Siyabonga Mkhwanazi
Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that he did not consult his comrades in the ANC and the Tripartite Alliance when he first announced the appointment of the Minister of Electricity.
Ramaphosa said this is how he would operate in future in order to take decisions, as he has been criticised for consulting too much.
He said sometimes he would consult and sometimes he would not consult on some of the issues.
Kgosientso Ramokgopa was appointed a few weeks ago as Minister of Electricity to deal with the load shedding crisis.
This was after Ramaphosa had first announced the appointment of the new minister during the State of the Nation address.
There was speculation that he had not consulted with his party and members of the alliance.
Ramaphosa said he would take these decisions going forward, as he had been slammed for over-consultation and this slows down some of the processes in government.
The time for over-consultation was over, said Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa and senior leaders of the ANC were meeting with civil society in Johannesburg on Saturday on a range of issues affecting communities.
He said he was criticised for consulting on many issues.
“I am often criticised that, ‘oh, you consult too much, oh, you spend too much time consulting’. It is a feature of our life as South Africans because when we do reach a compact that we have all bought into.
“Recently, when I decided to have the Minister of Electricity I had not even briefed my comrades and colleagues in the ANC. Some of them said ‘president takes a decision on his own’ and I said ‘okay, sometimes you say I consult too much’. When I take a decision, you complain and I just said that is your problem.
“Sometimes I will consult and sometimes I will not consult, you better get used to that. This is how I am rolling now. This is how I am going forward,” said Ramaphosa.
He said after his announcement of the minister of electricity some of the alliance partners issued statements about not being consulted.
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