Business organisations generally applauded the selection of Cabinet ministers appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday night.
Replacing Mosebenzi Zwane with Gwede Mantashe as mineral resources minister was welcomed by the Chamber of Mines and law firm Herbert Smith Freehills.
The chamber said in a statement that Mantashe, a former National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) general secretary, is "a man of integrity and dignity, and who brings with him a sound and fundamental knowledge of the industry he will lead and enable. He is a person with whom our industry has long held a constructive and respectful relationship."
Herbert Smith Freehills’ Africa practice co-chair and partner Peter Leon said he urged Mantashe "to make policy certainty his key and urgent priority".
"If SA wishes to move out of the bottom league of African mining countries, it will have to reset the direction of its mineral regulatory regime," Leon said.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) issued a statement saying it welcomed the removal of Zwane, Lynne Brown, Des van Rooyen, Faith Muthambi, Bongani Bongo, Joe Maswanganyi and David Mahlobo from the new Cabinet.
"The retention and repositioning of minister Malusi Gigaba, a key architect of state capture, along with Bathabile Dlamini and Nomvula Mokonyane, both strongly implicated in corruption and mismanagement of crucial resources, remain of concern to Outa. These three people grossly underperformed in their previous portfolios and their conduct has been extremely damaging to SA," Outa chief operating officer Ben Theron said.
"The shifting of Gigaba back to home affairs is ironic given the role he played in facilitating the naturalisation of the Guptas. Outa laid criminal charges against Gigaba last year for his role in state capture," Theron said.
"The appointment of David Mabuza as the deputy president is of serious concern. This is clearly a compromise appointment and apparently a result of Mabuza’s support for the President during the ANC election. There are far too many questions related to Mabuza’s past conduct while he was Mpumalanga premier. This is a key position and if the President is unavailable for any reason, Mabuza will be at the helm."
Business Unity SA (Busa) listed as a highlight the appointment of Mondli Gungubele as deputy minister of finance, describing him as "an outspoken critic of corruption, particularly with respect to state-owned enterprises".
Ramaphosa’s cabinet reshuffle demonstrated a commitment to ensuring urgent reform of state-owned entities and averting further credit-ratings downgrades, Jabu Mabuza, co-convener of the CEO Initiative, said on Tuesday.
Nhlanhla Nene, who was sworn in on Tuesday as an MP, returns as finance minister and Pravin Gordhan will take over from Lynne Brown as minister of public enterprises.
The appointments, especially in portfolios that are important for investor confidence such as public enterprises, finance and mineral resources, would bring stability to the national executive, boost confidence in the economy and improve SA’s growth trajectory, Mabuza said.
“The numerous changes to departments that are crucial to SA achieving higher economic growth have resulted in policy uncertainty and slow progress over the past two years,” he said. He also praised Ramaphosa for removing many individuals who had been implicated in state capture or corruption.
Busa CEO Tanya Cohen said she welcomed the stability provided by retaining Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Minister Senzeni Zokwana, Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa and Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant.
"Jeff Radebe into the energy ministers provides a welcome sign that there will be consultation on the integrated resource plan and integrated energy plan, which will provide the much-needed framework and direction for energy planning, pricing and resourcing.
"The appointment of Susan Shabangu into social development will provide greater confidence that the social grant system will be repaired and that a framework for comprehensive social security will be put in place," Busa said.
Regarding the reappointment of Thulas Nxesi to the Department of Public Works, Consulting Engineers SA (Cesa) said it hoped it would see "more vigour than was the case when he previously held this portfolio".
"It is critical that service delivery through infrastructure investment and roll-out is expedited to ensure that the goals of the National Development Plan are achieved in as short a time as possible."
Newly appointed Water and Sanitation Minister Gugile Nkwinti "has the invidious task of steering the country out of a looming potential national water crisis and we hope that indeed he will be a Mr Fixit for the sake of our nation," Cesa said.
"Although the changes to the Cabinet are inevitably the outcome of political compromise, the latest reshuffle of the Cabinet by President Ramaphosa is a potentially positive development, which must now demonstrate that it can implement the message of economic renewal," North West University’s Raymond Parsons said in a media release.
"The selection of Pravin Gordhan to the portfolio of public enterprises, Naledi Pandor to the portfolio of higher education and Derek Hanekom at tourism are also positive developments. The economic cluster in the Cabinet seems stronger, especially regarding state-owned enterprises. It is hoped that there will be more stability in Cabinet appointments to help promote greater policy certainty."
The Black Business Council’s secretary-general, George Sebulela, said the appointments were indicative of the measures Ramaphosa was taking to deal with corruption.
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