President Cyril Ramaphosa, unsurprisingly, didn’t boot ineffectual Police Minister Bheki Cele out of his cabinet in this week’s reshuffle.
The voting bloc Cele has delivered to Ramaphosa to ensure his ascension to, and subsequent retention of, the ANC presidency has apparently made the former schoolteacher from KwaZulu-Natal politically untouchable.
Cele’s continued presence in the cabinet is confirmation that the ANC, as governing party, is unconcerned about making South Africa a more equal society that is safe and prosperous.
The changes made by Ramaphosa to his cabinet. Police Minister Bheki Cele survived. (Compiled by Lineo Letaba)
This mediocrity means the ANC-led government appears increasingly incapable of responding to the crises that are wrecking faith in the rule-of-law and threatening to break democracy — whether these be unemployment, substance abuse among the youth or climate change.
Advertising
Your M&G
Did you enjoy this feature? The Mail & Guardian has a proud 35 year history of producing South Africa’s best-informed, independent journalism. Since the very beginning, we have relied on the support of paying subscribers to fund our writers.
Doing so guarantees our editorial independence and enables us to survive no matter what the bad actors, the economy or Covid-19 throws at us. Want to support the Mail & Guardian? You can get unlimited access to all of stories, plus our weekly crossword and subscriber events from just R99 a month.