Cape Town — President Cyril Ramaphosa has decided not to share the outcome of performance assessment of the cabinet ministers, as he does not want it to be used as a political tool, or to embarrass them.
During a media address in Cape Town earlier this week, Presidency spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, was asked when the president planned to make the document public after the DA’s Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application seeking the release of the information was rejected, TimesLIVE reported.
DA MP Zak Mbhele slammed Ramaphosa’s administration and planning, monitoring and evaluation minister Maropene Ramokgopa for declining the DA’s PAIA application for the outcomes of the performance reviews that were conducted on ministers between April and July.
Magwenya said Ramaphosa does not want to “play politics as the opposition parties would prefer to do”. He said ministers account publicly on their performance in a transparent parliamentary process.
Briefing on President’s programme by Presidential Spokesperson Mr Vincent Magwenyahttps://t.co/cRkv8Tx9vl
— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) November 29, 2023
He also understood that there was an expectation that the assessment be made public but added that the president is not compelled to make the assessments public and that keeping the assessment private is not intended to dodge public accountability, EWN wrote.
Magwenya said the president had had at least two to three meetings with his ministers to assess their performance, which were measured against promises made in the State of the Nation Address.
“It’s not an issue for the president to play politics with, as the opposition parties would prefer to do. There isn’t necessarily an obligation to make those assessments public,” Magwenya said.
“The purpose is not to embarrass anybody or hang out anybody to dry in public, the purpose is to be constructive,” he added.
The president is not running away from public accountability, he added.
“He is the first one to say, ‘The buck stops with me’. He is the first one to admit where there have been missteps and he will continue to hold his ministers accountable. But I think we should allow him that chance to do that in a constructive manner.
Rate the cabinet.
Let the president know what you think of his ministers. You can seal the performance reports @CyrilRamaphosa but the people will still tell you what they think.
— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) November 30, 2023
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
