ANC not consulted on reshuffle, says Gwede Mantashe
The ANC was not consulted on the majority of the changes in cabinet, ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe told Jacanews today. He was asked to comment on the cabinet reshuffle in the early hours of this morning - which saw 10 new ministers and 10 new deputy ministers appointed.
The reshuffle has been described as “unprecedented”
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, and is one of the biggest since 1994.When asked for his opinion on the changes Mantashe was only willing to say that "reshuffle has been affected".
He explained that there was widespread engagement on the axing of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, but the rest of the changes were merely given to the party.
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Mantashe said it isn't a question of agreeing with the decisions or not - it has been affected.
"In the ANC there was no space to discuss them so there are changes that are effected. The President opted for using his prerogative in terms of the Constitution of the Republic."
Mantashe urged South Africans to remember that business also reacted negatively when both Trevor Manuel and Nhlanthla Nene were appointed, but they later became the darlings of the sector.
In his message to South Africans waking up to the news Mantashe said: We are a resilient nation, let's keep keeping on".