South Africa: Pres. Ramaphosa Reshuffles Cabinet Amid Energy Crisis

Facts

• On Monday, South African Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa reshuffled his cabinet and created two new positions in an apparent bid to address the country's severe energy crisis.¹
• Ramaphosa named former mayor Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as South Africa's first-ever electricity minister to lead the government's energy action plan aimed at ending the country's blackouts, which can last as long as 15 hours a day. He will also be tasked with tackling allegations of corruption at the state-owned energy company Eskom.²
• The second newly created cabinet post, Minister of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation, will be held by Maropene Ramokgopa, the recently elected second deputy secretary general of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).¹
• The president also appointed Paul Mashatile, the second in command at the ANC, as the country’s new deputy president. Mashatile succeeds David Mabuza, who stepped down last week.³
• According to Ramaphosa, the cabinet reshuffle, with a total of 11 newly appointed ministers and nine deputy ministers, is not aimed at 'overhauling the national executive' but about adding new 'skills and capabilities' to enhance government efficiency about a year before the next national elections.⁴
• The cabinet reshuffle comes a month after Ramaphosa declared a “state of disaster” following a year of the most extreme blackouts that have affected the country’s population of 60M. By 2023, GDP growth is expected to fall to 0.3% as a result of the blackouts.⁵

Sources: ¹The mail & guardian, ²BBC News, ³Reuters, ⁴Za and ⁵Associated Press.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Daily maverick. The cabinet reshuffle that South Africans have been eagerly awaiting reflects the government's determination to overcome the country's energy and economic crisis. In doing so, the challenges necessitate a temporary increase in the number of ministries, including the transitory appointment of an energy minister whose sole task is to manage the severe energy crisis and initiate new energy projects. The government has understood that South Africans want action and solutions and has now set the course.
• Narrative B, as provided by Iol. Ramaphosa's announcement reflects how out of touch he is, as he's doing little more than shuffling rotten apples from one cabinet post to another and bloating the cabinet after promising its size would be reduced. It's also striking that none of the remaining ministers have been held accountable for their abysmal performance and incompetence. This reshuffle offers no hope for millions of South Africans who have been plagued by blackouts for the last 15 years.