It's all systems go for Paul Mashatile to be appointed the country's deputy president after being sworn in as a member of parliament in Cape Town on Monday.
As speculation intensifies about the potential cabinet reshuffle expected to be announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa before the State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday, an elated Mashatile was sworn in as an MP alongside other ANC members – former KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala, former Johannesburg mayor Parks Tau and recently elected ANC second deputy secretary-general Maropene Ramokgopa.
Mashatile's swearing in, facilitated by National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe-Mapisa Nqakula, comes after deputy president David Mabuza announced over the weekend he was stepping down as the country's second in command.
However, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said Ramaphosa had asked Mabuza to delay his resignation.
When probed about the pending cabinet reshuffle and when he would assume the role of being the country's deputy president, Mashatile said he was just happy being an MP, for now.
Mashatile was elected ANC deputy president during the party's 55th national conference held in Nasrec. Mabuza, who declined nomination, did not make it to the ANC national executive committee.
"For now, I'm happy to be an MP. Let’s leave it there for now. I’m looking forward to being sworn in as an MP. I’ve been sworn in as an MP and we’re ready to serve as members of parliament," he said.
Asked when the president would announce his cabinet reshuffle, ANC chief whip in Parliament Pemmy Majodina said the country should allow the president space and would make announcement when the time is right. "The president is yet to reshuffle, so far we don’t know any person who's going where or what," she said.
When probed about Mabuza and his role in the ANC caucus, Majodina said he remained the deputy president of the country. "In the caucus, we operate as a single unit but the leader of government business becomes the deputy president of the country. There’s no problem of one being a deputy president of the ANC and one being the deputy president of the country.
"So far yes, Mabuza is still the deputy president of the country but we know about his intention to leave the deputy president [post]. We’re waiting for the president to give the nod. Let’s wait for the president to finish with the Mining Indaba and see what happens. The deputy president of the country has expressed he doesn't want to continue," Majodina said.
Commenting on the delayed announcement of the cabinet reshuffle, political analyst Dr Ongama Mtimka said Ramaphosa had a lot of considerations to make before announcing a cabinet reshuffle.
“One, he has to worry about his continued stay in office; two, he has to worry about how cabinet reshuffle may upset the dynamics at the level of the party. Lastly, how to make changes could give confidence to South Africans to say he cares about the performance of government,” Mtimka said.
“If he makes a cabinet reshuffle before Sona, I think he’ll be attempting to divert attention to the cabinet reshuffle before of a not-so-great-story to tell ... but if he feels there’s no way to win, he may announce it after Sona because he doesn’t want to yet trigger unfavourable dynamics in Parliament.
“What we’ll see a lot of in 2023-2024 is the rise of an activist Parliament where even more ANC MPs might be aligned with the opposition after feeling slighted in the cabinet reshuffle,” he said.
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