Newly Inaugurated South African President Names First Cabinet Line-Up

According to a statement issued by the president’s office, the new government team contains 63 ministers, including 29 full ministers. Among the main appointments are former finance minister Trevor Manuel, who has been appointed to head the newly-created National Planning Commission (NPC) to oversee planning and co-ordination among all government departments. His former portfolio has been assumed by Pravin Gordhan, a cabinet newcomer who was previously in charge at the South African Revenue Service (SARS). Zuma has named former president and ruling African National Congress (ANC) number two Kgalema Motlanthe as his deputy, despite the latter stating both publicly and in private that he wished to leave politics after stepping down as interim president. Other appointments include Lindiwe Sisulu, previously in charge at the Ministry of Housing, as the new defence minister; former foreign minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma taking over at the troubled Department of Home Affairs; Blade Nzimande, the president of the South African Communist Party (SACP), in charge of the newly formed Ministry of Higher Education and Training; and leading black economic empowerment (BEE) magnate Tokyo Sexwale marking his return to active politics by taking over the newly renamed Ministry of Human Settlement.

Besides the expected changes in personnel, Zuma has carried out a major restructuring of several portfolios in a bid to achieve better alignment and improve delivery. The major changes are:

• the establishment of a new ‘super-ministry’, the NPC, which will be based within the presidency.
• the creation of another department in the presidency, which will be responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of competency in the president's office, as well as other government departments.
• splitting the Department of Minerals and Energy into two separate departments of Mining and of Energy, with two women—Susan Shabangu and Dipuo Peters—in charge of each respectively.
• splitting the Department of Education into two separate ministries of Basic Education, and Higher Education and Training, headed by Angie Motshekga and Dr Blade Nzimande respectively.
• renaming the Department of Housing as the Department of Settlements to take a more holistic approach.
• transforming the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry into the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs, headed by Buyelwa Sonjica, while the Department of Agriculture has been expanded to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, to be led by Tina Joemat-Pettersson.
• transforming the Department of Provincial and Local Government into the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Ministry, headed by Sicelo Shiceka.
• creating new ministries for Economic Development, led by Ebrahim Patel, Rural Development and Land Affairs (Gugile Nkwinti), and Women, Youth, Children and People with Disability (Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya).

Outlook and Implications

As widely expected, the new government line-up includes prominent members from the ANC's leftist allies, the SACP and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). These two organisations are well known to have criticised the government on its macro-economic policy and have campaigned for more left-leaning policies. According to the official statement, the NPC will be responsible for policy making and strategic planning, and will develop national programmes that will guide the government and co-ordinate policy implementation. However, the question arises over how much scope Manuel will have on influencing the policies he will be expected to implement. His succession by Gordhan is a welcome move and one that signals a degree of continuity in the government’s hitherto pro-market economic policy. Under his leadership, SARS won praise for improving its performance, with tax collections overshooting their annual projections. He is thus expected to continue in the previous minister’s prudent footsteps.

The key position of head of the newly created Department of Economic Development is filled by Ebrahim Patel, the general secretary of the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union, which is affiliated with COSATU. He is tasked with developing economic policy in South Africa and no doubt policy will be restructured to include more government intervention. Stringent hiring and firing rules in South Africa, as well as the high level of unionisation of the labour environment, has led to frequent strike action and increased the cost of labour. IHS Global Insight expects inflexible labour policy to be intensified, which could increase the cost of labour even more and could deter much-needed foreign direct investment. Other key economic influence areas are headed by SACP heavyweights such as Jeremy Cronin, who is now deputy transport minister, and Rob Davies, who will serve as trade and industry minister.