Ramaphosa convenes inaugural cabinet lekgotla
President Cyril Ramaphosa will convene the first cabinet lekgotla this weekend with members of the new national unity government.
The newly sworn-in national executive took their oaths of office in Cape Town on Wednesday last week.
Comprising 76 members, including 32 ministers and 43 deputy ministers, the new executive consists of members from nine different political parties.
This blend of old and new includes several members from former opposition parties now leading various portfolios as part of the unity government.
In his first engagement with the media last week, Ramaphosa said the new government is ready to roll up its sleeves.
“It has been a very difficult and complicated process. It’s now come to an end and to a start. It’s a fresh start for all of us in South Africa.
“Today was a historic moment in constituting the executive of our country in the form of ministers and deputy ministers, who have all collectively been assuring me… that they are going to work and they are going to make South Africans proud.
“The trust that our people have invested in all these men and women... We will not waste time. We will work very hard to take our country forward,” said Ramaphosa.
The two-day cabinet lekgotla will set the government’s priorities for the coming year.
President Ramaphosa and Deputy President Paul Mashatile will preside over the meeting, which will be attended by leaders from all three levels of government, including ministers, premiers, directors-general, and representatives from the South African Local Government Association.
Ramaphosa highlighted that the outcomes of this gathering will shape the Opening of Parliament Address, scheduled for July 18, where key priorities of the national unity government will be outlined.
"The policy positions are very clear as set out in various manifestos, as we set in the statement of intent, we are going to put the key priorities of what South Africans expect,” the president said.
“So all that is going to be synchronised, properly set out, and when we open the government, we will be setting out the real programme of this government of national unity," he added.
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