Cosatu: Zuma reshuffle retained ineffectual ministers
Cosatu has described President Zuma’s reshuffle as being driven by narrow interests and has nothing to do with the millions of South Africans who remain poor.
DURBAN - The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) says instead of revamping government to benefit the poor, President Jacob Zuma has retained ineffectual ministers like Bathabile Dlamini, Nomvula Mokonyane and Mosebenzi Zwane.
Cosatu has described President Zuma’s reshuffle as being driven by narrow interests and has nothing to do with the millions of South Africans who remain poor.
Dlamini who was in the spotlight for her role in the South African Social Security Agency grants debacle, is seen as an ardent Zuma supporter and under her leadership, the ANC Women’s League has endorsed Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to take over as party president.
Cosatu has confirmed that it received a “courtesy” call from the president about his latest Cabinet reshuffle but says the frequency at which these changes happen is unsettling.
Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said: “The president didn’t consult us, he just informed us.”
It goes on to say that the situation is compounded by the fact that there’s a mass exodus of senior technocrats from government.
“We look at this decision and we look at some of the people who were retained and we feel that it doesn’t make sense. It wasn’t about the people, it wasn’t about the economy. And for us, our members are really feeling the heat on the ground with retrenchments and unemployment,” Pamla said.
The alliance partner says it expects Cabinet reshuffles to be about strengthening government and is not convinced that this latest move is informed by a developmental agenda.
Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande is the latest minister to be axed after being critical of Zuma and state capture.
But ministers who’ve come under scrutiny for apparently failing to perform their duties have either kept their posts or been elevated to others.
In the last reshuffle in March, Faith Muthambi was moved from communications at a time when the SABC under Hlaudi Motsoeneng was facing multiple scandals; she remains in Cabinet.
Other Zuma loyalists like Zwane and Lynne Brown are also staying put.
However, several ministers who’ve been critical of the president, like Aaron Motsoaledi and Bheki Cele also remain in their positions.
Meanwhile, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema says one of the objectives of the reshuffle is to secure a massive nuclear deal with Russia, which the party says President Zuma has been working on for years now.
During a briefing in Braamfontein on Tuesday, Malema also hit out at the appointment of Bongani Bongo as State Security Minister, describing him as a “nobody”.
“He’s just a little young man who knows nothing. Bongo was appointed because he admires David Mahlobo. He cannot undermine Mahlobo, so we must not be fooled… they’re chasing the energy deal.”
