Possible Cabinet Reshuffle Loading After Government’s Failure to Respond to Violence
- President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to make some changes to his Cabinet following last week's violent protests
- The state security minister, defence minister and police minister are all under the spotlight for their reaction to the violence
- A number of social media users have called for the president to take action and remove ministers who failed to perform
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President Cyril Ramaphosa is allegedly unhappy with some of his ministers' responses to the recent violent protests.
Unlike former presidents, Ramaphosa has been reluctant to shuffle his Cabinet but the perceived failure of the government in the face of widespread looting and vandalism according to The South African.
Source: UGC
State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo contradicted the Police Minister Bheki Cele.
In addition, Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula openly contradicted the president when he called the violence an attempted insurrection.
A huge human, financial and political cost
Almost 350 people have lost their lives in the unrest and there are also concerns over how the spread of Covid-19 might have been accelerated by the lack of social distancing.
The damage inflicted during the protests is estimated to be over R50 billion and could cost thousands of jobs.
This has also resulted in the responsibility for the perceived slow response by the government turning into a blame game.
Dlodlo claims she gave Cele sufficient information while Cele said that the police were not given enough information. This could result in Ramaphosa being forced to hold ministers accountable.
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Public want to see the government to be held accountable
The Daily Maverick reported that DA leader John Steenhuisen shared his opinion on the recent violence and the government's response.
Steenhuisen said that in any other functioning democracy the state security and police ministers would have lost their jobs.
Death toll from unrest in Gauteng and KZN rises
Acting Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has confirmed that 337 people died as a result of the unrest that took place last week.
Speaking at a media briefing on Thursday, Ntshavheni said of the 337 deaths, 79 deaths occurred in Gauteng and 258 in KwaZulu-Natal, according to the Daily Maverick.
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Source: Briefly News
