South Africans Unhappy With Cabinet of 77 Members: “It’s a Joke”

• South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his 77-strong cabinet of African National Congress, Democratic Alliance, Patriotic Alliance and others
• While there are new faces, such as the DA leader John Steenhuisen becoming the Minister of Agriculture, some faces remain
• Briefly News spoke to Professor Zwelinzima Ndevu from the Stellenbosch University's School of Public Leadership
• South Africans were displeased with the number of cabinet members and spoke out against it

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, has covered policy changes, the State of the Nation Address, politician-related news and elections at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News for over seven years.

JOHANNESBURG— South Africa's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, announced his new cabinet with 77 members, including ministers and deputy ministers. SA believed the number was too high.

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Ramaphosa's cabinet has 77 members

According to SABC News, Ramaphosa announced his new cabinet on 30 June. After weeks of negotiating for a Government of National unity, Ramaphosa included members of the Democratic Alliance, Patriotic Alliance, the United Democratic Movement and the Inkatha Freedom Party.

The number of ministers and deputy ministers in the cabinet, including the president and deputy president, has increased to 77 from 65 cabinet members. This is an 18 per cent increase from the sixth administration's cabinet. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has been split into the Departments of Agriculture and Land Reform and Rural Development.

Briefly News speaks to Stellenbosch professor

Professor Zwelinzima Ndevu from Stellenbosch University's School of Public Leadership shared his views with Briefly News.

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"What we see is not really surprising. The president went for continuity to ensure his close allies were appointed to strategic positions in government. You would have noticed that all his allies are appointed in strategic positions, especially in the security cluster."

SA not pleased with cabinet size

South Africans on Facebook were displeased with the number of executives in the cabinet.

Jan Venter said:

"If you compare the size of SA's cabinet to other countries, it's a joke. Imagine the cost to the taxpayers to keep them employed. I can assure you nothing drastic is going to change."

Patrick T Lusane said:

"Some vacancies were specifically created for certain people. Matamela just made a chess move."

Gaerutwe Eric Tekolo said:

"There was no need for so many ministers."

Zamo Dlamini said:

"I am not expecting any change in service delivery. Voters were taken for a ride as usual."

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Vincent Hlatshwayo said:

"It keeps on increasing."

SADTU against new education minister

In a similar article, Briefly News reported that the South African Democratic Teachers' Union rejected a DA minister of basic education.

The union said that a DA member would not understand the plight of black teachers in the country.

Source: Briefly News