The Second Cabinet of

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

was formed on 29 May 2019 after President Ramaphosa was inaugurated for his first full-term as President of South Africa following the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

's victory in the

2019 South African general election General elections were held in South Africa on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President, National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would ...

. The newly appointed ministers were inaugurated the next day by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

. The cabinet is the third cabinet in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

to be made completely gender-equal in its composition and the first gender-equal cabinet in South African history.

Amalgamations

The new cabinet was reduced from 36 to 28 portfolios through the amalgamation of several departments. *The Department of Trade and Industry was combined with the Department of Economic Development. *The

Department of Higher Education and Training The Department of Higher Education and Training is one of the departments of the South African government. It oversees universities and other post-secondary education in South Africa. It was created in 2009 after the election of President Jacob ...

was combined with the Department of Science and Technology. *The

Department of Environmental Affairs The Department of Environment, Forestry & Fisheries is one of the departments of the South African government. It is responsible for protecting, conserving and improving the South African environment and natural resources. It was created in 20 ...

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 A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-re ...

. *The Department of Human Settlements was combined with the

Department of Water and Sanitation The Department of Water and Sanitation is one of the departments of the South African government. It is responsible for the state of water and sanitation in South Africa. In May 2009, following the election of Jacob Zuma, the Department of Wa ...

from 2019 and separated again in 2021. *The Department of Sports and Recreation was combined with the Department of Arts and Culture.

2021 Reshuffle

Ramaphosa reshuffled the cabinet in August 2021.

2022 motion of no confidence

During his speech at the Debate on the State of the National Address on 14 February 2022, the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Democratic Alliance, John Steenhuisen announced that he had tabled a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...

in the Cabinet in terms of Section 102(1) of the

Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Go ...

, excluding President Ramaphosa. On 10 March 2022, National Assembly Speaker

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula Nosiviwe Noluthando Mapisa-Nqakula (born 13 November 1956) is a South African politician who currently serves as the Speaker of the National Assembly as of 19 August 2021. She has previously held the office of Minister of Defence and Military ...

announced that the debate and vote on the motion of no confidence against the Cabinet would be held on 30 March 2022. The DA requested that the vote be held by secret ballot, but Mapisa-Nqakula rejected their request on 25 March. On 30 March 2022, 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 (EFF), the

United Democratic Movement The United Democratic Movement (UDM) is a centre-left, social-democratic, South African political party, formed by a prominent former National Party leader, Roelf Meyer (who has since resigned from the UDM), a former African National Congress ...

(UDM), the

African Transformation Movement The African Transformation Movement, popularly known as ATM, is a political party in South Africa. It is led by Vuyolwethu Zungula, leader and party president. It was formed with the backing of the South African Council of Messianic Churches in ...

(ATM) and the

Freedom Front Plus The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus; af, Vryheidsfront Plus, ''VF Plus'') is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994. It is led by Pieter Groenewald. Its current stated policy positions include a ...

(FF Plus) voted in favour of the motion, while the ANC, the

National Freedom Party The National Freedom Party (NFP) is a South African political party. It was launched on 25 January 2011 by Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi, former chairperson of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), along with other former IFP members. Election results ...

(NFP), the

Inkatha Freedom Party The Inkatha Freedom Party ( zu, IQembu leNkatha yeNkululeko, IFP) is a right-wing political party in South Africa. The party has been led by Velenkosini Hlabisa since the party's 2019 National General Conference. Mangosuthu Buthelezi founded ...

(IFP),

Good In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...

, and

Al Jama-ah Al Jama-ah (, ) is a South African political party. It was formed in 2007 by present leader Ganief Hendricks and contested the 2009, 2014 and 2019 national elections. The party aims to support Muslim interests and uphold Shari'a law. The flag ...

voted against it. This was the first time in South African history that a motion of no confidence against the cabinet occurred.

Ministers

References

{{Republic of South Africa Cabinets Government of South Africa Executive branch of the government of South Africa Cabinets of South Africa 2019 establishments in South Africa Cabinets established in 2019 Ramaphosa