In this seventh administration of Government of National Unity (GNU), no Cabinet Minister will be allowed to go it alone. Each Minister will adhere to government priorities set at the upcoming Cabinet Lekgotla, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says during a media briefing in Parliament on Thursday.
Now that members of Cabinet have been sworn in, Ntshavheni has moved to clarify how government will set a programme of action for this administration.
She says the Forum for Directors General is currently doing a policy review of all the GNU political partners.
Ntshavheni says, “The Forum of South African Directors-General commonly known as FOSAD which is chaired by the Director General in the Presidency have undertaken work of analysing the manifestos of the parties to the GNU and will submit a proposal for consideration and adoption at the cabinet lekgotla scheduled for next Thursday until next Friday.”
Political parties have up until the lekgotla to determine their priorities.
“You’ve got this requirement that says you cannot have all priorities included, it will be difficult to implement, you then say what then becomes a filter of the priorities and we have indicated that our filter is the national development plan goals and targets,” she adds.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will present the government priorities on July 18 during the Opening of Parliament. And thereafter departments would have to align their plans to the government priorities, overseen by the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation.
“So when we have adopted the plans we just don’t say go on your own and do as you please. There is a department that oversees that. That plan is aligned with the MTSF as agreed because in particular now that we are in the GNU, what we all collectively agree as a programme of action is not a programme of action of the ANC of the DA of the UDM of the PA or any other party included in the GNU but the programme of action of government.”
Meanwhile, Ntshavheni says the State Owned Enterprises will be located in the Presidency but policy will be at line departments. The detail will be announced through a Presidential proclamation in due course.
“I won’t respond where Eskom and Transnet are reporting because that is part of the whole proclamation by the president assigning his executive authorities to the ministers of Cabinet that he has appointed.”
Ntshavheni has reiterated that the size of the Cabinet could not be reduced due to the GNU.
VIDEO | Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni Briefs the Media on GNU:
