GNU: New brooms leave ANC in the dust with transparency campaigns

ANC Cabinet ministers could be exposed as laggards who sleep on the job as the new former opposition ministers within the government of national unity (GNU) embark on a new transparent way of delivering their work.

One expert said the former ruling party was used to its bad habit of not informing the public about their regular activities – an essential part of democracy. Instead, for the past 30 years of ANC dominated governance, Cabinet members only reported to the citizens and the electorate occasionally… mainly when they had to account to parliament and during izimbizos organised by the executive.

Since the appointment of the GNU, ministers from the DA, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Patriotic Alliance (PA), Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) and United Democratic Movement (UDM) had been upfront about their actions and plans in their new departments.

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But not all of the ANC ministers have been as energetic about letting the public know what they were doing or their plans of action pertaining to their work.

Most of the new ministers have been announcing their plans on how to deal with crises facing their departments, or simply taking visible action to confront a prevailing problem.

‘Breath of fresh air’

Political analyst Prof Ntsikelelo Breakfast said there had been a visible shake-up in the Cabinet since the GNU came into existence.

“The have brought a breath of fresh air to the system by telling people what they are doing. This way they are exposing the ANC that had been taking people for granted.

“The DA believes in being transparent, which is an important element of leadership. For instance, we know about what the minister of basic education is planning to do about education; what the minister of agriculture will do.

“Yesterday, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen addressed the Agri Eastern Cape Congress in Jeffreys Bay, where he ‘emphasised how important the agricultural sector is in driving economic growth across South Africa’.

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“The minister of public works and infrastructure – from the DA – is always in the media and has told us what he plans to do about the construction mafia.

“This fits well into democracy. But the ANC members had been acting as if they are doing us a favour,” Breakfast said.

Minister Dean MacPherson stopped the procurement of any new housing stock or offices for both the executive and parliamentarians alike.

He said politicians must use the existing state properties and that no requests for new procurement will be entertained.

Similarly, no new office rentals and furniture for politicians would be permitted.

Making waves

Other ministers who announced their plans are Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie, who planned to introduce car-spinning as a new sport in South Africa.

On top of that, he promised to invest in all sporting codes vigorously.

“We should have 400 athletes at next Olympics in 2026,” McKenzie said on X this week.

Since Minister of Correctional Services Pieter Groenewald started in the portfolio, action had been taken to deal with lawlessness in the prisons, including confiscation of dangerous weapons and illegal good brought into the prison cells.

The ANC government had a laissez faire approach to lawlessness and smuggling of dangerous good to cells, which encouraged crimes such as murder and gangsterism in prisons.

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The ANC had no plan to address these problems, except its reaction once a crisis happened.

Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Bantu Holomisa had been talking publicly about the poor budget for the department. Yesterday, he expressed concern about the budget cuts for Armscor and Denel.

“However, their turnaround strategy, if implemented, might see these institutions clawing back again. Speed is of the essence for the SANDF equipment,” Holomisa tweeted.

But Breakfast cautioned the transparent ministers against running ahead and ignoring consultation within the Cabinet or talking to President Cyril Ramaphosa about their plans of action.

“I do not support the exposing of certain plans before they are discussed in Cabinet.

“But I think the way that the DA and the PA had been going about informing the people through the mainstream media and social is good,” said Breakfast.

“Transparency is always good for democracy. It promotes good governance and accountability. The expectation is that these ministers will have to be consistent,” said political analyst Zakhele Ndlovu.

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