PRETORIA — President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that he will soon effect changes to his cabinet. This follows a formal request from the federal Leader of the Democratic Alliance to restructure the party’s representation within the Government of National Unity. The impending changes will address a long-standing vacancy in the Department of Social Development and adjust several ministerial portfolios.
The Presidency spokesperson explained the mechanics behind these adjustments. Within the Government of National Unity, political parties are allocated specific cabinet slots. When a party needs to change its representatives, they engage with the President to explain their reasoning. While the President holds the sole constitutional prerogative to effect these changes, he typically accedes to the requests made by the coalition partners. The spokesperson noted that the letter from the Democratic Alliance leader was leaked to the media, which created a false impression that the President lacks full executive power. In reality, the President maintains full authority, having previously even fired a deputy minister of trade and industry against the wishes of the coalition partner while waiting for them to forward a replacement name.
The restructuring affects the ministries of agriculture and environment, industry and competition, and energy and sanitation. Within the Democratic Alliance’s allocated slots, one outgoing representative is being replaced by an incoming member who is taking on his second portfolio in less than five months. The outgoing representative, a Democratic Alliance veteran who previously served in the National Assembly, had been serving in the Western Cape as the Member of the Executive Council for Education. The incoming representative will now vacate his previous environmental portfolio to allow the veteran to take over the role.
In addition to the coalition adjustments, the President is filling the long-standing vacancy in the Department of Social Development. The previous minister was removed from her position a few weeks ago amid a number of allegations regarding her conduct. To fill this critical role, the President has appointed a former Minister of Communications back into the cabinet. This marks a significant political return for the newly appointed minister, who was originally fired from the cabinet in 2013 by the then President. Her removal followed a parliamentary inquiry into allegations that she had contravened the parliamentary code of conduct. After standing aside for a considerable period, she was elected to the national executive committee in 2022, paving the way for her current appointment in accordance with Section 91 of the Constitution.
