South African President Jacob Zuma has made sweeping changes to Cabinet on Sunday as he unveiled a team of 34 ministers that marks a break with the Mbeki era but retains some of its most experienced people.
Trusted long-time finance minister Trevor Manuel will work closely with Zuma as the head of the powerful new National Planning Commission created to implement government's socio-economic vision.
"Manuel is being given a very powerful structure that is going to work out the national plan of government," Zuma said, adding that he did not expect the move to upset financial markets.
Manuel will be succeeded at the Treasury by Pravin Gordhan, the South African Revenue Service Commissioner of the past decade, while trade unionist Ebrahim Patel becomes economic development minister.
Zuma kept more experience on deck by persuading a reportedly reluctant Kgalema Motlanthe to become his deputy president, leaving Baleka Mbete who hoped to hold onto the job, empty-handed.
He brought mining tycoon Tokyo Sexwale into Cabinet for the first time, giving him the vital housing portfolio, as well as South African Communist Party leader Blade Nzimande, who proved a key ally in his power struggle with ousted president Thabo Mbeki.
Nzimande becomes minister of higher education after the portfolio was split in two and Naledi Pandor moved to science and technology in one of several surprise appointments.
Others included Barbara Hogan, who will be sworn in Monday as public enterprises minister after a lauded six-month stint as health minister, and the appointment of little-known Limpopo MEC Moate Nkoana-Mashabane as South Africa's new top diplomat.
Outgoing foreign minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was named interior minister, while Aaron Motsoaledi will take over the health portfolio.
Investec investment strategist Brian Kantor said the Cabinet line-up included concessions to the left in the shape of Patel and Nzimande, but that Manuel was expected to keep a firm grip on economic policy in a move that would go down well with international markets.
"Gordhan has a lot of institutional memory, but a minister of finance is more than a technocrat. Maybe the political job will be done by Manuel.
"He's a realist. That kind of realism and that kind of experience is very useful and very good," Kantor said.
But, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille feared the Cabinet line-up might signal a shift in macro-economic policy to appease COSATU and the SACP and criticized it as including several "serial under-performers."
"With few exceptions, President Jacob Zuma's new Cabinet is bad news for South Africa," Zille said.
"In addition a host of sinecure deputy ministries have been created, more to solve the ANC's internal political problems at taxpayers' expense, than to add value to service delivery."
The ANC said the Cabinet would realize Zuma's "vision of renewal", while the SACP also gave his team its seal of approval and pledged to support it effecting "the radical transformation of society."
A tired-looking Zuma said his comprehensive overhaul of Cabinet was aimed at stepping up delivery during his five years in the presidency.
"We wanted a structure that would enable us to achieve visible and tangible socio-economic development within the next five years," he said.
"We reiterate that we will not tolerate laziness and incompetence and that we will emphasize excellence and achievement."
Major changes included naming two ministers in the presidency, creating two education ministries, and changing land affairs to a new ministry of rural development and land reform -- which Zuma identified as a top priority.
That portfolio was given to a relatively unknown Gugile Nkwinti-- the former agriculture MEC in the Eastern Cape.
The second minister in the presidency is Collins Chabane, whose official portfolio is "performance monitoring and evaluation as well as administration in the presidency".
Transport minister Jeff Radebe was promoted to the justice and constitutional development portfolio, replacing Enver Surty, who was demoted to deputy minister of basic education.
Radebe's deputy will be Andries Nel -- one of a handful of white men included in Zuma's team.
Nathi Mthethwa retained his job, though this will now be called the police ministry, while former housing minister Lindiwe Sisulu has become minister of defense and military veterans.
The intelligence portfolio -- renamed the ministry of state security -- is retained by Siyabonga Cwele and that of public works by Jeff Doidge.
Former deputy minister Rob Davies was made minister of trade and industry while the communications ministry was given to Siphiwe Nyanda.
Former Gauteng premier Paul Mashatile has been included as deputy minister of arts and culture, while Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder was named deputy minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in one of the biggest surprises of the Cabinet.
Mulder insisted the FF Plus would remain an autonomous party, but said his colleagues' "unanimous reaction was that the hand of cooperation which is being extended to us should not summarily be slapped away but should be seen as an opportunity".
Zuma, who courted Afrikaners in his election campaign, said the nomination was a sign of willingness to work with other political parties.
Marthinus van Schalkwyk has remained in the Cabinet as tourism minister but loses environmental affairs.
Environmental affairs has been grouped with water and given to former minerals and energy minister Buyelwa Sonjica.
The minerals and energy portfolio has also been split, with Dipua Peters taking charge of energy and Susan Shabangu mining.
Source: Xinhua
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