Fact check — could a government of national unity include two deputy presidents?

But is this legally possible? News24 reported that the current coalition talks could see IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa take his place as a second deputy president alongside the ANC’s Paul Mashatile.

It has also been pointed out that for South Africa to have two deputy presidents would not be unprecedented, since in the 1994 government of national unity, President Nelson Mandela appointed both Thabo Mbeki and FW de Klerk as deputies.

https://youtu.be/C3tA48XHLSk

The same News24 article quoted an ANC source close to the negotiations as saying that whoever is elected as president could appoint “one, two or three deputy presidents” in the interests of inclusivity.

But as law professor Pierre de Vos has pointed out on Twitter, there does not appear to be a provision in the Constitution for more than one deputy president.

Section 91 (1) of the Constitution specifies that the Cabinet consists of “the President, a Deputy President and Ministers”.

It goes on to say that there may be “any number of Ministers” and “any number of deputy Ministers”, so the singular phrasing of “a Deputy President” is clearly legally intentional.

In other words, it would probably require a Constitutional amendment for an additional deputy president to be appointed.

If you are wondering why Mandela was able to appoint two deputy presidents in the 1994 government of national unity, that is because the Constitution as we know it today was only promulgated in December 1996.

It’s also worth noting that opposition parties, including the IFP, have previously criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa for the size of his Cabinet.

If these parties accept the creation of new Cabinet posts, paid for by the taxpayer, it could open them up to accusations of hypocrisy. DM