In a move that threatens to derail the government of national unity (GNU), the DA has issued its demands, which include appointments of its candidates as deputy president and to head strategic ministries.
In a letter dated May 23 from DA federal council chair Helen Zille and addressed to ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, the opposition party seeks to have its candidates appointed as ministers in international relations, energy and mining.
In the letter, seen and authenticated by Business Day, Zille said her party also sought to have its own preferred candidates as deputy ministers in the same ministries where it would have ministers, except in the finance ministry, where the DA wanted to have one of its own as a deputy minister to Enoch Godongwana.
Zille’s letter also requests that where DA ministers are appointed, existing directors-general (DG) are shown the door on the grounds that the incumbents may not work well with the incoming DA officials.
The new DGs reporting to the DA ministers would be hand-picked by panels of the DA ministers and submitted to President Cyril Ramaphosa for approval, and such approval “cannot unreasonably be withheld”, Zille wrote.
Delicate
“The contracts of all current DGs would also need to be reconsidered in light of our concern that incumbents may not be amenable to direction from DA ministers, especially given the ANC’s deployment policy,” wrote Zille.
The DA’s demands have caused tension in the GNU ahead of the announcement of the new cabinet in coming days.
The ANC, the biggest partner in the GNU, characterised these demands as “outrageous”, putting the delicate balance of power-sharing at risk.
“It is only the president who has the final say on the appointment of his cabinet. The GNU cannot be held to ransom by any single party. The people need a government to be established sooner rather than later,” the ANC said in a statement.
In reaction, the rand shed more than 1%, erasing some of the gains notched up last week on news that the GNU was taking shape.
At 5.36pm on Monday, the currency was trading at R18.15 to the dollar, breaking above the R18/$ mark for the first time in four sessions.
While the wrangle over power among GNU partners takes centre stage, Ramaphosa called on Monday for more genuine discussions on cabinet appointments.
“The GNU cannot be preoccupied with jockeying for positions, tussles over appointments or squabbles within and between parties,” Ramaphosa said in his weekly newsletter.
He urged all players to remember the first GNU in 1994 was premised on promoting nation-building and inclusivity at a time of political transition after a racially divided past.
The DA’s demand for existing DG appointments to be reviewed and for new DGs to be hand-picked by panels consisting of DA ministers left a legal expert somewhat baffled.
“A review of all DG appointments would not be unconstitutional if based on clear, objective criteria,” said the Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution’s Lawson Naidoo.
He asked what the difference was between what the DA was asking for and the ANC’s cadre deployment policy.
“The DA’s proposal regarding the appointment of DGs is inconsistent with its stated policy of ending cadre deployment. We need to move speedily towards establishing a professional civil service with a clear distinction between executive political direction and administrative accountability,” said Naidoo.
With TimesLIVE
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