It took a while coming, but many South Africans are relieved that President Cyril Ramaphosa has finally announced his cabinet, while some are already questioning the list of those he announced as his cabinet members.
The elections of May 29 provoked many surprises, with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) unable to pull off a clear-cut majority in PArtliamnet as it had done in the past 30 years, further amplifying the people’s exhaustion with the party and the direction of its leadership.
Given this poor showing, with the ANC winning only 40 per cent of the votes, 20 per cent short of its usual comfortable majority, the ANC had to co-opt some fringe political parties to form a government of national unity (GNU). This entails that members of other political parties could have spots in Ramaphosa’s government.
As a result, expectations were pretty high as to who and who would be announced as part of Ramaphosa’s cabinet. Well, the wait is over
Ramaphosa struck a deal with the opposition democratic alliance that would see the DA head six ministries, as well as hold six deputy positions in six ministries.
The DA leader John Steenhuisen was given the agriculture portfolio. Paul Mashatile would hold on to his deputy president position, which the DA had indicated interest in having.
