Cabinet members are assessed only on their performance in government — not on their party leadership or conduct outside Parliament (ie barging into live TV studios is not taken into account). They are rated on a scale of one to 10. Ten means they should have the job for life; one means they should be fired at dawn; five means they haven’t achieved too much, but also haven’t done much damage. (The figure in brackets is the rating we gave Cabinet members in April, when — with few exceptions — they had been in office for a year.) Compiled by Anton Harber
Nelson Mandela
9,5 (Previous scorecard, April 1995: 9,5)
The growing tendency to treat the president as a living saint doesn’t do him or his government any good. So we searched long and hard for signs that he was not perfect. We found one: his reluctance to undertake a minor but necessary Cabinet reshuffle, even though he himself was embarrased by the Foreign Affairs Ministry over Nigeria, and some of the ministries most important to his government programme are moving too slowly.
Thabo Mbeki
First Deputy President
4 (6)
The de facto prime minister is pulled in too many directions to focus on any one thing for long enough. And when he does, he hasn’t always got it right. He misread Nigeria — perhaps the most serious error of the new government — and earlier in the year he bungled, both the Allan Boesak and Winnie Mandela affairs. He remains a wily politician, systematically arming himself with the two essential weapons of modern politics: a support base among particular groups (such as women, who’ve been promised all future Cabinet appointments) and plenty of air miles.
FW de Klerk
Deputy President
4 (4)
De Klerk is one of the very few people for whom Mandela shows dislike, even contempt. But that’s the least of the former president’s problems. His biggest is the truth commission, largely because truth has never been a strong point of the National Party. After that comes the fact that his usefulness in the Government of National Unity has a time limit on it, and thereafter he will be leader of a party doomed to opposition and internal division. All of which makes him an unusual phenomenon: a man whose past is as uncertain as his future.
Kader Asmal
Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry
8,5 (8,5)
Who would have thought that water affairs could be so interesting, Archbishop Desmond Tutu recently asked. It took this diminutive and energetic intellectual to make it so. He can show solid progress towards bringing the number of people without running water down from 11-million and has won kudos for a campaign to get rid of aliens (trees, that is) in a way which also creates opportunities for the unemployed. Not content with that, the hyperactive professor chaired a special committee on arms sales policy, earned the sobriquet “Dr Clean” for his work on parliamentary ethics, and played a central role on almost every other tough Cabinet issue. A bottle of the minister’s favourite brand of Irish whiskey goes to anyone who can find an issue on which he does not have an opinion, forcibly expressed.
Sibusiso Bengu
Minister of Education
3 (4)
There has been some movement in education, but not nearly enough and not nearly fast enough. Bengu has announced a state loan scheme for tertiary education; the Hunter report into the organisation, governance and funding of schools is complete; and the National Qualifications Framework is in place. But his National Education Policy Bill is running into political trouble and parents and teachers are as confused as ever about his policies. He has also threatened intervention at Wits University. Isn’t it time for the good minister to take a long sabbatical?
Pik Botha
Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs
5 (3)
Having realised that bluster and bombast are not enough to get by in the new South Africa, Botha has learnt his new porfolio and now appears to be on top of the issues. That is, he has learnt that minerals are not just about the kind of water you mix with your brandy, and energy can be put to constructive use. He gets a neutral five because he has stopped doing much harm, and there’s even a chance he might do some good.
Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Minister of Home Affairs
5 (5)
That Buthelezi is still in the Cabinet is achievement enough. His department appears to run with reasonable efficiency in his absence, since he is — in spirit at least — spending most of his time in Ulundi. In his favour is the way he has pursued a new Publications Control Bill; his draft may be flawed, but he has seen it through an extensive consultative process. In the negative, he has not given much clear leadership on how to deal with illegal immigrants. He has made it hard for highly skilled northern hemisphere types to get in, but had little effect on those ducking under the border fence.
