Cyril Ramaphosa and Joe Phaahla at the public signing into law of the NHI Bill. (Frennie Shivambu/Gallo Images) After the ANC received less than 41% of the votes in the national elections, negotiations are now underway that will determine how and by who South Africa is governed. Ministerial posts, including the country's top health job, might be on the negotiating table.
Spotlight considers the candidates for the post of South Africa's minister of health. For most of the last 30 years, it went almost without saying that the country's minister of health would be drawn from the ranks of the ANC. However, given the dramatic decline in the party's electoral fortunes and the consequent pressure to enter into coalitions or other deals, the pool of realistic candidates for the post of health minister might this year be larger than before.
The president has the prerogative to appoint any members of the National Assembly as ministers, whether or not they are of the same party as the president. The president can also at his or her discretion appoint two ministers who are not Members of Parliament. It is also relatively trivial for a party to ask an MP to stand down and to have another sworn in, as happened with Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.
READ | Coalition govt with ANC 'the only option to save SA from Zuma and Malema' - DA source This means that candidates who were not high enough on party lists to get seats in Parliament could still be substituted in. Although techn.
