The Mail & Guardian’s third annual politicians’ report-card comes halfway thro ugh the Government of National Unity’s term of office – the ideal time to make a rigorous assessment of the performance of each individual Cabinet minister.
This year, we have formed a five-person panel of experts: Wilmot James, execut ive director of the Institute for a Democratic Alternative for South Africa (I dasa); Khehla Shubane, researcher at the Centre for Policy Studies, Johannesbu rg; Amanda Gouws, senior lecturer in political science at the University of St ellenbosch; Marion Edmunds and Rehana Roussouw, both M&G senior political writ ers. M&G e ditor Anton Harber convened the panel.
We asked these experts to look carefully at each member of the Cabinet, list t heir achievements and shortcomings, and give each a rating between one and 10.
Some ministers fared better than last year, some worse. There were ministers r ecommended by members of our panel for instant appointment to ambassadorships of small, peaceful countries without much international trade. Notably, a few ministers (probably more than in most Cabinets around the world) recorded shin ing performances. There are also some new faces on the Cabinet.
A rating of 10 signals a perfect politician, five indicates a mediocre perform ance, and one means this person should be retired immediately. We have given e ach panel member’s rating of each individual politician (with M&G staff counti ng as one joint opinion), to allow readers to see the range of views among our experts, and ratings from last year (in brackets). Occasionally, however, one
of our pa
nellists pleaded insufficient familiarity with a particular portfolio to make a reasonable assessment, and then only three ratings appear next to the minist er’s name.
Nelson Mandela
President
Our panel’s ratings: 9,5; 7; 7; 8 (9,5 last year)
Achievements: Panellists all cited the president’s status as an international statesman, and his ongoing nation-building and reconciliation work. He also sc ored marks for taking a firm decision on the two Chinas, setting up a clear su ccession in the ANC and holding the alliance together.
Failings: Mandela lost points for heavy-handed leadership (one panellist calle d it an authoritarian tendency), with our experts citing his handling of Pallo Jordan, Bantu Holomisa, Terror Lekota and black journalists. He was criticise
d also for covering up on the Sarafina II affair and interfering in provincial political contests. He also has not showed the leadership which would ensure
government
delivery on its promises, allowing ministers to spend all their time writing
green and white papers, rather than implementing changes.
Thabo Mbeki
Deputy President
6; 7; 6; 4 (4)
Achievements: Mbeki was credited for brokering the KwaZulu-Natal rapprochement , for his contribution to bilateral diplomacy, for holding the ANC alliance to gether and for quietly overseeing succesful constitutional negotiations. Also mentioned was his powerful speech at the adoption of the Constitution (“Today it feels good to be an African”), his role in shifting Raymond Mhlaba out of t he Eastern Cape premiership, and his grasp of macro-economics.
Failings: His bad public and media relations came up repeatedly, as did his po or choice of some of his advisers; one panellist mentioned his “lack of vision ary leadership”, another his role in handling Holomisa, Alan Boesak and Cyril Ramaphosa, a third his slowness in pushing through the Open Democracy Bill. Hi s most notable achievement, one said, was “getting rid of his political oppone nts”.
Kader Asmal
Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry
8; 9; 6 (8,5)
Achievements: The “nationalisation” of water, the innovation of his Fynbos pro ject, successful delivery of water to the poor, driving the new ethics rules t hrough Parliament and his public relations savvy were listed. One panellist al so said his was the only department which has really implemented gender-sensit ive policies.
Failings: These were few, but notably that he poked his nose in other minister s’ business and he played the dubious roles of ANC firefighter (such as in the Sarafina II affair) and arms-control spin doctor.
Sibusiso Bengu
Minister of Education
3; 1; 5; 4 (3)
Achievements: In Bengu’s favour, our experts said, was his firm line on studen t misconduct, a flurry of policy documents setting out a course for educationa l reform at all levels (the White Paper, higher education report and the Natio nal Qualifications Forum report), his ability to hold together a complex web o f national and provincial relations, and the appointment of a number of import ant task t eams, such as one focusing on gender.
