Marianne Merten
Three New National Party provincial leaders Mpumalanga’s Chris MacPherson, North West’s Amie Venter and the Northern Province’s Schalk van Schalkwyk are certain to win places in their provincial cabinets in terms of the cooperative governance pact between the NNP and the African National Congress announced this week.
In terms of the pact, NNP members of provincial legislatures will be promoted to cabinet posts in provinces “with an ANC majority and NNP presence”. MacPherson, Venter and Van Schalkwyk are the only MPLs in Mpumalanga, the North West and the Northern Province respectively.
In Gauteng, which has three NNP MPLs, it is highly likely that provincial leader Johan Kilian will become an MEC. In the Northern Cape, with eight Nat MPLs, provincial leader PW Saaiman is set for a cabinet post, while the same applies to Inus Aucamp, leader in the Free State, which has two Nat MPLs.
In the Eastern Cape, the race for a cabinet post is between MPLs Anna Nash and Tyrone Liberty. Provincial leader Wilhelm le Roux is a national MP.
The consequences of the pact at all government tiers are far-reaching: cabinet reshuffles in the seven ANC-controlled provinces are on the cards, as is a redistribution of responsibilities in provincial legislatures.
Mayoral executive committees in ANC-controlled metros must also be restructured to allocate at least one seat to the NNP. Once Parliament resumes next February new committee chairpersons may also be appointed to accommodate the party.
It is widely expected that the NNP will receive at least one national Cabinet and one deputy minister’s position, although the agreement talks generally of a package of “appointments in national government, parliamentary and other appropriate structures”.
NNP leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk seems bound for the national Cabinet, but NNP and ANC leaders raised a wall of silence on his possible portfolio, and how the Cabinet might be reshaped. All said the decision would be made by President Thabo Mbeki, who plays his cards close to his chest.
An announcement is likely at the latest during Mbeki’s opening of Parliament speech in February.
Among candidates touted for deputy minister are long-serving NNP MP Renier Schoeman, also a key player in the NNP-ANC rapprochement, and black MPs like Johan Durand or Cobus Dowry.
When Van Schalkwyk and ANC heavyweight Steve Tshwete announced the deal on Tuesday, both remained mum on details. “The decision who goes where [and when], that resides with the president. But the principle has been agreed,” said Tshwete.
Both insisted South Africa’s second stint of cooperative governance was more than window dressing and would extend beyond the 2004 election. Van Schalkwyk described it as an opportunity to complete what former president Nelson Mandela and his deputy FW de Klerk started in 1994. Said Tshwete: “We don’t want tokenism. It cannot be wrong to say the NNP and ANC must come together and rebuild this country.”
Tshwete also announced the formation of an ANC-NNP forum at which policy and legislative proposals will be discussed ahead of Cabinet presentation. It is expected to be discussed at Friday’s ANC national working committee meeting.
Appointing a new national deputy minister will be relatively uncomplicated. Twelve possible posts are currently vacant, including housing, health, labour, public enterprise, social development and public service.
Selecting a new Cabinet minister is trickier. Mbeki will have to create a new portfolio, split an existing ministry, drop an incumbent or reshuffle the whole Cabinet. A full reshuffle between elections has not happened since 1994.
At provincial level cabinet reshuffles are on the cards, as at least one MEC must make way to accommodate the NNP. The Constitution limits the number of MECs to 10, ruling out the splitting or creation of portfolios.
The cooperative governance agreement does not apply in KwaZulu-Natal, where the coalition between the ANC and the Inkatha Freedom Party remains. A separate agreement applies to the Western Cape, where the new cabinet is likely to be announced on Wednesday.
The Western Cape NNP head council on Thursday was expected to clear the way for former Cape Town mayor Peter Marais to return as premier. The meeting was also expected to finalise the names of those to fill the five NNP MEC posts. These are likely to be social services, health, transport, sport and agriculture.
The ANC is set to claim a newly combined high-powered finance, corporate governance and poverty alleviation portfolio, as well as business affairs, housing, education and community safety.
The Cape Town council remains without a permanent mayor after former premier Gerald Morkel’s anticipated election was scuppered this week. The Independent Electoral Commission maintained 21 days must pass from the day previous mayor Marais resigned from the Democratic Alliance.
But even if Morkel is elected mayor in mid-December, his stint may be short-lived. The NNP is confident it will secure the 24 councillors required to swing an outright majority in favour of the NNP-ANC coalition.