The EFF said President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet reshuffle was a “pretense” at solving the country’s numerous issues and an “exercise to repay his political debts” to ANC members who re-elected him as the party’s president in December.
In the statement, the EFF repeated its demand for the president to resign, calling the reshuffle “meaningless”.
It said the reshuffle had no discernible effect on the daily lives of South Africans.
Ramaphosa announced his new Cabinet on Monday at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, where he introduced two new ministries.
The EFF criticised the appointment of Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Mondli Gungubele and Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.
“Her incompetence has now been rewarded with a position that will see her preside over the intelligence services of a country that is faced with rising levels of violent crime, frequent mass shootings, and a nation that has been identified as a haven for the financing of terrorist activity.”
Gungubele now heads up communications and digital technologies, which the EFF said was unjustifiable, and linked his appointment to his alleged role in preventing Ramaphosa’s resignation.
“South Africa’s role in the communications space will degenerate further as a pretentious and incapable individual will lead it.”
Ramokgopa is the country’s first minister of electricity. The EFF said Ramokgopa, who had “failed dismally” as the mayor of Tshwane, would be used as a “lapdog” to oversee the just transition to renewable energy.
Cabinet reshuffle
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The EFF added that “Ramaphosa has shown his cowardice, in that he has registered a motion of no confidence in both Gwede Mantashe and Pravin Gordhan – and, instead of removing them, he has chosen to appoint a third person to pretend to resolve the crippling energy crisis in South Africa”.
The party criticised the president for keeping Bheki Cele, Thulas Nxesi and Blade Nzimande as ministers, and said he had “betrayed his own commitment of cutting down [the] Cabinet to spare the coffers of South Africa from paying for the lifestyles of useless ministers and deputy ministers”.
