistake by appointing Mackenzie to this critical position”.
I appreciate the good that McKenzie is doing. For instance, he said he would be giving away his salary to a certain foundation. That’s a good gesture. Not many are doing that. He did the same when he was the Beaufort West mayor.
However, my gripe is that he’s doing all this to generate media hype and publicity. I hope I’m wrong. Remember the PA leader is filthy rich and can afford not to have a salary. So, he’s using his money to influence the public opinion.
The pertinent questions are: Are cabinet ministers from other political parties working in silos? Is there synergy between them and ANC ministers? Do they take instructions from the president? Does the centre hold? There are no easy answers.
