JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will announce changes to the national executive at 7:00 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Monday, presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya said on Sunday.
A cabinet reshuffle has been widely expected since Ramaphosa was re-elected leader of the governing African National Congress (ANC) at a party leadership contest in December, paving the way for him to run for a second term in 2024.
“The president is finalising his reconfiguration of the national executive,” Magwenya said at a news briefing, adding that he was taking into account the swearing in of some members of parliament before announcing the reshuffle.
Ramaphosa is expected to name a new deputy president after the Presidency announced David Mabuza’s resignation from the post on Wednesday. The new position of electricity minister is among the roles to be filled.
He announced last month he would create the position of electricity minister to help address the nation’s power crisis, as state utility Eskom implements the worst power cuts on record. (This story has been refiled to clarify the second part of Magwenya’s remarks in paragraph 3)
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Bernadette Baum)