Failings: Lack of vision, overall policy, retrenching qualified and experience d teachers. Our panel felt that the education system was still slow to produce the kinds of skills the country so badly needs. Bengu has failed to overcome
the public perception that his health is affecting his work. There have also b een continuing problems in institutions, continuing damaging disruptions. He a lso lost k udos in the past fortnight for his handling of the cuts in university subsidie s.
Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Minister of Home Affairs
5; 4; 2; 4 (5)
Achievements: Buthelezi was praised for starting the transformation of the imm igration boards and his Green Paper process. Also mentioned was the amnesty fo r Southern African Development Community (SADC) immigrants, the reversal of re gulations on bringing spouses from abroad and the issuing of new unforgeable ( at least so far) passports.
But one panellist remarked that it was not helpful to assess his ministerial a chievements, since “this is not where his heart lay. His achievements should b e sought in KwaZulu-Natal … [where] he played a significant role in facilita ting the incipient peace.”
Failings: Here the chief’s own regional agenda was mentioned repeatedly. He “w ould much rather be the traditional prime minister to the Zulu king … this sits rather uncomfortably with being a minister,” one panelist said. Another s aid he was still “playing boycott politics”.
Other factors were his caution in transforming his department, his lack of tra nsparency, the lack of a coherent immigration policy, his failure to get the n ew Immigration Selection Board running, his failure to tackle incompetence and corruption in his department, allowing bureaucrats to stifle skills input fro
m abroad and hamper investment, and his disregard for the human rights of lega l and ille gal immigrants. He was also criticised for the poor handling and outcome of th e “pornography Bill”.
Alec Erwin
Minister of Trade and Industry
7; 6; 8 (Not in the Cabinet last year)
Achievements: Erwin drew positive comment for a number of things: his role in the Maputo Corridor, implementing the macro-economic plan, selling South Afric a abroad, regular interaction with business and labour, the deliberate phasing in of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), enforcing increasing
competitiveness, strengthening ties with SADC partners, hosting the Unctad co
nference,
getting elected to a United Nations trade body, ensuring South Africa is neith er dictated to nor ignored by the World Bank. Quite a list, isn’t it?
Failings: On the negative side, our panel highlighted his low profile, the fai lure to secure a European Union trade agreement, lack of creativity in address ing small and medium enterprises, the inadequacy of the incentive structure to attract foreign capital and the lack of a policy on involving women in indust
ry.
Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi
Minister of Welfare and Population Development
8; 7,5; 7; 6 (Not in the Cabinet last year)
Achievements: Fraser-Moleketi scored remarkably well considering she only asce nded to this post in May. Factors which counted for our panel were the Lund Co mmission report into the restructuring of maintenance grants, the setting up o f the Chikane Commission on pensions, good provincial co-ordination, strong at tempts to break down racial imbalances in welfare and a widely acclaimed White Paper on
population. She was praised for moving against the widespread corruption in he r department and her skill in balancing the pressure to reduce costs against t he need to achieve racial equity. She was described as a wonderful role model for South African women.
Failings: Her brusque and sometimes undiplomatic manner, not doing enough to s top corruption and her failure to change the law which excludes permanent resi dents from getting pensions.
Derek Hanekom
Minister of Land Affairs and Agriculture
8; 8; 7; 8 (8)
Achievements: Hanekom has been a consistent high-scorer in M&G reports, though this year he has the added portfolio of agriculture.
This year he was praised for his implementation of the land redistribution pro gramme in an honest and equitable way; his clear articulation of policy and th e involvement of key constituencies; the linkages he has opened between his de partment and sectoral NGOs; his “aggressive but charming” pursuit of bilateral agricultural trade; and his swift moves to abolish marketing boards. He drew
additional
praise for resisting the high-life, having been spotted on occasions in econo
my-class flights.
Failings: The only negative raised against Hanekom was that he could try harde r to take white farmers along with him.
Pallo Jordan
Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
7; 7; 5; 8 (5 as Minister of Posts and Telecommunications)
Achievements: Jordan drew praise for maintaining his independence of mind and refusing other postings, choosing to remain a backbencher, when he was removed from the Cabinet. He has rated higher than last year because he has re-energi
sed a portfolio which had been marginalised under his National Party predecess or. He amended the Tourism Act to restructure the South African Tourism Board and genera ted an inclusive vision of his portfolio, giving marginalised communities a pl ace in the country’s cultural heritage. He also drew some praise for his telec ommunications White Paper, before he changed portfolios.
