Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Analysts are asking whether President Jacob Zuma's cabinet - in which economic functions have been split among four ministers - will create tension and conflict among its members.
Also, with the creation of a new "super-ministry" overseeing government, questions are being raised as to who the final arbiter will be when it comes to decision-making.
The ANC's labour and communist partners are celebrating because the new economic development ministry, the department of trade and industry and the finance ministry are all being headed by people affiliated with them.
Former minister of finance Trevor Manuel has been moved into the presidency to head up a new planning commission (NPC).
The relationship between this commission and other government ministries has yet to be spelt out.
The general-secretary of Cosatu's clothing and textile union (Sactwu), Ebrahim Patel - who is known for erring on the side of protectionism - heads the new ministry of economic development.
The department of trade and industry (DTI) is now led by its former deputy minister and SA Communist Party executive member Rob Davies.
Pravin Gordhan has been appointed to replace Manuel as finance minister. While he's likely to enforce stringent fiscal discipline, he has critical struggle credentials, having worked underground as an SACP member in KwaZulu-Natal for about 20 years.
Communists 'not a cause for concern'
"Gordhan is regarded as a linchpin that will hold government's significant new power networks together," professor of public policy at the University of Cape Town, Anthony Butler, told Fin24.com.
Nevertheless, Econometrix director Tony Twine said anyone concerned about so-called leftist appointments in cabinet should remember that when Tito Mboweni was appointed as governor of the Reserve Bank, he was a "rabid unionist".
There was also a significant number of communist leaders in former president Thabo Mbeki's cabinet. Twine said: "I wouldn't be concerned in the least. It's a case of people's attitudes changing when their responsibility changes."
Zuma said the new cabinet will allow for more debate before final decisions are made, but it is not clear who the final arbiter will be when it comes to ultimate policy direction.
Iraj Abedian of Pan African Capital Holdings said much will depend on how these departments (DTI, finance, economic development and the NPC) relate to each other: "It holds the potential for conflict, but if they get it right it could be good news for short- and long-term planning."
Scary scenario
Zuma has suggested Patel's department would be responsible for formulating the policies to be implemented by the DTI and the newly appointed finance minister.
He implied this is intended to iron out the long-standing tension between the DTI and finance, which has led to the departments pursuing contradictory economic and trade policies.
However, the burning question is how Manuel will fit into the decision-making.
Will his NPC be an overarching centralised organ of state able to override other ministers? Or will it operate parallel to other departments?
Abedian argued that the latter won't be constructive. The former, he said, is the optimal situation if Zuma is going to solve potential conflict and give the state a shot at improving efficiency.
While it is the most likely scenario given the unlikelihood of Manuel settling for a toothless ministry, it comes with one noteworthy danger.
What, as Butler asked, will happen if Manuel decides to leave such a powerful organ of state and what if it is taken over by someone without an equivalent long and impeccable record?
- Fin24.com
