Africa-Press – South-Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned lawmakers not to get bogged down with the headcount of his Cabinet as this may water down attempts to have a capable state.
On Thursday, Ramaphosa told the National Council of Provinces the needs of the country should guide the size and configuration of the national executive.
“We need an efficient and lean government, but if we become fixated on headcounts, we may lose sight of having a capable state in the first place. The capability of the state is what informs the approach we have taken,” he said.
Asked about the growing number of ministers in the Presidency, Ramaphosa said: “It’s not a process to centralise power. I trust all my ministers, including the deputy president, and that is why he was appointed.
“There is an oversight on these matters, I am standing here, and there is an oversight. This is a process of creating a much more capable state.”
He added the country needed a government with resources and the ability to tackle challenges like poverty, joblessness, homelessness, illiteracy, lack of social infrastructure and the significant burden of disease.
“At the same time, account needs to be taken of available resources. Where it is possible to rationalise ministries, departments, and other state entities without affecting outcomes, we should do so.
“At the start of this administration in 2019, we reduced the number of ministries from 34 to 28.
“We combined a number of ministries. For example, we combined trade and industry with economic development; higher education and training with science and technology; environmental affairs with forestry and fisheries and agriculture with land reform and rural development, among others,” Ramaphosa said.
Last month, News24 reported the Department of Public Service and Administration submitted to Ramaphosa a substantive report on the macro-reorganisation of the state in April 2019.
Since then, Ramaphosa has disregarded advice from his government to trim down his bloated Cabinet and keep it to no more than 22 ministers.
This after he promised the public in his first State of the Nation Address in 2018 he would cut the size of the executive and later even hinted at doing away with deputy ministers.
Since then, Ramaphosa has only increased his executive, adding two new ministries last month.
The recent changes in the Cabinet, which now consists of 30 ministers, directly contradict his previous assurances on the reconfiguration of the national executive.
Four years ago, Ramaphosa was advised that state-owned entities should be aligned to its policy departments instead of them being placed under the management of the Department of Public Enterprises.
Ramaphosa is adamant though the steps he recently took will improve services.
“The two new ministries I announced earlier this month respond to specific needs that our country has at this time.
“As I explained in the State of the Nation Address, we need a minister to coordinate and drive our response to the electricity crisis. This is a temporary position, and the minister will remain in office only for as long as it is necessary to resolve the crisis,” he said.
Ramaphosa added the second new department – for planning, monitoring and evaluation – was meant to focus on ensuring the government effectively implemented its programmes.
“Neither of these ministries requires the establishment of new departments.
“The minister of electricity will work with relevant departments and entities to coordinate implementation of the energy action plan, and the minister of planning, monitoring and evaluation will be responsible for the existing Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation.
“We are forging ahead with the process we embarked upon at the start of this administration to build a capable state with entities that add value to government’s programme of action,” he said.
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