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Deputy ministers are appointed to assist ministers in carrying out their duties, but the Presidency has confirmed that such appointments remain the sole prerogative of Ramaphosa.
Deputy minister of police Polly Boshielo. Picture: X / @SAPoliceService
The purpose of a deputy minister has again been questioned as chaos engulfs the police ministry.
Firoz Cachalia will assume the acting police minister position on 1 August, but President Cyril Ramaphosa added more fuel to the fire with a shock announcement.
The fallout has been endless since KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi rocked the security cluster with damning allegations against officials two weeks ago.
Presidential prerogative
The president announced on Tuesday that Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe will lead the police ministry on an acting basis until Cachalia takes over in two weeks.
The Presidency confirmed on Tuesday that Mantashe will retain his mineral resources role, with many asking why Deputy Minister Polly Boshielo was not drafted in.
Spokesperson for The Presidency, Vincent Magwenya, was asked why the president had not considered Boshielo for a promotion.
“The question assumes that there’s a template or criteria, and it ignores the prerogative that the constitution grants to the president in appointing members of the national executive,” Magwenya told The Citizen.
Before her appointment to Ramaphosa’s Cabinet, Boshielo served as Limpopo MEC for transport and previously held the position of MEC for education.
Boshielo had an earlier stint in the national assembly from 2014 to 2015 before being redeployed to Limpopo, where she was elected speaker of the provincial legislature.
In addition to her ANC membership, the Seshego native has also been a member of the South African Communist Party.
Staffing costs
Boshielo addressed the question herself on Tuesday, stating that the temporary promotion would not be permissible.
“In terms of the law, the deputy minister can’t be appointed as the acting minister, only if let’s say there is a reshuffle,” Boshielo told SAfm.
“We are waiting for the acting minister to start working with us. Yes, we have spoken to our staff. I cannot lie to you, the morale is a bit low,” she added.
Cachalia will act as the minister while a commission of inquiry investigates Mkhwanazi’s allegations, raising additional questions about possible staff expenses.
“Yes, [Cachalia] will be able to bring his own staff once he has made his own assessment on how he will prefer to work,” Magwenya explained to The Citizen.
“He can also choose to use some of Minister Mchunu’s staff. It will be up to him once he has made an assessment,” he added.
Bloated Cabinet
The purpose of deputy ministers was raised last year after Ramaphosa announced a bloated Cabinet to accommodate the government of national unity.
ActionSA have led the charge to ditch deputy minister roles altogether, launching a Cabinet amendment bill to abolish the positions.
The party states that doing so would save South Africa as much as R1.5 billion in salaries, support staff costs and perks.
“The president must seize this moment, right-size the Cabinet and restore effective governance,” stated ActionSA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip.
“[This] Cabinet is not only one of the largest in the world but also deeply ineffective, with worsening socio-economic indicators reflecting a failure rooted in absent reforms,” he concluded.
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