Publication: Sunday Argus Issued: Date: 2006-01-29 Reporter: Chiara Carter

Cabinet Shuffle On Cards as Parliament Opens

 

Publication 

Sunday Argus
Date

2006-01-29

Reporter

 Chiara Carter

Web Link

www.capeargus.co.za

 

A cabinet reshuffle and a shift at the helm of the government communications unit loom as the government prepares for the new year.

Following a cabinet meeting last week, the government this weekend announced that Joel Netshitenzhe who heads both government information and communication as well as the presidential policy unit will, within a year, head only the policy unit.

Deputy Minister of Correctional Services Cheryl Gillwald is to quit the government from this week because of "family commitments".

Netshitenzhe is widely respected as one of the most influential thinkers in top government echelons - so much so that his name is often mentioned as a possible future president.

He has been straddling the two roles and the shift indicates just how important the formulation of policy and its implementation are considered within the presidency.

Netshitenzhe yesterday said his eventual move indicated concern to build better capacity in the presidency to evaluate the implementation of government programmes.

The need was not so much for policy formulation, as implementation.

This needed to be looked at not only across national departments, but also across the different tiers (provincial and local), Netshitenzhe said.

The new focus comes against the backdrop of growing criticism among ANC supporters of the government's perceived failures in making good on all its promises.

Gillwald, previously deputy minister of justice, is bowing out of the government in February and the cabinet has thanked her for her work both in cabinet and as an MP.

She earned a name for herself as a progressive voice pushing gender issues to give the justice system a humane face. She strove to ensure it worked for women and children.

Her departure is certain to rekindle speculation about a wider cabinet reshuffle that has been predicted as President Thabo Mbeki heads for the mid-term of his last stint as the country's president.

Previous speculation centred on Public Works Minister Stella Sigcau who was said to be poised to bow out because of health problems, and the future of Finance Minister Trevor Manuel who marks a decade in one of the most senior posts in government.

However, Netshitenzhe yesterday said there were no indications whether the president had a cabinet reshuffle in mind.

Analysts believe changes, if they do take place, will occur after local government elections and possibly much will hinge on how former deputy president Jacob Zuma fares in court when he faces rape and corruption charges. *1

The cabinet followed its first regular meeting of the year with a two-day lekogtla whose deliberations will influence the state-of-the-nation address delivered by Mbeki when parliament opens in Cape Town on Friday this week.

A plan for bridging the two-economies divide and how to reach 6% growth while creating jobs was high on the lekogtla agenda.

Netshitenzhe declined to discuss concrete goals and plans, saying these would be announced by Mbeki when he addressed parliament.

The lekgotla was attended by cabinet members, deputy ministers, premiers, national and provincial DGs and advisers in the presidency as well as, for the first time, office-bearers of the SA Local Government Association and its CEO, indicating how firmly the government hopes to strengthen integration across the different spheres of government.

There is speculation that Mbeki may use his address to announce the fate of the controversial Scorpions.

With acknowledgements to Chiara Carter and Sunday Argus.


*1  Shows the potency of The Mighty Fishers.