Deputy President Thabo Mbeki prepares his office for the presidency with a crack economic and strategic team, reports Marion Edmonds
DEPUTY President Thabo Mbeki is poised to tighten his grip further on the presidency, setting up a crack squad in his office to oversee every influential government function.
The Mail & Guardian established this week that a team of economists and strategists are to be drawn into Mbeki’s office this year, establishing a think-tank that will play a key role in drawing up proposals for reconstruction and economic development.
Plans for the task team, whose guidelines are currently being drawn up by the Public Service Department, followed talks Mbeki held with each Cabinet minister late last year. Mbeki is understood to have called on each minister to deliver a business plan, and account for delivery to date.
Mbeki’s representatives said this week that the deputy president also wants to recruit another 65 staff this year – his office currently has 96. His budget allocation has been lifted 20% from last year to R15,8- million. The budget for President Nelson Mandela’s office fell 11% to R23,9-million.
The new unit, which insiders say will function in a manner similar to a ministry of state planning, represents a further responsibility for the deputy president.
His office currently houses the remains of the Reconstruction and Development Programme office, the National Youth Commission, of which Mbeki is the political director, the office of the status of women and the office of the status of the disabled.
But the task team is expected to enable Mbeki to better evaluate performance, consolidating his control over Cabinet and departments prior to the 1999 elections, when he is tipped to take over from Mandela.
Mbeki’s representative told the M&G the unit’s mission statement reads:
“The unit is to enable the presidency to play a leading role in governing formulation and implementation of a broad strategic vision for social reconstruction and economic development through the integration and co-ordination of general economic, monetary, fiscal, labour, market and social development policy.”
The unit’s intervention would also prevent departments duplicating or undermining each other’s work.
Mbeki’s staff currently include Deputy Minister Essop Pahad and Director General Reverend Frank Chikane, plus three chief directors, five directors, four deputy directors, four assistant directors and 79 administrators.
Cabinet has also recommended more staff to help the office run Mbeki’s affairs with greater professionalism.
A Cabinet memorandum from last month says another 21 posts “below the level of management echelon are required” in the deputy president’s office.
“Audit queries, investigations and complaints from the office of the auditor general, Department of State Expenditure and other ministries as well as the household of the deputy president have subsequently arisen.”
The office is planning to expand its communications section, and will appoint a chief director of communications to co- ordinate communication policy and strategy, information technology and public relations thought to extend beyond Mbeki’s department.
Mbeki’s office has also taken on short- term projects. These include the year-long probe into the social security system, headed and co-ordinated by Chikane, the Comtask investigation into government communications, and a report on poverty and inequality.