During the announcement, Pres. Ramaphosa also appointed David Mabuza as the Deputy President of the Republic.
Dr. Mabutho Shangase, a lecturer in the Political Sciences Department at UP, said, “My take is that the appointment of Dr Naledi Pandor is to instil confidence in the higher education sector in general. She is a seasoned politician, astute academic, and professional who is familiar with issues of higher education, science and technology, as well as knowledge production in general. She is also a reliable candidate for efficient delivery and attendance to the most pressing issues within the sector e.g. redress in terms of building a critical mass of African academics and responding to the low output on Ph.D.’s and the problem of aging academics.”
Dr. Shangase added, “Nhanhla Nene and Pravin Gordhan are trusted and respected professionals respectively, continuity and stability are required at the National Treasury, the engine room of our economy. Eskom is the backbone of our economy, thus a seasoned professional such as Mr Gordhan is best suited to ensure that the utility delivers on its mandate and returns to its credit worthy status in terms of their finances.”
Dr. Shangase also commented on reducing the number of departments in government. “Questions should be raised about the departments of Economic Development, Women, Small Business, perhaps the latter should be incorporated into the Department of Trade and Industry, whilst Women should be incorporated into Social Development.”
