All eyes on Cyril Ramaphosa’s inauguration

Cyril Ramaphosa will be sworn in as the president on Wednesday in a ceremony likely to be attended by 18 heads of state, mostly from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) region and the continent.

Ramaphosa was elected president last Friday in the National Assembly with the help of minority parties including the DA, Patriotic Alliance (PA), IFP and GOOD — all the signatories of the ANC-brokered government of national unity (GNU) in a power-sharing deal. 

Cabinet positions will be shared proportionately among the five parties, meaning ANC members will receive the lion’s share of the positions, while the DA members will have the second most. 

According to the constitution, when an election of the National Assembly is held, the cabinet, deputy president, ministers and deputy ministers remain competent to function until the person elected president assumes office.

Ramaphosa is expected to announce a reconfigured cabinet at a later date. 

MPs, representatives of political parties, leaders of organised labour, business and civil society organisations, and religious leaders are also expected to attend. 

The list, however, excludes former president and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party leader Jacob Zuma, whose party is disputing the outcome of the elections in the electoral court. Former president Thabo Mbeki is expected to attend, together with other dignitaries.

The ceremony will take place at the Union Buildings.

Countries that will be represented at the inauguration include eSwatini, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, Tanzania, Uganda, China, Egypt, Palestine and Cuba, according to presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.

Business Day understands that the swearing-in ceremony was originally planned to be hosted at Loftus  Versfeld Stadium on Saturday but was moved to the seat of government due to a rugby match scheduled for the same day. 

The ceremony will include the usual 21-gun salute, a fly-past by the SA Air Force and a guard of honour mounted by an SA National Defence Force battalion.

While Ramaphosa is going to announce his cabinet only at a later date, speculation about who will take the political leadership of which ministry has already begun among those in the GNU.

The PA’s Gayton McKenzie has already said his party is eyeing either home affairs or the police ministries, while GOOD leader Patricia de Lille is expected to remain in the cabinet as minister of tourism.

There is unconfirmed talk in political circles of DA leader John Steenhuisen joining the presidency.

Meanwhile, in KwaZulu-Natal premier Thami Ntuli announced his new executive made up of representatives from the DA, IFP, ANC and the National Freedom Party (NFP).

In that province, the MK party received 45% of the vote but failed to form a government. The IFP, which received 18% of the vote, took the lion’s share of the executive, followed by the ANC, DA and NFP. There was no room for former premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube in the provincial government.

Ntuli said he considered “experience so that not everyone will be new” and ensured “women play a role in the development of KwaZulu-Natal” with the appointment of three women. 

“We have promised we will prioritise fighting crime and bringing stability to the province; as a result I have decided to place community safety and liaison in the office of the premier,” Ntuli said.

He was particularly focused on crime because of its effect on economic activity and investment. 

“To the appointed members of the executive, I appreciate that we come from different political homes and we campaigned with different manifestos,” said Ntuli. “However, now is the time to put the people of KwaZulu-Natal first. All of us are expected to serve with honesty, dignity and diligence. We must never betray the people of our province who voted for us.”

From the IFP, Musa Zondi was appointed economic development & environment affairs MEC, while Thulasizwe Buthelezi got the co-operative governance & traditional affairs portfolio. Mntomuhle Khawula was appointed to sports, arts & culture and Thembeni Madlopha-Mthethwa takes the helm at the agriculture & rural development department. 

ANC MPL Nomagugu Simelane will head the health department, while the NFP’s Mbali Shinga was appointed the MEC for social development. ANC chair in the province Siboniso Duma was appointed MEC for transport & human settlements and another ANC MPL, Siphosihle Hlomuka, was appointed to lead education.

Two DA MPLs — Martin Meyer and Francois Rodgers — will head the public works & infrastructure and the provincial treasury, respectively.

With TimesLIVE

maekot@businesslive.co.za