South Africa’s 2019 general election was in many ways unsurprising. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) won a majority, albeit the smallest yet at 57 per cent, with Cyril Ramaphosa likely to be sworn in as president in the coming days. However, the most significant result of this election is yet to come: is Ramaphosa going to deal with corruption as he promised, and start by effectively cleaning up his cabinet?
The country’s new parliament was due to be sworn in on Wednesday, after which the new president will be inaugurated tomorrow, May 25. Ramaphosa will announce his new cabinet shortly afterwards. It is widely expected that the inflated cabinet will be reduced from 35 departments to 25, and that under-performing ministers from the previous administration will get the chop.
