Ramaphosa cleans up Cabinet ranks after unrest
Saturday August 07 2021
People flee Springfiled Park Mall in Durban on July 12, as South African army and police tackled deadly unrest sparked by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma. PHOTO | AFP
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has replaced a third of his 28-member Cabinet. He said the Executive was “working to ensure peace and stability in the wake of the recent outbreak of violence and destruction in parts of the country,” which necessitated “making changes to the National Executive to improve the capacity of government.”
Most notable were major changes to state security portfolios and finance.
The president has, however, come under fire for appointing Enoch Godongwana Finance minister to replace Tito Mboweni, who resigned.
Mr Godongwana, a former public enterprises deputy minister, has a tainted past from his 2012 resignation when together with his wife were sucked into a scandal by an investment company.
The rand briefly slid to 14.75 to the dollar from 14.38 shortly after Godongwana was announced Finance minister just before midnight Thursday, but started gaining momentum nearing 14.60.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party has called Godongwana’s appointment as akin to “putting a fox in charge of the hen house. His appointment is proof beyond reasonable doubt that Ramaphosa’s talk about fighting corruption was mere rhetoric.”
Changes in security are being seen in the prism of July’s violent unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, largely blamed on the case against and jailing of former president Jacob Zuma, and which marked the zenith of ANC factional wars.
The violence left the economy dented and tested the administration’s capacity to prevent party battles from spilling into civil chaos. The nation was caught off-guard by the violence and destruction of key economic infrastructure.
This has seen Ramaphosa scraping the Ministry of State Security and moved the Intelligence docket to his office. The State Security Agency will now report directly to the Presidency.
“This is to ensure that the country’s domestic and foreign intelligence services more effectively enable the President to exercise his responsibility to safeguard the security and integrity of the nation,” said Mr Ramaphosa.
Feeding the doubts
New Deputy Minister in the Presidency for State Security Zizi Kodwa is a well-known Ramaphosa ally and the National Security Advisor Sydney Mafumadi is regarded as his long-time confidante and comrade.
Former Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has been replaced by Thandie Modise who is known to belong to Mr Ramaphosa’s faction.
The surprise was in retention of Police Minister Bheki Cele who is perceived as a Zuma loyalist.
But the opposition Democratic Alliance said Ramaphosa’s taking responsibility of state security was “centralising of power.”
“The country’s intelligence machinery should not rest in the hands of the President – this centralising of power has never been a good idea,” said John Steenhuisen of the DA.