Failings: Two of our experts felt Jordan had not been long enough in his new p ost to make judgments. One felt he had not yet come to grips with his new task and suffered from a poor public image. Also raised were a couple of blupses i
n the early part of the year in his previous post: agreeing to massive Indepen dent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) salaries, having his ministerial budget reje cted by Pa rliament and leaving problems in the telecommunications White Paper which his successor had to sort out.
Penuel Maduna
Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs
5; 5; 7; 5 (Not in the Cabinet last year)
Achievements: Maduna is new to the Cabinet and drew largely neutral responses from our panel. He was praised for successful foreign liaison and his role in handling internal ANC conflicts.
Failings: Counting against this minister are the complaints by petro-chemical employees and mine owners that he is not accessible, claims that he has done l ittle to resolve mine conflicts and his failure to deregulate the petrol price market. One panellist said the minister had not yet had anything important to
say on the most important sector of our economy.
Mac Maharaj
Minister of Transport
5; 4; 6 (5)
Achievements: Maharaj was praised mostly for his Maputo Corridor work, improvi ng links between cities and his good consultative work.
Failings: He lost many points for his failure to stop taxi violence, despite t wo years of work by his task team. Other negatives were changing the third par ty fund without consultation, his nasty brouhaha with his media liaison office r Elsa Kruger, and his unsatisfactory handling of the South African Airways st rike and the blockade of Cape Town airport.
Trevor Manuel
Minister of Finance
6; 6; 6; 7,5 (8 as Minister of Trade and Industry)
Achievements: Our team had more consensus on the first black finance minister than anyone else, saying he had gone some way in putting to bed those who crit icised his appointment because of his lack of experience and skills. In giving him an above-average rating, they discussed his tabling of the macro-economic
plan and his success in overseeing a major shift in government policy with a
minimum of political trauma. His dealings with the international community were also see
n positively.
Failings: One of our commentators pointed out that it is under Manuel’s stewar dship that the rand has slid, apparently uncontrollably, and interest rates an d inflation have risen. Some of our panel criticised him for loose talk which adversely affected the currency and a failure to explain the falling rand and rising interest rate to the public. Also raised was the continued existence of exchange
control. One panel member said he had a poor relationship with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), and had ridden roughshod over his left-w
ing critics in the alliance.
Tito Mboweni
Minister of Labour
6; 6; 7; 6 (9)
Achievements: The labour minister notched up a series of tangible achievements , notably the passing of the Labour Relations Act, the report of the Labour Ma rket Commission, the setting up of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and green papers on the Employment Standards and Employment Eq uity Acts.
Failings: One of our experts questioned Mboweni’s commitment to the macro-econ omic strategy. Others cited his failure to sustain good relations with Cosatu and completely unite trade unions behind his new Act, and said he has not suff iciently explained to the public the workings of this new legislation. Also ra ised was the lack of attention to gender in the Act and his role in the ANC’s ham-handed
intervention in the Free State leadership battles.
Joe Modise
Minister of Defence
5; 4; 4 (2)
Achievements: Modise’s rating improved because of the successful integration a nd transformation of the defence force, and maintaining its loyalty. He draws praise for successfully downsizing and initiating training to assist demobilis ation. Also raised in his favour was his willingness to apply for amnesty befo re the truth commission.
Failings: Modise drew fire for endlessly postponing the decision on buying Cor vettes, for a lack of transparency and assertiveness (particularly in forcing the transformation of defence industries) and for allowing former apartheid so ldiers to run military transformation at the expense of former guerrillas. “He is still battling to find the enemy,” one panellist remarked.
Mohammed Valli Moosa
Minister of Provincial and Constitutional Development
7; 8,5; 6; 6 (Not in the Cabinet last year)
Achievements: Valli (as he is commonly known) draws most praise for his skilfu l contribution to the finalisation of the Constitution. Other factors were his ability to raise the importance of local government, his role in pioneering m
unicipal development, his excellent co-ordination between Parliament, province s and interest groups, and his management of inter-governmental relations.
