Opposition gets 12 out of 32 ministries in South Africa’s new government

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday that he had handed opposition parties in his coalition 12 out of 32 ministries.

The largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), won six ministries, including education, public works, and the environment, while six other positions went to smaller parties.

The African National Congress (ANC) will keep 20 ministries, including critical portfolios like finance, foreign affairs, energy, and defence.

Ramaphosa named opposition leader John Steenhuisen of the Democratic Alliance (DA) Minister of Agriculture.

Ramaphosa, 71, was re-elected for a second full term and declared a government of national unity after the ANC lost its overwhelming majority in the May election.

“The minister of agriculture is John Steenhuisen,” Ramaphosa said from Pretoria in a televised address to the nation.

Ramaphosa has had to balance demands for key ministerial positions from within his own party and its new allies.

During tense negotiations, leaked documents of disagreements on positions between Ramaphosa and Steenhuisen circulated on social media.

The ANC, who has governed South Africa since the advent of democracy in 1994, accused the DA of making “outrageous demands” for more than 10 cabinet positions — some of which are key portfolios.

The DA won 87 parliamentary seats compared to the ANC’s 159.

On Saturday, leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) made an eleventh hour counter proposal to the government of national unity, pitching an exclusive coalition with the ANC and other leftist parties.