The Second cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa was the cabinet of the government of South Africa between 29 May 2019 and 19 June 2024. It was formed by President Ramaphosa after the 2019 general election and dissolved after the 2024 general election. In the interim it was reshuffled twice – once in August 2021 and once in March 2023 – and augmented in size from 28 ministers to 30 ministers.
History
May 2019 appointment The African National Congress (ANC) won a majority in the 2019 general election and President Cyril Ramaphosa was elected to his first full term as President of South Africa. After his inauguration on 25 May 2019, he announced his cabinet on 29 May.Who's in and who's out of SA's 2019 cabinet. Sunday Times. 30 May 2019. Retrieved on 28 June 2019. The newly appointed ministers were sworn in the next day by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria.'I swear I'll be faithful': South Africa's new Cabinet ministers sworn in. EWN. 30 May 2019. Retrieved on 28 June 2019.Ministers, deputies to be sworn-in on Thursday. SABC News. 30 May 2019. Retrieved on 28 June 2019.
The cabinet was the third cabinet in Africa to reach complete gender parity in its composition and the first gender-equal cabinet in South African history. All of its members were affiliated with Ramaphosa's ANC, except for Patricia de Lille, the leader of Good, who was appointed as Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure. De Lille said that her party would remain an opposition party in the National Assembly, her appointment to government notwithstanding.
Ramaphosa reduced the size of the cabinet from 36 to 28 portfolios through the amalgamation of several departments. These changes were: The Department of Trade and Industry was combined with the Department of Economic Development. The Department of Higher Education and Training was combined with the Department of Science and Technology. The Department of Environmental Affairs was combined with the Department of Forestry and Fisheries. The Department of Agriculture was combined with the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development. The Department of Mineral Resources was combined with the Department of Energy. The Department of Human Settlements was combined with the Department of Water and Sanitation. The Department of Sports and Recreation was combined with the Department of Arts and Culture.
August 2021 reshuffle On 5 August 2021, Ramaphosa announced a major cabinet reshuffle, occasioned by the resignations of Minister Zweli Mkhize and Minister Tito Mboweni and the deaths of Minister Jackson Mthembu and Deputy Minister Bavelile Hlongwa. The reshuffle also involved changes to the security ministries in response to the recent civil unrest.
Most notably, the Ministry of State Security was abolished, and authority for the State Security Agency moved instead to the Presidency, where it was held by a newly appointed Deputy Minister in the Presidency with responsibility for state security. In addition, the Ministry of Human Settlements and Ministry of Water and Sanitation were separated again, after their abortive two-year union as the Ministry of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation.
March 2023 reshuffle On 6 March 2023, Ramaphosa again reshuffled his cabinet, this time in the aftermath of his victory at the ANC's 55th National Conference. The reshuffle was occasioned in large part by the resignation of David Mabuza as Deputy President of South Africa; he was replaced by Paul Mashatile.
Alongside other changes, Ramaphosa created two new Ministers in the Presidency: the Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, with responsibility for the ongoing South African energy crisis, and the Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, with responsibility for the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation.
2022 motion of no confidence During his speech at the debate on the State of the Nation Address on 14 February 2022, the Leader of the Opposition, John Steenhuisen of the Democratic Alliance (DA), announced that he had tabled a motion of no confidence in the Cabinet, excluding President Ramaphosa, in terms of Section 102(1) of the Constitution. This was the first time in South African history that a motion of no confidence in the cabinet was tabled.
On 10 March, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, announced that the debate and vote on the motion of no confidence against the Cabinet would be held on 30 March. The DA requested that the vote be held by secret ballot, but Mapisa-Nqakula rejected their request on 25 March. In the vote of 30 March, the motion was defeated in the National Assembly by a margin of 100 votes (131 in favour, 231 opposed and one abstention). The DA, the Economic Freedom Fighters, the United Democratic Movement, the African Transformation Movement, and the Freedom Front Plus voted in favour of the motion, while the ANC, Good, the National Freedom Party, the Inkatha Freedom Party, and Al Jama-ah voted against it.
