About half of the appointments were unchanged from Mbeki's outgoing first-term cabinet, and only six new ministers were appointed.[1] The only major organisational change was Mbeki's decision to sever the Ministry of Arts and Culture from the Ministry of Science and Technology; until then they had been unified as the Ministry of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. The 28-member cabinet included 12 women, an increase from Mbeki's first term.[1]
At the same time as he announced his cabinet, Mbeki announced the names of 21 deputy ministers to serve below the cabinet – a larger number than appointed in his first term.[5] The deputy ministers included a representative of the opposition United Democratic Movement.[6]
The Minister of Public Works, Stella Sigcau, died less than a year later. In the aftermath of her death, on 22 May 2006, Mbeki announced his most extensive cabinet reshuffle, which resulted in the appointment to cabinet of Lulu Xingwana; it also affected three other ministers.[10][11]