By Phenyo Selinda
Cape Town – Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, has emphasised that any policy or significant decision will be taken through Cabinet before implementation. This clarification came during a media briefing held a day after the swearing-in ceremony of the Deputy President, Ministers, and Deputy Ministers of the seventh administration on Wednesday.
The new Government of National Unity (GNU), which includes members from eleven different political parties, was inaugurated during this ceremony. The parties involved are the African National Congress, Democratic Alliance, Patriotic Alliance, Inkatha Freedom Party, Good Party, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, Freedom Front Plus, United Democratic Movement, Al Jama-ah, Rise Mzansi, and the United Africans Transformation.
Collective Decision-Making
Ntshavheni stressed that policy decisions are not the prerogative of individual ministers but must be collectively made through Cabinet. “It should be stressed that both the President and individual ministers are duty bound to take the issues of policy, significant decisions such as decisions with financial consequences exceeding a department’s approved budget and any other matter…. they must take those matters to Cabinet,” she said.
The Minister further explained that any failure to do so could undermine the validity of such decisions, as only Cabinet can authorise significant policy measures. “There is no single minister who can expropriate a decision of Cabinet or that policy decision to themselves because then that policy will not be valid in terms of the laws of the Republic…as provided for in the Constitution,” Ntshavheni added.
Role of the President and Cabinet
Minister Ntshavheni reiterated that President Cyril Ramaphosa, as the head of the National Executive, exercises executive authority alongside other Cabinet members. “In this regard, the President, with the Cabinet he is responsible for, and I’m quoting directly from the Constitution, implementing national legislation unless the Constitution or an Act of Parliament provides otherwise. Two, developing and implementing national policy. So, the national policies are not of individual ministers but of Cabinet.”
The Constitution mandates that Cabinet takes collective responsibility but allows for certain matters to be handled by individual ministers, as determined by the President and Cabinet. “The Cabinet and the President determine the way and procedures by which they work together, including leaving certain matters or kinds of matters to be dealt with by a single member of Cabinet, meaning a minister,” she noted.
Ensuring Proper Procedures
The Minister highlighted that if a matter is not routine or specific to a department, it must first be referred to Cabinet for consideration through a Cabinet Memorandum. “If a matter is not a routine matter it must be referred to Cabinet for its consideration by way of a Cabinet Memorandum,” she explained.
Ntshavheni also pointed out that the President has the authority to decide when a decision referred to him should be discussed in Cabinet first. “This envisages that the President himself may determine that a President’s Minute referred to him for signature…should in fact go to the Cabinet first and, accordingly, refer it back to the Minister to take to the Cabinet,” she said.
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