List of ministers Parties African National Congress Good Post Minister Term Party President of South AfricaHis Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa 2018 – ANC Deputy President of South AfricaHis Excellency Paul Mashatile 2023 – ANCHis Excellency David Mabuza 2018 2023 ANCMinister in the PresidencyThe Hon. Khumbudzo Ntshavheni MP 2023 2024 ANC' The Hon. Mondli Gungubele MP 2021 2023ANC' The Hon. Jackson Mthembu 2019 2021ANC Minister in the Presidency for Electricity The Hon. Kgosientso Ramokgopa 2023 2024 ANC Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation The Hon. Maropene Ramokgopa 2023 2024 ANCMinister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities The Hon. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma MP 2023 2024 ANC The Hon. Maite Nkoana-Mashabane MP 2019 2023 ANC Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development The Hon. Thoko Didiza MP 2019 2024 ANC Minister of Basic Education The Hon. Angie Motshekga MP 2009 2024 ANCMinister of Communications and Digital Technologies The Hon. Mondli Gungubele MP 2023 2024 ANC' The Hon. Khumbudzo Ntshavheni MP 2021 2023ANC' The Hon. Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams 2019 2021ANCMinister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional AffairsThe Hon. Thembi Nkadimeng MP 2023 2024 ANC The Hon. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma MP 2019 2023 ANCMinister of Defence and Military Veterans The Hon. Thandi Modise 2021 2024ANC' The Hon. Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula MP 2012 2021 ANC Minister of Employment and LabourThe Hon. Thulas Nxesi MP 2019 2024 ANC Minister of Environment, Forestry and FisheriesThe Hon. Barbara Creecy MP 2019 2024 ANCMinister of Finance The Hon. Enoch Godongwana MP 2021 2024ANC' The Hon. Tito Mboweni 2018 2021ANCMinister of Health The Hon. Joe Phaahla 2021 2024ANC'The Hon. Zweli Mkhize MP 2019 2021 ANC Minister of Higher Education, Science and TechnologyThe Hon. Blade Nzimande MP 2019 2024 ANC Minister of Home AffairsThe Hon. Aaron Motsoaledi MP 2019 2024 ANC Minister of Human Settlements The Hon. Mmamoloko Kubayi MP 2021 2024 ANC Minister of Human Settlements, Water and SanitationThe Hon. Lindiwe Sisulu MP 2019 2021 ANC Minister of International Relations and CooperationThe Hon. Naledi Pandor MP 2019 2024 ANC Minister of Justice and Correctional ServicesThe Hon. Ronald Lamola MP 2019 2024 ANC Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy The Hon. Gwede Mantashe MP 2019 2024 ANC Minister of Police The Hon. Bheki Cele MP 2018 2024 ANC Minister of Public EnterprisesThe Hon. Pravin Gordhan MP 2018 2024 ANCMinister of Public Service and Administration The Hon. Noxolo Kiviet MP 2023 2024 ANC'The Hon. Ayanda Dlodlo MP 2021 2023 ANC'The Hon. Senzo Mchunu MP 2019 2021 ANCMinister of Public Works and Infrastructure The Hon. Sihle Zikalala MP 2023 2024 ANCThe Hon. Patricia de Lille MP 2019 2023 GoodMinister of Small Business Development The Hon. Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams MP 2021 2024 ANC'The Hon. Khumbudzo Ntshavheni MP 2019 2021 ANC Minister of Social DevelopmentThe Hon. Lindiwe Zulu MP 2019 2024 ANCMinister of Sports, Arts and Culture The Hon. Zizi Kodwa MP 2023 2024 ANCThe Hon. Nathi Mthethwa MP 2019 2023 ANC Minister of State SecurityThe Hon. Ayanda Dlodlo MP 2019 2021 ANCMinister of Tourism The Hon. Patricia de Lille MP 2023 2024 Good'The Hon. Lindiwe Sisulu MP 2021 2023 ANC'The Hon. Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane MP 2019 2021 ANC Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition The Hon. Ebrahim Patel MP 2019 2024 ANCMinister of Transport The Hon. Sindisiwe Chikunga MP 2023 2024 ANCThe Hon. Fikile Mbalula MP 2019 2023 ANC Minister of Water and Sanitation The Hon. Senzo Mchunu MP 2021 2024 ANC
List of deputy ministers Although deputy ministers are not members of the cabinet, they are appointed by the president and assist cabinet ministers in the execution of their duties. During the term of Ramaphosa's second cabinet, they were, like the cabinet, appointed in May 2019 and reshuffled in August 2021 and March 2023.
The Ministries of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation; Water and Sanitation; International Relations and Cooperation; Trade, Industry and Competition; Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs; and Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development all had two deputy ministers throughout their tenure. In addition, in 2021, Ramaphosa appointed a second Deputy Minister in the Presidency without portfolio, in addition to the specialised Deputy Ministers in the Presidency (the Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities; the Deputy Minister in the Presidency for State Security from 2021 to 2023; and the Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation from 2023). The Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Electricity did not have a deputy.