President Cyril Ramaphosa was due to announce South Africa’s new cabinet on Sunday evening in a development expected to end weeks of haggling among the country’s power-sharing partners and unease political tension across the nation.
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said Ramaphosa was expected to unveil members of the new national executive at 9pm (1900 GMT) on Sunday.
“The new national executive will constitute the 7th Democratic Administration as a government of national unity comprising a diversity of political parties as an outcome of the national and provincial elections held on Wednesday 29 May,” Magwenya said in a statement Sunday.
He said the announcement would be broadcast live on national television and streamed live on South African government social media platforms.
Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) was forced to enter into a GNU agreement with the business-friendly and predominantly white Democratic Alliance (DA) and eight other parties after it lost its majority for the first time during last month’s elections.
However, a deadlock stemming from the allocation of cabinet positions had at some point last week threatened to topple the whole house of cards, amid tense negotiations between the ANC and DA.
Other signatories to the GNU agreement are GOOD party, the Inkhata Freedom Party, Patriotic Alliance, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, Vryheidsfront Plus, United Democratic Movement, Rise Mzansi and Al Jama-ah.
JN/APA