SOUTH AFRICA
Lean, Not Clean
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa unveiled a leaner government on Wednesday in which half the cabinet ministers are women even as he reappointed a powerful politician accused of corruption as his deputy despite earlier vows to clean up the African National Congress (ANC).
“He’s too powerful not to be deputy,” political analyst Ralph Mathekga said of Ramaphosa’s decision to reappoint David Mabuza as his second-in-command, the New York Times reported. “The strength of this presidency depends on Mabuza.”
After the ANC won the general elections earlier this month, many were interested to see what Ramaphosa would do with his cabinet: He had forced out former President Jacob Zuma but retained some figures close to him who were implicated in corruption cases.
His choices reflect a split in the party that has shepherded South Africa through the post-Apartheid era, said William Gumede of the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. “Ramaphosa is only in control of one half, and he has to make compromises with the other.”
Cutting the cabinet to 28 ministers from 36 represents “evolution, not revolution” political analyst Richard Calland told the Guardian. “A statement of reformist intent, if not necessarily reformist action.”
No comments:
Post a Comment