We look at the good, the bad and the perplexing in President Cyril Ramaphosa's new Cabinet.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a bloated Cabinet and executive to accommodate the 11 parties in the government of national unity (GNU) and balance the different forces in the ANC. The result: a gargantuan government after South Africans voted their unhappiness by not giving any party a majority and when there's been a lot of support for cutting rather than growing the executive.
The Cabinet has grown to 32 members (from 30) and there are now 43 deputy ministers (from 36). By global standards, this is a large government. Each minister has a staff of about 10, while deputies have a slightly smaller staff.
South Africans voted for jobs and against the high cost of living, power and water cuts and high levels of crime. The Cabinet must be evaluated according to how Ramaphosa responded to these priorities.
The leaders of the DA, IFP, PA, FF+, PAC and Good party, John Steenhuisen, Velenkosini Hlabisa, Gayton McKenzie, Pieter Groenewald, Mzwanele Nyhontso and Patricia de Lille are in the Cabinet. The DA has six Cabinet positions, the IFP two, the PA one, the PAC one, the Good party one and the FF+ one.
Independent political analyst Wayne Sussman says the ANC...
