The testimonies of two police deputy ministers before the parliament’s Ad-Hoc committee investigating allegations of corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system have once again given rise to the long-standing question of why deputy minister positions exist.
Cassel Mathale and Polly Boshielo, both of whom deputies to suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu, revealed just how much in the dark they were with affairs within the ministry.
Almost in a chorus form, the duo testified how they in fact believed the letter written by their colleague – Mchunu, disbanding the political killings task team on the eve of the New Year was “fake news”.
This chilling admission has led many, including champions of the crippling austerity, to argue, maybe rightly this time, that deputy ministers are in fact useless.
Not under the ANC’s watch
Some have gone the extra mile of in fact calling for the doing away of deputy minister, which of course politically, is a nonstarter for any sitting head of state in an ANC led-government.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who came on the ticket of austerity, had many hoping he was going to reduce or do away with deputy ministers.
But politics did not allow him to even think about that. Politics rather forced him to do the exact opposite – bloat the number of deputy ministers with sometimes two in one ministry. Such as is the case with the beleaguered police ministry.
There is what makes sense to the general public and there is what makes political sense to the appointing authority, which is the president in the case of the national executive, whose survival is his main motivator.
This phenomenon, which some call patronage, stretches beyond deputy ministers alone. It includes ministers as well and other strategic positions within the state such as Speaker of parliament and chief whip.
In the government of national unity’s national executive and legislature, there are 41 ANC national executive committee (NEC) members of the total 80 who serve at the behest of Ramaphosa, 17 of which are deputy ministers.
Serving at president’s behest
With that I have answered another question in the minds of many: why has the ANC NEC not rebelled against Ramaphosa despite his many failures as head of state? Because majority of them are serving in government at his behest.
It is no coincidence that 41 of the 80 directly elected NEC members are tied to state functions. They will protect the one who appoints them by any means necessary. For his survival is their survival.
It is only natural for them to behave that way, by the way. Just as is the case anywhere, including in corporate, where corrupt CEOs are protected by managers they would have promoted to strategic positions in the companies that they lead.
A shrewd politician of Ramaphosa knows this. And he is not the first by the way. Because same was the case with his ANC predecessors — Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki — who packed the national executive with NEC cadres.
This is why the debate of doing away with deputy ministers or merging certain ministries will never fly. Not in a party political system.
If anything, the positions will keep piling up with splitting some ministries and ballooning the number of deputy ministers.
This is why Ramaphosa will not face any vote of no confidence in the ANC NEC. Despite general consensus that he is underperforming as head of state in leading the country to the promised land of milk and honey.
Deputy ministers here to stay
One was therefore not even surprised that at the last NEC meeting, which happened on the eve of media reports stating Ramaphosa’s intention to leave Union Buildings before the natural expiry of his time there in 2029, not a single NEC member had the balls to confront the man to take his organisation into confidence about these reports.
It’s called the power of the appointing authority. And as long as those that serve in the highest decision-making body of the party are the same as those in the state, the deputy ministers positions are not going anywhere.
Suggestions in the ANC to separate the two have long fallen flat in multiple conferences. And are probably now resting in peace. Because in the head of every comrade elected to a high position is the party, “it’s our turn to eat” is what preoccupies their thinking pattern.
So, even now with the spotlight shone on the needlessness of deputy ministers in the national executive as per the testimonies of Mathale and Boshielo, the gravy train is not going to get smaller anytime soon.
