South African President Cyril Ramaphosa Names New Coalition Government Cabinet

In Summary

• South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a new coalition government Cabinet.
• The ANC lost its 30-year political dominance in the May 29 national election.
• ANC holds 20 of 32 ministerial positions, DA holds six, and smaller parties share the rest.
• Paul Mashatile reappointed as deputy president, Parks Tau as minister of trade and industry, DA leader Steenhuisen as minister of agriculture.
• Called a "government of national unity" with participation open to all 18 parties in Parliament.
• Highlighted the complexity of the negotiations and the commitment to solving problems through dialogue.

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa named a new Cabinet on Sunday evening after weeks of negotiations between his African National Congress (ANC), the former main opposition party (DA), and nine other parties. This follows the ANC's loss of its 30-year political dominance in the May 29 national election, which forced it to seek coalition partners.

Ramaphosa’s announcement of the new, "unprecedented" multi-party Cabinet comes a month after the ANC’s share of the vote dropped to 40%, leading to the loss of its parliamentary majority for the first time since it came to power at the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule in 1994.

Despite the coalition, the ANC retained the largest share of ministerial positions, with Ramaphosa appointing ANC officials to 20 of the 32 Cabinet minister roles. The Democratic Alliance (DA), which had been the main opposition party and won the second-largest share of the vote with 21%, received six ministerial positions. The remaining posts were shared among some of the smaller parties.

This coalition, referred to as a government of national unity, is open to participation from any of the 18 parties represented in Parliament. However, some parties have refused to take part.

"We have shown that there are no problems that are too difficult or too intractable that they cannot be solved through dialogue," Ramaphosa said, noting the complexity of the negotiations.

In key Cabinet decisions, Ramaphosa reappointed Paul Mashatile of the ANC as his deputy president and appointed Parks Tau of the ANC as the minister of trade and industry, an important portfolio that had been a source of tension between the ANC and DA. DA leader John Steenhuisen was appointed minister of agriculture. Additionally, Ramaphosa brought the leaders of four other political parties into his Cabinet as new ministers.

“We have had to ensure that all the parties are able to participate meaningfully in the national executive,” Ramaphosa said.