Failings: The minister has failed to provide a legal framework within which lo cal government should function, allowing, for example, some councillors to dec ide they are full-time operatives – a move which councils cannot afford. Also mentioned by the panel were the messy firing of Niel Barnard, the failure to r esolve the issue of payments for traditional leaders, wasting time and money o n provinci al constitutions and a low public profile.
Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele
Minister of Housing
4; 3; 5; 5 (4)
Achievements: The most positive of our panellists said this minister had put t he housing project back on track, with a significant increase in the number of subsidies granted, although this has yet to translate into accommodation for
the poor. Also cited was that she had ended her fight with the mortgage lender s. The most sympathetic noted she had “a hell of a job”.
Failings: Our panellists pointed to the low number of houses built so far, and the minister’s failure to keep housing high on the political agenda. Far too
much time was spent on issues which contributed nothing to housing delivery – she wasted valuable time opposing subsidies which would not cover the cost of a fully built house. As a result, her government will not meet its promise of a million low-cost houses by 1999, one panellist said.
Lionel Mtshali
Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology
6; 5; 6 (Not in the Cabinet last year)
Achievements: Who, one panellist asked? Mtshali is too new in the post to eval uate fully, our panellists felt, but he did inherit a department which was wel l run and has its own momentum. He successfully released the science and techn ology White Paper prepared by his predecessor.
Failings: It is early days, but our panel did raise his extremely low profile and his awkward handling of the future of museums.
Sydney Mufamadi
Minister of Safety and Security
5; 7; 4; 5 (5)
Achievements: The wide range of points given to Mufamadi reflect a general unc ertainty over his ability to contain crime. He was, however, praised for produ cing strategies (lots of them), implementing community policing forums, tackli ng corruption (more than 400 policemen dismissed so far), forming the policy-m aking Secretariat of Safety and Security, working well with the private sector , institut ionalising civilian surveillance over police, progress on affirmative action a nd achieving “improved crime statistics”. In other words, he scored well on ev erything except actually reducing crime.
Failings: Number one, predictably, was failure to bring down crime levels. “Th e police have woefully failed in their task of protecting South Africans,” a p anellist said. But there was also a bad public image, a failure to guide provi ncial MECs, only limited success in dealing with South African Police Service corruption, slow SAPS transformation, the apparent lack of co-operation with t he Ministr y of Justice, and the lack of adequate attention paid to rape and child abuse.
Sipo Mzimela
Minister of Correctional Services
4; 8; 6; 4 (5)
Achievements: Most of our panel struggled to list this minister’s achievements , but what did come up was his tackling of the problem of juvenile prisoners, the building of additional prisons, the acknowledgment of HIV problems and his quiet role in KwaZulu-Natal peace.
Failings: Contradicting other panellists, one of our experts counted against h im his opposition to keeping young serious offenders in prison and his naive v iews on sex in prisons, and two panellists were appalled by his handling of HI V problems. All, however, cited his failure to transform the prison services a nd the lack of affirmative action.
Jay Naidoo
Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Broadcasting
6; 4; 6 (5 as Minister without Portfolio)
Achievements: One of our experts said Naidoo had not been in the job long enou gh to make a reasonable assessment. Other remarks related to his decision to p rivatise Telkom, and passing the legislation, with union agreement, to set the process in motion; that he appeared much more comfortable in his new portfoli
o; and that he had created the Telecommunications Regulation Authority.
Failings: Despite his portfolio, Naidoo was criticised for not being a good co mmunicator. His failures in his previous job in the Reconstruction and Develop ment Programme were mentioned, as were his decision to give money to the SABC and his resistance to privatise Telkom fully. He took some blame for problems in the IBA.
Alfred Nzo
Minister of Foreign Affairs
3; 2; 1; 3 (1)
Achievements: If a television series drew ratings like this, it would be canne d. Our panel grappled to find Nzo’s achievements and came up with his ability to sleep on the job, that he survived in office and that he was consistently a t his post. That was the good side.
Failings: Nzo has not created a coherent foreign policy, has kept a ridiculous ly low profile, allowing others to make policy for his department. (Well, some one has to!)
