It was a difficult situation but we are working — Zikalala on his demotion

Public works deputy minister Sihle Zikalala has admitted that his demotion from President Cyril Ramaphosa's cabinet was a hard pill to swallow. 

The national executive committee (NEC) leader has weighed in on the South African Communist Party's criticism of the ANC, saying that the party must be honest about whether some of the “positions and policies it took have not rendered it to slide towards the neoliberal agenda”.

Zikalala spoke candidly during an interview with TimesLIVE Premium on Ramaphosa's announcement that he would be demoted to make way for the DA's Dean Macpherson, a man armed with a matric qualification.

“At face value, you take it and say, wow, what is happening? But when the leadership said look, we have a situation where we campaigned to win elections as the ANC, and we couldn't get 50%, and we needed to make compromises, and the view of the leadership was that those ministers whose line functions had to be allocated to the opposition will become deputies so they continue with the programmes and assist [in ensuring] that the programmes do not collapse.

“I accepted that, and you might have noticed we have been working on ensuring that the programmes that started during the previous administration are not collapsing because the seventh administration is the continuation of the previous administration. And we, as South Africa, are committed to achieving the national development plan, and if we are committed to that, we must, therefore, make sure we have continuity,” he said. 

Zikalala is regarded as one of the rising stars in the ANC having been elected to the national executive committee.

He holds a holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Science, Bachelor of Administration Honours cum laude from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and obtained a master's degree in commerce from the Graduate School of Business and Leadership in 2019.

Zikalala's demotion came as a surprise to many ANC leaders who felt that McPherson's seniority was an insult to his position in both the party and government.  He said working under McPherson was a “difficult situation”, adding that this was not unique to government leaders. 

“Often, it is said that Africans and blacks in general have to double efforts to prove themselves. You would have noticed in the past if there was an African or a black person appointed to a higher position without matric, it would be an issue, a serious issue. I think that is a societal issue. 

“We must address that because education is important and it empowers you whether you are black, Indian, coloured or white. There is no-one knowledgeable based on race, even on gender.”

Zikalala reacted to the internal party debate over its decision to go into government with the DA. He said the ANC must not be irritated by SACP general-secretary Solly Mapaila's criticism of the party's decision to govern with the DA and the FF+. 

Where I differ with people is when they want to characterise that as the shortcoming of only the current leadership, because from where I stand, we have had these problems from 1994

—  Sihle Zikalala, public works deputy minister 

Zikalala said Mapaila must criticise the ANC internally within the alliance. He added that the ANC should examine whether it had been revolutionary enough to transform the country.

“The reality is that we have not been thorough and decisive in transforming the economy. That is not about the ANC now; it has been the ANC since 1994.”

He said the ANC focused on political transition and ignored the economy. 

“Maybe we must be honest whether some of the positions and policies we took have not rendered us to slide towards the neoliberal agenda. I think a fair assessment is needed on that, but also if that neoliberal agenda prevailed at one point or the other, what were the material conditions?

“In 1994, maybe we were constrained by the Sunset Clause and the transition period. In 2004 onward, we won with a two-third majority and maybe we were affected by internal dynamics, and we should have expedited economic transformation with that majority.”

Zikalala said in the Jacob Zuma years, the ANC implemented policies including black industrialism, Agri development and infrastructure. 

“I think these policies should have been sustained. Yes, they were sustained, but the vigour could be more, therefore the ANC must not be allergic to engaging on a thorough assessment on how it has performed especially at the economic level.

“Where I differ with people is when they want to characterise that as the shortcoming of only the current leadership, because from where I stand, we have had these problems from 1994.”

Mapaila has been critical of the ANC since the formation of the GNU, saying it had got into bed with neoliberal and colonial parties. He said this was because the dominant faction in the ANC was now neoliberal and in favour of austerity measures.

“In the ANC there’s always been a neoliberal faction which is the dominant faction today. So, it’s a class battle to push that neoliberal faction inside the ANC. Because its orientation will always go towards the DA. That is why the murmurings even during the campaign were that there were negotiations between the ANC and the DA. People denied this, but it's now coming to fruition,” Mapaila said in July.

He said the alliance tried to negotiate for an EFF coalition with the ANC, but the ANC rejected it, claiming the EFF did not respect the party.