The country’s second-in-command, Kgalema Motlanthe, who was the president for seven months while Jacob Zuma waited in the wings, has all but disappeared from the public eye.
Political analyst Sipho Seepe blamed former president Thabo Mbeki for ”re-engineering” the presidency in a manner that concentrated powers in his office and left the weaker functions to the deputy president, a position occupied by Zuma between 1999 and 2005.
”What Zuma has inherited is the presidency that was created by Mbeki,” said Seepe. ”Mandela’s presidency was different; Thabo Mbeki was a deputy president who was in charge.”
Seepe said that Motlanthe’s modus operandi since his appointment as Zuma’s deputy in May could be a calculated political move.
”It might be deliberate on his part to do less, so as not to be seen as clinging on to the position [of president],” he said.
Motlanthe might have decided to allow Zuma the space to ”define his presidency” to avoid appearing a ”tutor” to the president.
Ebrahim Fakir, head of governance institutions and processes at the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa, agreed that there were structural problems, but said it should be acknowledged that the new administration was still struggling with ”role definition”.
”I am not sure that the definition of roles has been clearly done. It can’t solely be the result of Mbeki’s legacy,” said Fakir.
He said Zuma was playing the ”facilitator” while Motlanthe was a ”policy implementer” involved in hands-on governance.
”We keep saying Zuma doesn’t have policies of his own, that he isn’t very involved in everyday governance. That may be what Kgalema is doing.”
The presidency’s website recorded more than 10 events that Motlanthe attended between May 23 and this week, including the unveiling of the statues of Oliver and Adelaide Tambo, addressing two conferences, a farewell function for the Public Service Commission’s Stan Sangweni, addressing the birthday celebrations of ANC stalwarts Nelson Mandela and Ahmed Kathrada and attending a plenary meeting of the South African National Aids Council.
The chief director of communications in the presidency, Steyn Speed, said Motlanthe was hard at work meeting diplomats, local and provincial governments, business, organised labour and religious, traditional and community leaders.
”He does so in the normal course of assisting the president in managing the day-to-day affairs of government,” Speed said.
The important meetings between the presidency and stakeholders were not always publicised, said Speed. For example, Motlanthe has held meetings with senior managers from MTN and Anglo American. He also oversaw the appointment of Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus.
Speed said Motlanthe chaired some Cabinet meetings and attended the ANC’s national working committee meetings almost every Monday.
He also chaired the 2010 Fifa World Cup inter-ministerial committee, which monitored the implementation of South Africa’s guarantees to Fifa and supported state departments and host cities.
Motlanthe regularly met parliamentary office-bearers to ensure that the executive was available to answer questions in the National Assembly.
He received courtesy calls from East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão in May and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week.
Observers commented that it was difficult for the deputy president to work without a team dedicated to his office, including his own spokesperson.
Thabo Masebe, his spokesperson during his presidential term, was acting in that capacity until last week, when he returned to the Gauteng provincial government. Speed said he would perform the duties of Motlanthe’s spokesperson until one was appointed.