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BL Premium reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s “bloated” cabinet of the government of national unity (GNU) has received mixed reactions from labour federations and opposition political parties, which have cast it as nothing but a DA-ANC grand coalition.
The announcement by Ramaphosa on Sunday followed weeks of uncertainty that threatened to derail the GNU as SA’s two-largest political parties slugged it out over ministerial posts. The cabinet consists of 32 ministers and 41 deputy ministers, with the DA bagging six ministerial positions and six deputy minister positions. Cosatu spokesperson Zanele Sabela said the labour federation – a key ally of the ANC – expected the GNU to hit the ground running and get on with the business of unlocking the economy, creating decent permanent jobs and reducing poverty and inequality. Cosatu said it also wanted to ensure “inclusive growth beyond the paltry 1% the country has endured in recent years”. “As the leading party nationally and provincially, we expect the policy mandate of the GNU to be anchored upon the ANC manifesto, as we cannot afford a free-for-all where each of the GNU’s 10 parties’ manifestos vie for space,” Sabela said. Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) president Godfrey Selematsela said that, while the labour federation was not necessarily happy with the expansion of cabinet, it was hopeful the cabinet mix would be able to deliver on their mandates. National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) general secretary Narius Moloto said the council was satisfied that at least a cabinet had been formed, “but we are still unable to make sense of the direction this government will take”. But, EFF spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys said: “These positions mean that racists are poised to implement regressive and neoliberal policies that will entrench market-fundamentalism and profit maximisation by the corporate and financial sector, at the expense of the poor black majority.”
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
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