OUTA hopes the new cabinet will consult more closely with civil society

OUTA has welcomed the clarity on the composition of the cabinet, but are unimpressed with the increased size of what was already a bloated cabinet. “We believe the increase was so the President could accommodate “old friends” such as Blade Nzimande and Gwede Mantashe, who have both not performed well in their previous positions and would have been better left out,” says OUTA.

Nzimande has done extensive damage to the Higher Education portfolio and, in particular, to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).

The same can be said for Mantashe, who loses Energy to a broader Electricity and Energy ministry under Kgosientsho Ramokgopa but retains control over Mineral and Petroleum Resources. We believe that Minister Mantashe has overstayed his welcome and done far too much damage to the mining industry to have been allowed to continue to head up this portfolio.

We welcome the change in Transport, as this is a ministry that has been in turmoil for well over a decade with seven ministers in the past 15 years. Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga did not cover herself in glory during her tenure as the deputy and then minister of Transport over the past five years, with growing inefficiencies across the department, not least of all being the lack of accountability of the Road Accident Fund CEO, Collins Letsoalo. We hope the new Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, will tackle the many deficiencies and areas of concern, and that she will engage with civil society.

We had expected Senzo Mchunu to retain his position as Minister of Water and Sanitation, as he was doing good work to rectify many problems related to poor performance by his predecessors. Nonetheless, we believe he may be a good fit to assist with the professionalising of the police and to address the lack of leadership that has pervaded the police over many years. We urge the new minister, Pemmy Majodina, to continue the good work that has been done in Water and Sanitation, as we have a water crisis in the country with regards to service delivery and pollution.

OUTA has noted the statements by the President and many political leaders that it is time for the government to focus on working for the people. We would like to take the new cabinet ministers up on these calls and look forward engagements with civil society. There is a lot of work to be done on ensuring transparency and access to information. Civil society has experienced significant difficulty when it comes to gaining access to records of decision and information relating to excessive wasteful expenditure, maladministration and corruption. This has allowed many people to escape the net of accountability, which is a matter that needs urgent attention.