South Africans will be glued to their TV screens come Monday evening, when President Cyril Ramaphosa will finally announce changes to his cabinet.
Briefing the media on Sunday, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed that the president is finalising the configuration of his cabinet.
Magwenya also responded to speculation on social media that Ramaphosa deliberately avoided the much-awaited cabinet reshuffle to attend to his farming business.
This after a Ntaba Nyoni cattle stud event programme and pictures showing Ramaphosa in attendance went viral on social media.
Fuming citizens concluded that the president chose to prioritise his side hustle over the country’s wellbeing, after the ANC and the Presidency announced last week that he was not feeling well.
Magwenya confirmed that Ramaphosa attended the event, saying he only showed face to greet guests before going back home to rest, noting that he is still treating a “common cold”.
“Throughout this week, the president has attended to his duties while treating a common cold,” Magwenya said.
“You may recall the president’s discomfort was visible during his public appearances as part of the state visit by his excellency President Yoweri Museveni of the Republic of Uganda.
“Among the tasks, the president undertook last week was continued consultation around the forthcoming changes to the national executive.
“But contrary to media coverage and speculation on social platforms, there was no plan for the president to announce changes to cabinet on Thursday, March 2.”
He added: “As a result, there was no postponement or cancellation of such an announcement. On Friday, March 3, president Ramaphosa honoured an engagement of the Ntaba Nyoni cattle stud.
“This was a dinner preceding an annual auction. The dates for these events were scheduled a number of months ago.
“In view of his discomfort, the president made a brief stop at Friday’s dinner to greet guests. President Ramaphosa did not attend the auction the following day, as his cold persisted and required that he should rest.”
Magwenya said the allegations that Ramaphosa is deliberately avoiding the cabinet reshuffle are “completely unjustified”.
“Having exercised his constitutional prerogative, the president will announce the new national executive at 7pm on Monday.”
Speaking to Sunday World about the delays in the cabinet reshuffle last week, political analyst Ralph Mathekga said the president may be caught between a rock and a hard place and noted that he was probably still mulling over who to appoint and who to axe.
“It appears to me that perhaps Ramaphosa generally is reluctant to reshuffle,” Mathekga said.
“But the question remains, is the president reluctant to reshuffle his cabinet because he believes that the leaders that will be coming from his own party will not be able to serve him?
“How is he expecting to function within the party if that is the case? Is he going to deliver the mandate without cabinet?”
According to Matshekga, the delays to reshuffle the cabinet and appoint Paul Mashatile as the deputy president of the country showed there is a trust deficit within the ANC’s newly elected top seven.
“It is very strange in a sense that when they came out of the ANC national conference, they were talking unity.
“They were all focused on taking the party forward, and now we hear of a perceived reluctance on the side of the president regarding Paul Mashatile.
“That paints a different picture of the leadership that came out of Nasrec [national conference] without unity.”
Mathekga explained further: “It seems like we have arrived at the point where the ascension of one leader is delaying cabinet reshuffle.”
Also read: Trust deficit among new ANC top brass holds SA at ransom
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