Ramaphosa must start firing some of his ‘ineffective’ ministers

Amid reports of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle and concern for his broken security cluster, President Cyril Ramaphosa last night presided over his family meeting under pressure to get rid of his security cluster ministers.

Political experts said the security crisis around recent violence meant Ramaphosa had already made up his mind about problems in the cluster. They believed he should implement a Cabinet reshuffle that would result in a complete reconfiguration of the security cluster.

Political analyst Professor Andre Duvenhage said: “What the president needs at the moment is a clean-up operation, but do we have people to do the job? “Does he have people to go through with this?

“I am not sure that he has.”

Duvenhage did not expect Ramaphosa to take immediate action on the executive issue as spontaneity was not his style.

“His normal style is not to do anything, keep it low, make lowkey announcements and continue with business as usual,” he said.

At the same time, another political analyst, Professor Dirk Kotze, suggested the president could simply fill the vacant posts of minister of health left by Dr Zweli Mkhize and that of minister in the presidency left by the late Jackson Mthembu and leave others untouched.

It’s the president’s discretion to reshuffle. But he said Ramaphosa would be wary to fire Police Minister Bheki Cele, especially after suspending Zweli Mkhize.

Both were from the Jacob Zuma stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal and it was strategic for Ramaphosa to keep Cele.

“If both ministers from KwaZulu-Natal are not in the Cabinet, it means two senior members from KZN are removed and that will not be appropriate for Ramaphosa. He will most probably get rid of Mkhize, but not Cele,” Kotze said.

The president could first look at firing Minister of State Security Ayanda Dlodlo and Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and either remove Cele or shift him to another department.

Both Kotze and fellow political analyst, Professor Andre Duvenhage, said the security cluster must be completely reconfigured.

They concurred that Dlodlo should go, otherwise the reshuffle would be a waste of time.

Also Read: EFF accuses ‘dangerous’ Dlodlo of lying to Parliament, calls for her axing

Ramaphosa’s position would have been determined by how he dealt with the Cabinet reshuffle rumours of former president Zuma’s release from jail. Duvenhage said if Ramaphosa announced Zuma’s release, it would have meant the recent anarchy had succeeded and the rule of law had failed.

“The rumours are more and more that it was an attempted coup, although they call it an insurrection or other different
names.

“There really was an onslaught on the position of the president and, if that is the case, he really needs to reconfigure the security environment around him.

“They are ineffective … they didn’t warn him,” Duvenhage said.

The simultaneous incidents in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng became one of the worst episodes of violence in the country’s history and post 1994.

“Our economy cannot afford that. Our president needs to be aware of these types of things.

“We need an early warning system and efficient police and security service, but currently that is part of what I call ‘a failing state’.”

Some suggested there was no need to keep Deputy President David Mabuza because he added no value to his job.

Also Read: Deputy president Mabuza still in Russia and ‘he is doing well’ – Ntshavheni

But they forget that Mabuza is Ramaphosa’s other strategic appointment. He helped Ramaphosa win votes at the ANC Nasrec elective conference by persuading Mpumalanga to vote to him.

They also claimed Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula must go for failing to secure the railway network during the pandemic and stopping the Gauteng e-tolls.

Some questioned why Ramaphosa should not get rid of Zuma remnants in his executive such as Dlodlo and David Mahlobo, Zuma’s former state security minister.

– ericn@citizen.co.za