‘Zuma ministers’ now panicking as Ramaphosa eyes smaller cabinet and clean-up

The Sunday Times reports that mass resignations may now be looming as the president eyes appointing the smallest cabinet in SA history.

SA President Cyril Ramaphosa. FILE PHOTO

Now that the 2019 election results are in, many of those backing President Cyril Ramaphosa in the ANC, along with several analysts, agree he has been given a strong enough hand to institute the much-needed reforms in both the party and the state he’s been waiting for.

The discrepancy of more than 640,000 votes for the ANC nationally compared with the smaller number cast for the party in the provinces has led many analysts to conclude the ANC’s faithful were in many instances voting for Ramaphosa more than the ANC itself.

All opinion polls also showed that Ramaphosa was far more popular than the scandal-ridden party he is leading, which the ANC clearly took advantage of by punting his image prominently on its posters, asking voters to choose “Ramaphosa for president”.

He and others in the ANC’s top six are expected to meet tomorrow during a special national executive committee (NEC) meeting to map out exactly how the new cabinet will look, reports the Sunday Times.

ANC head of elections Fikile Mbalula, who has been eyeing a return to a ministerial position himself, confirmed this week that cabinet would be cut down to size.

He told Bloomberg that all the ANC’s members were fully behind Ramaphosa. “However, I cannot account for dark forces and what they want to do,” he was quoted as saying.

Cabinet expanded massively under Jacob Zuma, to 73 ministers and deputy ministers. Thabo Mbeki’s cabinet was just 50-strong, and it is hoped that under Ramaphosa it will return to that size, or even less, as well as placing only ministers with a proven track record for efficiency in charge.

Reportedly, Ramaphosa’s cabinet will be cut down to 25 positions. Furthermore, some ministries are unlikely to even have deputies (since they are not needed in all ministries), where currently a number of portfolios have two. If Ramaphosa picks only 10 deputies, as is being predicted, cabinet will be just 35-strong, which will be even smaller than it was under Nelson Mandela.

The ANC will also be picking its eight premiers this week for each of the provinces it managed to win again.

The tainted ones

A report by the ANC’s integrity committee recommending the possible removal of 22 compromised individuals from the ANC’s parliamentary list is also likely to play a central role in the discussion tomorrow.

The committee flagged Deputy President David Mabuza, Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe, ANC head of the presidency Zizi Kodwa, Nomvula Mokonyane, Bathabile Dlamini, Zweli Mkhize, Malusi Gigaba, Mosebenzi Zwane and many others among the initial 22.

Not all of them are likely to be sidelined, however, and the Sunday Times reports that the list has now been refined and reviewed.

ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, in particular, is understood to be more politically vulnerable than ever and is likely to face a backlash for suggesting that Ramaphosa had not been the central reason the ANC secured a comfortable, though reduced, majority in the elections. He and his supporters were allegedly hoping to use the ANC’s poorer showing at the polls as an excuse to scapegoat Ramaphosa for it, but this plan never gained much credibility or traction.

The ANC did, however, nearly lose its majority in South Africa’s richest and most populous province, Gauteng, while many in the ANC believe the torrent of corruption allegations against Magashule was particularly damaging to the party. They will govern Gauteng with just 37 seats compared to the opposition’s 36.

The Sunday Times further reports that mass “resignations from parliament” are now expected from the former Zuma loyalists who are still aligned to Magashule, simply so that they can “keep their large pensions”.

An ANC insider told the paper these individuals’ desire for larger pensions would “do the job for us”, though it would also be a form of protest in some cases.

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