Cosatu lauds Ramaphosa’s new Cabinet as ‘breath of fresh air’

The willingness of President Cyril Ramaphosa to consult labour and other key stakeholders in the appointment of his Cabinet has been a “breath of fresh air,” labour federation the Congress of South African Trade Unions has said.

Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet announcement from the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Wednesday, Cosatu issued a statement welcoming the new appointments. 

“We applaud the President’s transparency, and willingness to consult the alliance partners and other stakeholders over the appointment of the Cabinet and other preceding appointments at the provincial level.

“This openness has been a breath of fresh air, very much in the spirit of renewal and unity,” Cosatu said.

Most significantly, the president heeded the calls of South Africans to shrink the “bloated” Cabinet. Ramaphosa has reduced the ministers from 36 to 28, to help downscale. 

“Many people believed that our government that is meant to serve 57 million people was bloated. This was agreed right cross the board.

“I am grateful for inputs and suggestions we received from a number of quarters,” Ramaphosa said.

He commented that various suggestions made filtered through and provided wisdom to reconfigure the state and government.