Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, says the national Cabinet of the seventh administration comprising 76 members which includes 32 Ministers and 43 Deputy Ministers will only adopt their priorities at a scheduled Cabinet lekgotla next week.
Briefing the media in Cape Town this morning, Ntshavheni says, “The Ministers of the sixth administration ceased to be Ministers on Wednesday 19 June 2024, when the President of the seventh administration took oath of office.”
“So no Minister of the sixth administration will make a pronouncement or a commitment or sign anything after the oath of office. Similarly, the 7th administration only assumed office yesterday, the 3rd of July 2024 when they took their oath of office, consequently, the priorities are only going to be adopted at a scheduled lekgotla next week Thursday and Friday,” she adds.
VIDEO | Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni Briefs the Media on GNU:
Build One South Africa’s (BOSA) Ayanda Allie has called on political parties in the opposition benches to refrain from unnecessarily weaponising motions of no confidence against Gauteng Premier PanyazaLesufi.
This after coalition talks between the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the African National Congress (ANC) broke down and the DA withdrew.
Allie says the announcement of the Gauteng executive is long overdue.
“We are calling for maturity. Hearing other opposition parties saying they couldn’t have their way, there would be a motion of no confidence or perhaps they are now not going to vote in favour of a particular Premier over another.”
“I think it’s something that’s quite unbecoming. All of us are now saying let there be government in Gauteng and let that government work. If you have confidence in yourself as a political party, you know you will hold the executive to account,” adds Allie.
PODCAST | Full interview with Ayanda Allie on Lesufi’s announcement of Gauteng’s executive:
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has rejected claims by the Democratic Alliance (DA) that the African National Congress (ANC) blatantly refused to consider giving them more Cabinet seats.
Lesufi says the DA initially accepted a maximum of three out of 10 Cabinet seats but later turned around to say they wanted five.
Lesufi says it is unfortunate that they could not reach an agreement in the end.
He says, “We said we would give you three, the only remaining thing was which portfolios. When we went back to discuss the names of the three candidates and portfolio we will allocate to them they came back to say they are withdrawing the documents. It meant that they are no longer interested in having three candidates. They then put forward a new document saying they want five.”
“The danger of that arrangement is that government was not going to function. We might have lost but the fact is that we got the highest number of votes and that must be reflected in the allocation,” Lesufi adds.
PODCAST | Interview with Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi on SAfm’s Sunrise programme:
ActionSA Gauteng Provincial Caucus leader Funzi Ngobeni says his party believes the new Gauteng Provincial Executive Council announced by Premier Panyaza Lesufi is a continuation of failed politics.
The council, formed after talks with the Democratic Alliance (DA) collapsed, includes members from the African National Congress (ANC), the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the Patriotic Alliance (PA) and RISE Mzansi.
Ngobeni says most of the recycled members of the executive have dismally failed in their previous posts.
He says, “If you look at the composition of this executive you’ll actually realise that about seven of these MECs are from a previous administration – the one that South Africans and the people of Gauteng didn’t give a majority. They failed and that’s why they were punished in the election.”
“They just changed positions but failed dismally in the positions they were running. Panyaza Lesufi is known for gimmicks, we are worried whether he will really oversee the Community Safety Department under his watch with that type of a track record.”
PODCAST | Interview with ActionSA Gauteng Caucus leader Funzi Ngobeni on SAfm’s First Take programme:
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader in Gauteng, Solly Msimanga, says the Deputy Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature and member of the DA, Refiloe Ntsekhe, will resign from her position after the party failed to form part of the Executive of the Gauteng Government of Provincial Unity (GPU).
The DA withdrew from the coalition and took the opposition benches after talks with the African National Congress (ANC) collapsed.
Msimanga says they will not be working with the ANC.
“We are not going to take up positions for the sake of taking positions. The Deputy Speaker taking that position was part of the plan and these things are interlinked and serve a particular course and have an impact in how government runs.”
“Therefore Refiloe is not going to continue in that position. We will be making that announcement either today or tomorrow,” adds Msimanga.
Provincial GNU | Professor Alex Van Den Heever unpacks Gauteng’s Executive Council