New ministers will not implement individual party policies — Ntshavheni

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has sought to clarify policies cabinet members in the government of national unity (GNU) will implement after weeks of speculation.

Addressing media on Thursday, Ntshavheni said priorities of all cabinet ministers will be reliant on the national development plan (NDP). 

These priorities will be adopted at the scheduled two-day cabinet lekgotla which starts on Thursday. 

“Whoever said this is the policy I'm going to implement, no. Whoever said this is the priority I'm going to implement, no. Those decisions can only be taken at the lekgotla. They [ministers] can say those are the things they are going to debate and engage at the lekgotla for prioritisation.” 

She added new ministers should use the time before the lekgotla for onboarding by receiving briefings and consultation with directors-general (DGs) on how to shape the direction of the discussions at the lekgotla. 

“If they feel they have to drive a particular priority from parties that have deployed them to parliament, they must do that through the DGs who are drafting and reviewing what has been proposed in the documents.”

It would be difficult for the new cabinet to prioritise and implement all 11 party manifestos which necessitates it focus on the NDP. 

“We have indicated our filter is the NDP goals and targets. If it doesn't help us achieve the NDP goals it cannot be part of competing priorities because you need to have certain numbers to implement.” 

Mail & Guardian reported last year that 10 years on the NDP's economic targets had not only been missed, but are moving in the wrong direction.

The NDP’s goal was to reduce unemployment from 25.4% in 2012 to 6% in 2030.

It also aimed to reduce income inequality, but the country’s Gini income measure remains unchanged compared with 2012.

In its conception, the NDP forecast the economy would need to grow by 5.4% a year to achieve the overarching goal of eradicating poverty and reducing inequality and unemployment by 2030.

Ntshavheni said the  seventh administration's task will be achieving vision 2030.  

Ministers have already indicated their priorities in their respective portfolios. Shortly after their appointment by President Cyril Ramaphosa, DA ministers indicated through social media what they would priorities. 

In the security cluster, the DA has made a bold step by announcing it would grant visa extensions to temporary residents. 

Home affairs minister Leon Schreiber said those who had applied for visa extensions, including tourists and foreign students, will be allowed to stay in the country until the end of the year.

Ntshavheni's statements could mean such decisions could be reversed. 

She said there was a process for cabinet to make decisions, which starts with DGs, then goes to a technical cluster and a forum for directors-general. This forum would then take a matter for discussion to a minister's cluster where the discussion is processed through a cabinet committee.

“Cabinet is the final arbiter on matters but most issues not agreed at cluster level don't find their way to cabinet meetings,” she said. 

The ANC added its voice to the conversation on Thursday, saying there is certainty about the policy platform of the ANC-led GNU.

ANC acting spokesperson Zuko Godlimpi said all its partners had agreed sealed mandates would not exist where each minister in the GNU pursues their sectarian party policies.

“Such an agreement would run counter to the letter and spirit of the constitution, which all GNU party signatories have agreed to act on the basis of,” he said, encouraging South Africans to read up on the statement of intent signed by all parties in the GNU.

“Taken into proper context, especially clause 19.3, it must be understood all existing government policies remain in effect without exception. Any other interpretation of this clause cannot be taken seriously at this point.” 

Clause 19 states sufficient consensus exists when:

• all parties have had the opportunity to express their views;
• despite reasonable attempts to resolve disagreements and find common ground there is no general consensus;
• parties to the GNU representing 60% of seats in the National Assembly agree; and
• any party that disagrees has been able to formally record their objections.

“It is our commitment as the ANC to participate in and sustain rational, honest and educational public discourse. It is for this reason that we seek to clarify the unnecessary false information about what constitutes the policy programme of the GNU,” he said.

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