Dawie de Villiers
Minister of Environment and Tourism
5,5 (5)
De Villiers got off to a bad start when, in the manner he learnt in the rugby teams and mediocre cabinets of the past, he developed a reputation for non-consultation. He was never as good at tackling the issues as he was at tackling fly-halfs. But recently he has corrected course, having agreed to a full commission of inquiry into toxic waste policy and launched a full consultation.
Chris Fismer
Minister of General Services
6 (just appointed at time of last survey)
By all accounts, this minister has won the respect of his peers and his rivals. As his title suggests, nobody is sure what his job is, but whatever it is, he’s doing it reasonably well.
Derek Hanekom
Minister of Land Affairs
8 (9)
Nobody has steered through more important legislation than Hanekom, with his series of Bills on land reform and land tenancy and the creation of the land court. Implementation, on the other hand, may prove harder. Hanekom is the best travelled minister, at least within the country, having criss-crossed South Africa in his ministerial 4X4 to interact directly with people on the ground.
Pallo Jordan
Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
5 (5)
The inscrutable Jordan has continued to avoid the public eye, though he plays a strong behind-the-scenes role in the Cabinet. He is our virtual minister, having launched his Green Paper in cyberspace and because much of his portfolio is out of his hands — he quite rightly has an arms-length attitude to the Post Office, Telkom, the SABC and the Independent Broadcasting Authority.
Chris Liebenberg
Minister of Finance
7 (7)
If his role was to be the banker, he has done it well, laying a solid fiscal foundation on which others can build the Reconstruction and Development Programme. He has formed a strong, if unlikely, threesome with deputy minister Alec Erwin and parliamentary committee chair Gil Marcus and maintained his credibility with the international and business communities. He lacks the flourish of his predecessor Derek Keys — but then he is a banker.
Mac Maharaj
Minister of Transport
5 (5)
Shortly after his appointment, Little Mac scored a public relations coup when it emerged that he was using public transport in disguise in order to get to know the field. Now his military experience will tell him that this is an unwise approach because of the danger of being caught in a minor war. He has tackled this taxi violence problem with a long-term view, based on careful, military-style strategy rather than any search for a quick fix. Meanwhile, passengers are getting shot
Trevor Manuel
Minister of Trade and Industry
8 (7)
This energetic minister has given strong leadership on industrial and trade policies, surrounded himself with a strong team and made a powerful impact. Fortunately, he is not being judged as leader of the National Assembly, a job for which he would have been the only minister to get below-zero marks.
Tito Mboweni
Minister of Labour
9 (9)
The youthful Mboweni steered through Parliament the most important single bit of legislation — the complex new Labour Relations Act — against all the odds. His Act may be flawed (only time will really tell), but he won the support of all the role players for his strongly social democratic vision. He also has surrounded himself with strong individuals and has scored points for accessibility and openness.
Roelf Meyer
Minister of Constitutional Development, Provincial Affairs and Local Government
7 (6)
Meyer’s stock has gone up since the largely successful local government elections. He may be unpopular with his own party, but he can’t be faulted for getting on with the job in his own quiet and determined way. His traditional leaders remuneration Bill did run into trouble, but that was the result of party politics rather than anything he did. To get things through Cabinet, he depends a lot on his deputy, Valli Moosa, but enjoys a good relationship with him.
Joe Modise
Minister of Defence
2 (3)
This is one post in which we should welcome a weak minister unable to come up with a credible threat analysis which would justify the size and power of our military. This way the Cabinet can continue to shift resources to departments with a purpose in the new South Africa, like education, health or water affairs. Don’t move, Joe — the RDP depends on it!
Sankie Mthembi-Nkondo
Minister of Housing
4 (5)
This is one ministry in which progress can be measured with deadly accuracy. Only 11 000 houses of the five million promised by 1999 have been built. She can’t expect a high rating until more go up. Admittedly, this minister had to step into another’s shoes, change some of his policies and deal with often-recalcitrant financial institutions. But, hey, who said the job was going to be
Sydney Mufamadi
Minister of Safety and Security
5 (6)
Our notes on Mufamadi’s performance were stolen. The matter is being investigated. Need one say more?
