The Cabinet of South Africa is the most senior level of the executive branch of the Government of South Africa. It is made up of the president, the deputy president, and the ministers.[1]
Overview
The cabinet of South Africa consists of the president, deputy president, and ministers.[2] The president appoints the deputy president and ministers, assigns the ministers’ powers and functions, and may dismiss them.[3] The deputy president must be a member of the National Assembly.[4]
The president may select any number of ministers. The ministers must be selected from the members of the National Assembly, with the exception that up to two ministers may be selected from outside the assembly.[5] The deputy president and ministers may be from various political parties, reflecting the outcomes of the general election or coalition agreements. Members of the cabinet are accountable collectively and individually to Parliament for the exercise of their powers and the performance of their functions.[6]
The president appoints deputy ministers to assist relevant ministers in the execution of their duties[8] but they are not members of the cabinet.[9] Deputy ministers must be selected from the members of the National Assembly. The exception is that up to two ministers may be selected from outside the assembly, but they are accountable to Parliament for the exercise of their powers and the performance of their function.[10]
The cabinet is responsible for the general direction and administration of the government of South Africa.
The composition and responsibilities of cabinet members and deputy ministers may be reconfigured by the president as required to enhance efficiency and address the nation's priorities. This reconfiguration is part of the president's executive powers to organize the government in a way that they believe will best serve national interests.[11]
The term of a previous president ends when the new president is sworn into office by the Chief Justice of the Republic.[12][13]
A cabinet member or deputy minister's term of office begins upon their swearing-in, not upon the announcement of their appointment by the president.[14] Their term of office ends when the new president is sworn in, including when a current president is re-inaugurated following an election.[15][13]
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his cabinet on 30 June 2024, sixteen days after being elected president of the 7th administration on 14 June 2024. The delay in settling the cabinet followed the ANC securing only about 40% of the vote in the May national election. When announcing the cabinet president Ramaphosa stated, "In casting their votes, the people [of South Africa] made it clear that they expect political parties to work together to deliver on a mandate of transformation, growth, and renewal. To give effect to this mandate, it was agreed that a Government of National Unity, which brings together parties from across the political spectrum, should be formed."[16]
The following table details the distribution of Parliamentary seats,[19] cabinet members (which include the president and deputy president), and deputy ministers among the parties currently in the GNU. The background colours in the table highlight the relative value of the numbers, with darker shades representing higher values. See below for proportions and ratios regarding these executive positions.
Distribution of Seats and Executive Positions Among GNU Parties
After the 2024 national and provincial election, president Cyril Ramaphosa announced the GNU cabinet and deputy ministers on 30 June 2024.[17][20] The current members of the cabinet of the GNU are listed in the table below.[21] The deputy president and initial set of ministers officially took office upon their swearing-in on 3 July 2024.[22]
Deputy ministers are appointed by the president of South Africa. They are not members of the cabinet. They assist cabinet ministers in the execution of their duties. The current deputy ministers are listed in the table below. The original group of deputy ministers officially took office upon their swearing-in on 3 July 2024.[22]
Proportions and ratios of positions as between GNU parties
The table below details the distribution of parliamentary seats, cabinet members, and deputy ministers among the parties of the GNU. The percentages represent the proportion of each category held by GNU parties only, excluding other parties in Parliament.[17] The background colours in the table highlight the relative value of the numbers, with darker shades representing higher values.
Proportions of parliamentary seats and executive position between GNU parties
Party
% of Seats
% Cabinet Members
% Deputy Ministers
% Total
ANC
55.2%
64.7%
81.6%
73.6%
DA
30.2%
17.6%
13.2%
15.3%
IFP
5.9%
5.9%
2.8%
PA
3.1%
2.9%
1.4%
FF+
2.1%
2.9%
1.4%
UDM
1.0%
2.6%
1.4%
Rise
0.7%
0.0%
Aljama
0.7%
2.6%
1.4%
PAC
0.3%
2.9%
1.4%
Good
0.3%
2.9%
1.4%
The table below illustrates the ratios of executive positions to Parliamentary seats among the parties of the GNU.[17] The background colours in the table highlight the relative value of the numbers, with darker shades representing higher values.
