South Africa Cabinet reshuffle 'to unite' ruling party

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet reshuffle is a move aimed at uniting factions within South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, according to a leading political analyst.

“The Cabinet reshuffle was a ‘trick’ to accommodate all factions in ANC and its alliance partners,” Northwest University’s Prof. Andre Duvenhage told Anadolu Agency in an interview Tuesday.

He said some of the appointed ministers lacked a good track record in their past postings but were chosen simply because they led leagues within the ANC or were members of an alliance partner.

The ANC has three alliance partners in the government -- South African Communist Party (SACP), Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African National Civic Organization (Sanco).

Ramaphosa, 65, announced his Cabinet reshuffle Monday night, dropping several ministers who were considered to be allies of former President Jacob Zuma.

Zuma, 75, resigned this month after calls from his party to step down or face a no-confidence vote in the parliament.

Ramaphosa said the Cabinet changes were aimed at creating balance, continuity and stability in the government.

“These changes are intended to ensure that national government is better equipped to implement the mandate of this administration and specifically the tasks identified in the State of the Nation address,” he said.

Ramaphosa has been praised for appointing his former rival in the ANC Presidential race, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the former African Union boss and ex-wife to former President Jacob Zuma. She is in now a minister in the Presidency.

The former trade unionist also appointed Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister -- Zuma had fired him in December 2015, which in turn led to the tumbling of the South African currency, the rand, and the stock markets.

Pravin Gordhan, another former finance minister sacked by Zuma, was appointed minister of public enterprises.

Duvenhage described the appointment of Dlamini-Zuma as “an excellent attempt to unite the ANC”.

He said there were speculations that the former ANC Presidential contender, who was narrowly defeated by Ramaphosa in the December 2017 ANC election, was planning to quit politics.

“Unity in the ANC means unity in South Africa,” he said.

The ANC which has governed the country since 1994 still enjoys majority support among black South African’s despite allegations of corruption.

Former President Zuma’s tenure had been marred by allegations of corruption and factionalism within the party. Ramaphosa has now pledged to fight corruption and unite the ruling party.