Sipo Mzimela
Minister of Correctional Services
5 (4)
Mzimela appears to have sprung to life in recent months, making a stronger impact. However, his department still appears to have trouble keeping serious criminals behind bars. Those without the wit to organise parole are able to escape with alarming ease.
Jay Naidoo
Minister without Portfolio
5 (4)
Ag shame! Naidoo takes all the blame for slow delivery, and line ministers take all the credit for speedy delivery. There are signs that the RDP will kick in next year in a significant way, so as long as he isn’t promising zero-based budgeting and a million houses a year, he will be able to show progress. Until then, he gets a neutral
Ben Ngubane
Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and
7 (6)
The scientists are happy, having won a pile of RDP money to promote their cause. Artists are always more difficult, but his advisory group Actag has reported and reform has begun in the old performing arts councils. If nothing else, he is keeping artists off the streets by giving them jobs in places like the arts councils. Ngubane has won respect for his skill and his gentlemanly conduct.
Alfred Nzo
Minister of Foreign Affairs
1 (2)
If there is a glaring lacuna in our new government, it is the lack of a coherent, effective foreign policy to take advantage of our potential continental, and even world, leadership and exploit all the goodwill out there. Isn’t there a quiet diplomatic posting for the good minister who has given many years of faithful service to the African National Congress, preferably in a peaceful country which does not do much trade?
Dullah Omar
Minister of Justice
9 (9)
This ministry faces a myriad of tough issues, and Omar has confronted them all head on. His truth commission may be flawed, but it is up and running, and he has tackled juvenile punishment, bail conditions, crime, affirmative action on the bench, the split bar, and a range of other human rights and justice issues with an unparalleled drive and determination. To give him a high rating is only, ahem, just.
Jeff Radebe
Minister of Public Works
5 (6)
Shouldn’t this department play a more central role in the RDP? Since noisily firing his director-general, Radebe has gone quiet.
Stella Sigcau
Minister of Public Enterprises
5 (4)
This minister has moved on privatisation, which is her major task, though she could have moved more swiftly and been firmer in articulating the arguments in favour of it and ensuring it all went through the proper processes to limit opposition.
Zola Skweyiya
Minister of Public Service and Administration
4 (5)
Skweyiya had to wait months for the Public Service Commission to approve appointments to his own department, proving to anyone who may still doubt it that he has not yet asserted authority over the institution which is the biggest single obstacle to change. Ask any new civil servant or minister whom they hate most in the world, and they will name this commission, which has held up every appointment, every restructuring, every new post, without having stemmed the growth of the public service. Radical surgery is needed — such as getting rid of the commission altogether — and Skweyiya will get higher points when he wields the scalpel. But first, he will have to get the commission’s permission to buy one.
Steve Tshwete
Minister of Sport
6 (5)
Perhaps all sport needs is an avuncular figure to turn up frequently at the stadiums and to mediate conflicts when they occur. If that is the case, Uncle Steve has done it well.
Kraai van Niekerk
Minister of Agriculture
5 (4)
Well, you can’t blame him for the drought, can you? Or for the floods.
Abe Williams
Minister of Welfare
2 (2)
This is the minister who went to a conference on wife battery, and said he appreciated the chance to look at some beautiful women! Can’t someone send him to sensitivity classes? He has, however, shown a keen interest in welfare — his own.
Nkosazana Zuma
Minister of Health
8 (8)
Nobody can fault this minister for speed. Despite the enormous task she faced, she has appointed strong people around her and moved swiftly on a range of issues. She tackled the tobacco lobby — and won; she has been strong on Aids policy and the prioritisation of primary health care. Her health finance plan remains controversial, but at least she has one. However, the central problem, and the one consuming most of her budget, is hospital administration, and this remains in crisis. But be warned: getting in the way of this minister could be bad for your health.