SACP, Cosatu seek inclusion in cabinet during marathon meetings with Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa met the ANC’s alliance partners, the South African Communist Party (SACP) and union federation Cosatu, on Friday and Saturday, as he edges closer to reshuffling his cabinet. 

Insiders close to the talks said the SACP and Cosatu attempted to negotiate for inclusion in Ramaphosa’s executive. 

One insider said the SACP sought to have its chairperson, Blade Nzimande, remain a cabinet minister. The discussions also included Solly Mapaila, who replaced Nzimande as the SACP’s general secretary. 

Ramaphosa met Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi on Friday and the meeting with the SACP scheduled for the same day was postponed to Saturday. 

Losi said she and Ramaphosa discussed the announcement of an electricity minister. 

“It was not a meeting that was supposed to be spoken about because we always have to keep such meetings confidential and allow ourselves to go and listen to what the president has to say,” she said. “It would be premature of us to even speak about why the president wanted to meet us. Until such time that he is able to say why he would want to meet with us, only then can we give insight to the content of the meeting.” 

Ramaphosa blindsided allies in the ANC and its tripartite alliance during his State of the Nation address when he announced that he would appoint a minister of electricity in the office of the presidency, who would be responsible for energy recovery.

They had expected Ramaphosa to announce that power utility Eskom would be returned to the ministry of mineral resources and energy — under minister Gwede Mantashe — as resolved at the ANC’s December conference.

Instead, Ramaphosa changed tactics and announced that Eskom would remain under Pravin Gordhan’s public enterprises portfolio, alongside the new electricity ministry. 

During the Friday meeting, Losi said Ramaphosa took attendants into his confidence about the electricity minister position, which Cosatu had earlier raised as concerning. 

“The president did touch on that particular matter but even though it was not the entire collective of Cosatu that attended the meeting, I think our fears have been allayed. The president said that this minister was not a permanent fixture and it was only an interim [measure] to manage the electricity crisis.”. 

The weekend meetings could mean that Ramaphosa will make his cabinet move this week. Cabinet reshuffles have usually been announced after these marathon meetings.  

The Mail & Guardian previously reported that Ramaphosa had assured the ANC’s national working committee (NWC) that he would reconfigure his cabinet after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered the budget speech. 

Three party leaders who previously spoke to M&G said they expected Ramaphosa to announce replacements for Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula and former public administrations minister Ayanda Dlodlo. 

Dlodlo’s position has been vacant for more than a year after she was appointed as an executive director on the board of the World Bank in Washington. Mbalula was recently elected as the secretary general of the ANC, a full-time position at the party’s Luthuli House headquarters.

The first indication that a reshuffle was imminent occurred when newly elected ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile, former KwaZulu-Natal chair Sihle Zikalala, newly elected second deputy secretary Maropene Ramokgopa and former Johannesburg mayor Parks Tau were sworn into parliament earlier this month. 

Ramokgopa, who has been part of Ramaphosa’s advisory team, may possibly replace Mondli Gungubele as the minister in the presidency. Those linked to the Ramaphosa camp say Gungubele has been fighting to retain his position at the Union Buildings. 

Although Gungubele is a loyal ally of Ramaphosa, his actions — along with some other ANC leaders — annoyed the party’s president in the lead-up to the Nasrec ANC elective conference in December. 

Gungubele and Derek Hanekom led the Renew22 campaign for Ramaphosa’s re-election, but some in the Ramaphosa faction refused to acknowledge them.

At the time, Eastern Cape chairperson and staunch Ramaphosa ally Oscar Mabuyane said Ramaphosa was a victim or a beneficiary of those who had identified their view with his. 

Gungubele was among those in the Ramaphosa faction who were campaigning for Senzo Mchunu to become his running mate.  

Ministers who are also on the chopping block are likely to be those who failed to make it to the national executive committee at the December conference. 

These include Naledi Pandor, Gordhan, Nathi Mthethwa, Nzimande, Thulas Nxesi and Maite Nkoana-Mashabane. 

Gordhan, an important ally of Ramaphosa, has been at loggerheads with Mantashe. One ANC leader said there was a suggestion that Mantashe must be moved to another ministry, but the powerful ANC leader refused. 

Although Gordhan has made enemies in the ANC, insiders said he is unlikely to get the chop “just yet”. 

There has also been speculation that Ramaphosa would remove Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma from the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs ministry to make way for Tau. But the KwaZulu-Natal leadership apparently fought hard to ensure that Dlamini Zuma is included in the cabinet. 

The government has this year declared two states of disaster, one for widespread flooding and the other for the ongoing energy crisis. Dlamini Zuma led the Covid-19 state of the disaster and would be invaluable to Ramaphosa, an NEC member said.

Insiders said Ramaphosa was in January ambushed by the Gauteng provincial executive committee on the inclusion of Tau on the national list. They said that althoughTau is considered one of the party’s most competent leaders, Ramaphosa had no plans to include him in the executive. 

Zikalala, who is said to have been promised a spot in Ramaphosa’s cabinet when he resigned as KwaZulu-Natal premier, is likely to take over as the minister of public administration, one insider said. 

Speculation has been rife that Lindiwe Sisulu is on her way out. The tourism minister has shown signs of insolence by insisting that she stood by her remarks against the judiciary after Ramaphosa said she had agreed to withdraw them, and published an apology in her name.

Ramaphosa has played his cards close to his chest on who will be the next electricity minister, but insiders have speculated that his infrastructure czar, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, is destined for the position. 

There has also been debate among ANC insiders that the electricity minister should come from outside of the ANC to mitigate the Gordhan and Mantashe row. 

One party leader said it was likely that Ramaphosa would announce a reshuffle on Sunday afternoon, adding that those who would facilitate the process were on standby. 

Ramaphosa has been reluctant to appoint Mashatile as his second in command at the Union Buildings. 

Mashatile was elected as party deputy president ahead of Ramaphosa allies Mabuyane and Ronald Lamola. 

TimesLive reported that the office of the presidency had confirmed that Ramaphosa had asked Mabuza to remain deputy president until such time that the modalities of his departure and transition had been finalised.

Insiders said Ramaphosa and Mashatile had met three times since their election at Nasrec to discuss a smooth transition in government, once in December and twice in January.

“The longer it takes the more anxious people get. I suspect he [Ramaphosa] will make his announcement on Sunday. If it goes past Sunday the delay could be brought on by extenuating circumstances. He has become aware of the agitation,” an NEC member and ally of Ramaphosa said. 

The ally added that the reshuffle will have to be based on performance instead of those who remained loyal to Ramaphosa in the build-up to the 2022 party elections. The ally added that removing people such as the deputy minister of public enterprises, Phumullo Masualle, would be seen as a retaliation because Masualle had backed Zweli Mkhize for party president. 

“[Ramaphosa will]  have to present a new team. He is reshuffling after midterms so he has enough data to work with. He must look at the targets of every minister and where we are. There is no way he is going to convincingly go to the elections with the same people. If he doesn’t remove them then we have a problem. The electoral prospects are already at a decline. He can’t shy away from changing things when they are not working,” the ally said.

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