PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has announced Paul Mashatile as the country's Deputy President.
The long-awaited announcement was made on Monday night, 6 March at the Union Buildings.
The President made several other changes in his cabinet, including the appointment of Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, the Minister in charge of electricity in the office of the President, a newly created portfolio to deal with power outages.
"We said in the State of the Nation Address that our most immediate task is to dramatically reduce the severity of load shedding in the coming months and ultimately end load shedding altogether," said Ramaphosa.
He said that under Section 97 of the Constitution, he will delegate certain powers and functions contained in relevant legislation to the Minister of Electricity to do his job.
"The Minister in the Presidency for Electricity will liaise with other relevant Ministers to ensure coherence in the issuing of other directions during the national state of disaster. The Minister in the Presidency for Electricity will remain in office only for as long as it is necessary to resolve the electricity crisis," said Ramaphosa.
Lindiwe Sisulu, was dismissed as Minister of Tourism and replaced by Patricia de Lille, who had previously been Minister of Public Works.
Ramaphosa said he understands that South Africans have expressed concern about how long it has taken to complete these changes.
"This delay is the result of a number of processes that needed to be followed, some of which relate to the requirements of the Constitution relating to the appointment of members of the National Executive," he said.
The list of all new ministers:
- Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni
- Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma
- Minister in the Presidency responsible for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Maropene Ramokgopa
- Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Thembi Nkadimeng
- Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Mondli Gungubele
- Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Sihle Zikalala
- Minister of Public Service and Administration, Noxolo Kiviet
- Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Zizi Kodwa
- Minister of Transport, Sindisiwe Chikunga
ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula said the appointment of Ramokgopa is a great thing because he brings both a political and academic understanding of what needs to be done to end loadshedding.
Cosatu Secretary General Solly Phetoe said he trusts the Minister of Electricity and would not be shocked if power cuts become a thing of the past in the coming months.
