South Africa’s largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has given failing grades to the new ministers of communications and of telecommunications and postal services Faith Muthambi and Siyabonga Cwele in its annual report card of cabinet ministers.

Cwele received 4/10 in the DA’s assessment, saying he oversaw a long and debilitating strike at the Post Office without taking serious action to resolve it, while Muthambi scored just 1/10 for using her portfolio to “build a propaganda machine” for President Jacob Zuma and “unconstitutionally interfering in the appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng” as chief operating officer of the SABC.

On Cwele, the DA says in its report card that it is “difficult to discern” his grasp on policy as he has “not made any bold moves to date”.

“In his July budget speech, Cwele made a number of commitments — none of which have been realised,” the party says.

“The biggest challenge facing the minister is the battle for control between his department and the communications minister.”

Cwele also promised to set a date for the digital broadcasting switch-on by the end of October but “failed to meet this deadline”.

“Cwele seems to be standing in the shadows, waiting for someone to take a firm line with Muthambi so he can get on with his job.”

The minister’s handling of the Post Office strike was “lacklustre”, the DA says. “With an eye firmly on the digital economy, one would imagine that he would regard a strike with some concern. Instead, he did nothing as the organisation slid into an abyss of mismanagement, denial and a singular failure to communicate with any stakeholders — including a helpless public — as the entire network of the nation’s postal monopoly ground to a shuddering halt.”

The DA’s report card says Cwele has not shown “any in-depth understanding of the state of South Africa’s ICT sector, or comprehension of the urgency to get policy moving”.

“There are no signs that he is the minister of telecoms that South Africa so desperately needs. He needs to be more assertive and courageous in working with the laws and strategic direction he has been bequeathed.”

On Muthambi, the DA says the new communications minister has “managed to make a real name for herself for all the wrong reasons”.

“Muthambi’s first blunder as Minister of this department was to announce a state communications task team stacked with Zuma loyalists such as Jimmy Manyi, Vusi Mona and Hlaudi Motsoeneng. This did nothing to dispel the perception that she was creating a propaganda machine for the embattled president.”

The party says she has “little or no regard” for the constitutionally enshrined independence of the SABC. “This much was clear when, shortly after assuming office, she announced that she wants to take away parliament’s power to recommend the appointment of SABC board members and give it to herself.”

Communications minister Faith Muthambi (image: GCIS)

She has also come under fire from the DA for allegedly interfering in other entities, including Icasa, where she sent a letter to outgoing councillors giving them a month to vacate their offices “in contravention of the Icasa Act”.

The party has excoriated Muthambi for ignoring public protector Thuli Madonsela’s report that found that Motsoeneng had, among other things, lied about having a matric and abused his power by increasing his own salary from R 1,5m to R 2,4m in one year.

“The inescapable conclusion is that Muthambi is protecting and promoting Motsoeneng because of his loyalty to Zuma. It certainly can’t be because of his track record at the SABC, which includes incurring R 3,4bn in irregular expenditure during his tenure as acting chief operating officer.”

One minister that received high marks from the DA is Naledi Pandor, who heads science and technology.

The DA has given Pandor a score of 8/10 for “good financial management” of her department and for having clear plans on how to promote science and technology research and development.

The president was among the worst scorers, getting 1/10 from the DA. The party says his absence from parliament and his refusal to answer questions and the poor performance of South Africa’s economy are among the reasons for his low score.