South Africa’s Chief Justice Raymond Zondo presided over the swearing-in ceremony for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s new Government of National Unity (GNU) in Cape Town on Wednesday. The new Cabinet, consisting of a deputy president, 32 ministers, and 43 deputy ministers, is formed from various political parties after the African National Congress (ANC) lost its parliamentary majority in the May 29 elections.
Ramaphosa announced his GNU Cabinet late Sunday after weeks of negotiations with 11 coalition partners. Key appointments include Paul Mashatile, retained as deputy president, and Ronald Lamola, 40, as the new minister of international relations and cooperation. Lamola, previously the justice and constitutional affairs minister, is among the youngest members of the Cabinet.
Enoch Godongwana remains the finance minister, while John Steenhuisen, leader of the Democratic Alliance and Ramaphosa’s political rival, has been appointed agriculture minister.
Professor Andre Duvenhage of North West University remarked on the historic nature of this development, noting that it marks the end of the ANC’s 30-year one-party rule. The ANC, once led by Nelson Mandela, had governed without a coalition for three decades.
