Foreign Affairs in South Africa are still in the hands of the Polisario’s allies

After days of negotiations, the South African President revealed Wednesday the names of ministers that made it to his new cabinet. In fact, Ramaphosa named 28 ministers, eight fewer that the 36 that were part of the former cabinet.

«To promote greater coherence, better coordination and improved efficiency, we have combined a number of portfolios, thereby reducing the number of Ministers from 36 to 28», the President said in a speech published on the presidency's website.

«In appointing a new national executive, I have taken a number of considerations into account, including experience, continuity, competence, generational mix and demographic and regional diversity», he explained.

A Polisario’s ally heading South Africa’s Foreign Ministry

Ramaphosa’s new cabinet has seen some other changes. While some ministers left the cabinet, new faces were appointed by the President. Lindiwie Sisulu, the former South African Foreign Affairs Minister, is now heading the Ministry of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation.

Sisulu, a big ally of the Polisario Front, was replaced by Naledi Pandor who served before as South Africa’s Minister of Science and Technology. In February 2018, Pandor said during a parliament session on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address that «now that Morocco has been readmitted to the AU it must be obliged to finally free the suffering masses of Western Sahara».

The Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation in South Africa Luwellyn Tyrone Landers was also replaced. In February 2019, Landers chaired a conference in Geneva on the «European Union and the decolonization of Western Sahara». The meeting was attended by Namibian Minister of Justice Sackeus Shangala.

Will the new South African Foreign Affairs Minister remain faithful to her former positions on the Western Sahara question ? In his inaugural speech, delivered on May 25, President Ramaphosa did not refer to the Polisario. However, his inauguration was attended by Polisario leader Brahim Ghali, who flew to South Africa via an Algerian presidential plane.