Ratios of cabinet and deputy minister positions to parliamentary seats among GNU parties
Party
Ratio: Cabinet members vs Seats
Ratio: Deputy Ministers vs Seats
Ratio: Cabinet & Deputies vs seats
ANC
1.17
1.48
1.33
DA
0.58
0.44
0.51
IFP
1.00
0.00
0.47
PA
0.94
0.00
0.44
FF+
1.41
0.00
0.67
UDM
0.00
2.53
1.33
Rise
0.00
0.00
0.00
Aljama
0.00
3.79
2.00
PAC
8.47
0.00
4.00
Good
8.47
0.00
4.00
Changes to ministerial portfolios from 2009
The president may restructure cabinet at his discretion, meaning that ministerial portfolios may be changed or dissolved.[23] Defunct ministerial portfolios include those in the table below. They are listed chronologically by the year within which they were dissolved or changed.
In 1989, Rina Venter became the first woman to hold a cabinet post in South African history.[30] Following the end of apartheid and the first multi-racial elections in 1994, Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa and appointed a Government of National Unity consisting of African National Congress, National Party, and Inkatha Freedom Party members. In 1996, the National Party withdrew from the GNU and the cabinet's composition has been dominated by ANC members since then. The Inkatha Freedom Party continued to hold seats in the government, as minority partners, until the elections of 2004. In 2014, Lynne Brown became the first openly LGBT person to serve as a cabinet minister in South Africa and Africa.[31]
In 2019, president Cyril Ramaphosa appointed the first gender-balanced cabinet in South African history.[32]
Pre-1994 history
On 31 May 1910, former Boer military general and the former prime minister of the Transvaal ColonyLouis Botha became the first prime minister of the newly established Union of South Africa—the forerunner of the modern South African state. He appointed the first cabinet of the Union of South Africa after the general election held on 15 September 1910. It consisted of members of the now-defunct South African Party.[33] For the next fourteen years, it only consisted of members of the SAP. Botha died in 1919 and was replaced with another Boer general and SAP member, Jan Smuts.[34]
In 1924, J. B. M. Hertzog of the National Party became prime minister through a coalition with the Labour Party and appointed a cabinet that consisted of National Party and Labour Party members. In 1934, the Hertzog's National Party and the South African Party merged to form the United Party.[35] Hertzog won the 1938 general election, but in 1939 the United Party was divided between supporters of Hertzog and those of his Justice Minister Jan Smuts because of the question of South Africa's role in the Second World War. Hertzog was voted out in the United Party and resigned as prime minister, which allowed Jan Smuts to form a government in coalition with the Dominion Party and the Labour Party.[36] The 1948 general election was won outright by D. F. Malan's Herenigde Nasionale Party and Malan appointed his first cabinet composed of National Party members. For the next forty-six years, South Africa would be governed by the National Party.
On 31 May 1961, South Africa became a republic and Queen Elizabeth II was replaced as head of state with a state president with largely ceremonial powers.[37] The Prime Minister was still head of government and appointed/dismissed members of the cabinet. In 1984, the constitution was amended and the office of prime minister was abolished while the office of state president was given more responsibilities. State president P. W. Botha was now the head of state and head of government.[38] In the 1984 tricameral parliamentary elections, Allan Hendrickse's Labour Party won a majority of seats in the coloured House of Representatives, while Amichand Rajbansi's National People's Party won a plurality of seats in the Indian House of Delegates.[39] Hendrickse and Rajbansi were appointed to serve in Botha's second cabinet as Minister of Coloureds' Affairs and Minister of Indian Affairs, respectively, becoming the first non-white members of the South African cabinet.
^Section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution provides that members of the cabinet must "provide Parliament with full and regular reports concerning matters under their control".
^They are omitted from Section 91(1), which defines the cabinet.
^Section 93(1) and (2) of the Constitution. While there is no explicit provision that deputy ministers from the assembly are individually accountable to Parliament in the same manner as ministers, they are be accountable through the ministers they assist.
^Since the president assigns the ministers' powers and functions in terms of Section 91(2), and by implication also those of deputy ministers.
^Section 88 provides that the president’s term of office begins on assuming office and ends upon a vacancy occurring or when the person next elected president assumes office.
^Section 95 of the Constitution requires that ministers swear or affirm faithfulness to the Republic and obedience to the Constitution ‘’before they commence their duties’’.
^This is derived from section 88 of the Constitution, read with section 91. Section 91(2) states that the president appoints the deputy president and ministers, chooses their responsibilities, and may dismiss them. Thus, when the term of office of a president ends on the inauguration of the next president, so do the terms of their deputy president, ministers and deputy ministers.
^Where incumbents first took office in the same portfolio before the swearing-in of the current cabinet, the earliest date of taking office is used, reflecting practical continuity. However, these terms are not legally continuous. The table considers a previous term only if the portfolio name matches exactly with that in the immediately preceding period.
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