President Cyril Ramaphosa's toughest task: How he manages the nefarious political objectives within the ANC and the SOEs to create entities which are commercially viable within credible private sector hands.
What can we read into the appointment of a Cabinet? Such announcements transcend the mere allocation of ministerial positions. They provide insights into a government's objectives, allowing us to discern the strategic priorities of a national executive. This is particularly true of the African National Congress (ANC). With its storied past, diverse stakeholders and fragmented power base, the ANC is notoriously opaque.
President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement late on Sunday evening therefore provides insights into what will be his second administration's agenda. From this, it seems that liberalisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) could finally be key.
Other than the sops thrown to the former opposition - such as the tragi-comic appointment of Gayton Mackenzie as Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture - the most extraordinary detail of the announcement was this: "There will no longer be a Ministry of Public Enterprises. The coordination of the relevant public enterprises will be located in the Presidency during the process of implementing a new shareholder model."
State Capture's epicentre
If there is one ministry emblematic of the corrosion of the South African state it is Public Enterprises. The appointment of Malusi Gigaba by Jacob Zuma in 2010, replacing Barbara Hogan, fired the starting gun...
