SCORE: B Velenkosini Hlabisa quickly brought both structure and order to South Africa’s most dysfunctional tier of government, reading them the riot act over unpaid Eskom and water board debts. He has established an inter-ministerial committee focused on improving audit outcomes at all 257 municipalities and has intervened in a number of stalled municipal infrastructure […]
SCORE: B Ronald Lamola has brought his particular blend of principle and pragmatism to foreign affairs. So far, so good. He rightly wants South Africa to stand for more on the international stage than solidarity with Palestine. The question is what. Lamola is lucid about the risks of the Donald Trump presidency and the rights […]
SCORE: C Khumbudzo Ntshavheni’s tenure in 2024 saw legislative advancements, including the tabling of the Public Service Amendment Bill and Public Administration Management Amendment Bill, aimed at restructuring South Africa’s public service. These efforts align with her vision of a professional public sector, which she promised in her 2024 budget speech. Operation Vulindlela, which gained […]
SCORE: C+ It was a blessing for South Africans and foreign nationals when Gayton McKenzie was named minister of sports, arts and culture instead of home affairs. And it was surprising when the Patriotic Alliance leader acted decisively by pulling the plug on “superfan” funding. Last year, R1.3 million of taxpayers’ money was spent on sending […]
Pre-existing policy tensions between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance have been the biggest stressors on Ramaphosa’s government
SCORE: C+ There has been a case of new ooms sweeping clean in the prisons department, where new minister Pieter Groenewald has made significant progress. Groenewald has identified five priorities in reforming the parole system; maintenance of 243 prisons; easing overcrowding (prisons are on average 46% over capacity); food production in all prisons and improving […]
SCORE: C Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has had a mixed performance. The department allocated R2 billion through the Small Enterprise Finance Agency, benefiting more than 80 000 small businesses and cooperatives and creating nearly 100 000 jobs. She initiated programmes to enhance trade opportunities and retail placement for small enterprises. The minister also oversaw initiatives such as distributing point-of-sale equipment […]
SCORE: E Besides filling up venues for the ANC Women’s League prayer evenings and marches against gender-based violence, one has to scratch one’s head to figure out exactly what Sisisi Tolashe’s track record as minister is. She took over the department after serving in the sixth administration as the deputy minister in the presidency for […]
SCORE: D Before Mmamoloko Kubayi was moved to the department of justice and constitutional development on 3 December, the minister appeared to have had a good handle on the human settlements portfolio. It received a clean audit during the 2023-23 financial year, and there was no fruitless and wasteful expenditure either. The minister stabilised her […]
Negotiating a broad coalition to hold the political centre was perhaps the president’s finest political hour