The Constitution states that the Cabinet consists of the President, Deputy President and Ministers. It empowers the President to appoint the Deputy President and Ministers and assign their powers and functions. Moreover, it empowers the President to appoint Deputy Ministers who are accountable to Parliament for the exercise of their powers and the performance of their functions.
The President, in accordance with the Constitution, must select the Deputy President from among the members of the National Assembly and may appoint “any number” of Ministers and Deputy Ministers selected from among the members of the National Assembly. However, he or she is entitled to appoint no more than two Ministers and Deputy Ministers from outside the National Assembly.
A reading of the Constitution reveals that the President’s powers to appoint Ministers and Deputy Ministers are not as limited as some may think.
The startling realisation that may have become apparent to some readers is that the President is constitutionally empowered, should he or she choose, to appoint a member of an opposition party in the National Assembly into the Cabinet. He or she may also bypass their political party entirely and appoint “no more than two” Ministers and Deputy Ministers from outside the National Assembly.
One could imagine many situations where it would be in the interests of our country for the President to exercise such discretion. For example, appointing a member of the opposition party as Minister of a Department tasked with dealing with governmental corruption would aid in the perceived integrity of such a Department.
The question that arises is why a President would not exercise their powers in such a fashion when they are constitutionally empowered to?
The answer reveals the true nature of these appointment powers in practical terms. The appointment of the Cabinet is a political choice. This is for a number of reasons. South Africans vote for political parties but ultimately it is the parties themselves which decide whom amongst their numbers will represent the party in the National Assembly. Tied in with this is that the President, who appoints the Ministers, is herself elected by the National Assembly.
It is therefore quite reasonable to assume that a political leader who rises to become leader of their party through the support of a constituency or caucus in that party would appoint those members to Cabinet. Firstly, to recognise their contribution in his or her appointment to President. Secondly, as a manner by which the leader entrenches her authority in the party and thirdly because it would be reasonable to expect that these high-ranking members would support the leader’s policy choices.
All of this of course seems disheartening to voters. Is it acceptable that the appointment of our Cabinet is necessarily entwined with politics?
I argue that it is and moreover that the citizens of this country need to accept this reality. Instead of rejecting it as disempowering we need to alter our behaviour and embrace it.
The reality, to my mind, is that citizens play a direct role in the nature of appointments to Cabinet.
Our role as citizens begins with the type of leaders we accept in our political parties. If we consistently support purely charismatic leaders, as opposed to more innovative and intelligent leaders to head our political parties, then the argument that our Cabinet is not comprised of suitably qualified individuals falls squarely at our feet. Instead of remaining politically dormant we should realise that our active participation in political parties helps shape the nature of the leaders appointed to Cabinet.
Our active participation leads directly to the appoint of the types of leaders who would bypass the National Assembly and appoint the most suitably qualified economist as Minister of Finance or appoint a member of the opposition to Cabinet in a manner that supports accountability and transparency.
By engaging with the appointment process at its political party foundation, we can shape the manner of the political choice. By engaging in active citizenry, we can pressure political parties into exercising this choice with service delivery and not merely politics in mind. By instilling our values and expectations into this choice, we change it into a political choice that serves us and not simply our leaders.
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