Zuma’s reshuffle list was ‘developed elsewhere’, says Mantashe

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe says the list of Cabinet changes was “developed elsewhere”.

“This reshuffle was not done in consultation with the ANC, we were given a list that was done elsewhere and it was given to us,” Mantashe told Business Day on Friday morning.

He was reacting to the late-night Cabinet reshuffle announced by President Jacob Zuma in which the finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, were axed. 

The move is set to have far-reaching political consequences as Zuma and his allies have their hands firmly on the wheel of the National Treasury, with the appointment of former home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba as Gordhan’s replacement.

Mantashe said the matter of the finance minister was discussed on Monday and some changes were effected to the initial proposals made by the president, but the rest of the reshuffle was news even to the ANC’s top leaders.

“The issue, from where we are sitting, we raised the question that ministers who are being moved are not the worst performing … we have a problem with that.”

The ANC’s hands are tied, however, with Mantashe reiterating that Cabinet appointments remain the prerogative of the president, and that the ANC was simply expressing its view.

The reshuffle raised fear of a deepening of the capture of the state — and the ANC’s view that the lists were “developed elsewhere” lends further credence to this view.

Last year, Jonas admitted that Zuma’s friends and family benefactors, the Guptas, had offered him the post of finance minister. This prompted a string of officials and ministers to come forward with similar allegations.