Dullah Omar
Minister of Justice
7; 8; 5; 6 (9)
Achievements: Omar was praised for his legislative productivity, having seen a number of crime-related Bills introduced, and his dogged commitment to the ru
le of law, access to justice and transformation of the legal system. Also in h is favour was his consolidation of legal training, his action to protect singl e parents and abused children, and his accessibility.
Failings: Omar slipped from last year’s top-notch ratings largely because of h is unsatisfactory handling of People Against Drugs and Gangsterism (Pagad). Al so raised by the experts were the lack of co-ordination with the Safety and Se curity Ministry and his roughshod handling of affirmative action in his depart ment.
Jeff Radebe
Minister of Public Works
5; 5; 4; 5,5 (5)
Achievements: Radebe’s ratings are all in the mediocre performance range. Aske d what this minister had achieved this year, one panellist said simply: “Nothi ng apparent.” Another mentioned that he had “finally established what governme nt owns” and had introduced a new tender system.
Failings: This list was longer, with panellists focusing on the failure to set up the long-promised public service corps. Where, they ask, is the important
job-creating public works programme? What happened with the apparently irregul ar sale of a New York embassy building? What happened to all the buildings own ed by Bophuthatswana?
Stella Sigcau
Minister of Public Enterprises
2; 4; 2; 3 (5)
Achievements: If your kid came home with a school report like this, you would take serious action. Three panellists could find no achievements worth recordi ng, and the fourth would only go so far as to say she had “launched a slow pri vatisation programme”. This from the minister whose success or failure is cons idered the test of the government’s seriousness over economic reform.
Failings: “The minister,” one panellist said, “has not understood the importan ce of her portfolio.” Another cited the total absence of a clear privatisation policy and strategy. And a third mentioned her embattled public image after t
he Holomisa affair and her unacceptable handling of Denel managers. Why, one m ust ask, do we have a minister who admitted to taking money from Sol Kerzner? It can onl y be because of admiration for her remarkable achievements as president of the Republic of the Transkei. Hold on, even there they threw her out after a few
months!
Zola Skweyiya
Minister of Public Service and Administration
6; 7; 6; 5 (4)
Achievements: Skweyiya was praised generally for his management of the difficu lt transformation of the public service. Some panellists would only go so far as saying he had realised the mess the service was in and had dispatched inves tigative teams. Others said he had succeeded in a very short space in starting to bring under-represented groups into government service, tackling the painf
ul process of right-sizing and investigating corruption in the Eastern Cape.
Failings: The list of Skweyiya’s problem areas includes allowing retiring publ ic servants to get unbelievably large pay-outs (R4-million for Niel Barnard) w ith no provision preventing them from applying later for vacancies, waking up very late to provincial problems and allowing the appointment of too many cons ultants. He has allowed himself to get caught between the conflicting needs of right-siz
ing and affirmative action, one panellist remarked.
And there was a feeling he was developing a habit of starting a major project and not being able to see it through – with the Presidential Review Commission and the Jobs for South Africa scheme cited as examples.
Steve Tshwete
Minister of Sport
5; 3; 1 (6)
Achievements: It is clear from Tshwete’s ratings that there were not too many achievements to list. The panel member who recommended his instant dismissal s aid: “He does nothing at all.” He was complimented, nevertheless, for his high profile at sports events and for instituting the Pickard inquiry into soccer
corruption.
Failings: Tshwete drew flak for the inactivity of his office, his failure to h andle the conflict within rugby administration, his failure to promote sport a s a reconciliation tool (beyond cheerleading) and his lack of a long-term visi on for sport. All of which raises the question: do we really need a minister o f sport?
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
Minister of Health
3; 6; 1; 4 (8)
Achievements: Two factors counted in this minister’s favour – her determinatio n in driving through the Abortion Act, and her courage in taking on the tobacc o lobby. Other positives which came up were her commitment to primary health c are, the successful provision of free medical health care for children and mot hers, her “solid” contribution to the battle against Aids, and raising public- service do ctors’ salaries.
Failings: “She does not know when to resign,” the panel said. One panellist al so said she had contributed to a medical brain drain and a policy which underm ined technological development; she appeared to care more for some foreign doc tors than homegrown ones. Poor consultation on the idea of “community service” was raised. The inadequacies of the Aids programme and Family Planning Servic
e were als o cited.