Former communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda has been given a role within the Presidency “with immediate effect”.
In a statement, the Presidency revealed today that president Jacob Zuma requested the speaker of the National Assembly, Max Sisulu, to appoint Nyanda as the president's parliamentary counsellor in the National Assembly.
“General Nyanda will be the president's personal representative in Parliament, keeping him abreast regarding developments and providing advice on the course of action required on issues. The president ceased to be a member of the National Assembly soon after election as president, in terms of the Constitution of the Republic,” the statement reveals.
The position sees Nyanda managing Zuma's “liaison” with Parliament's officers and structures, as well as relations with leaders of those political parties represented in Parliament.
In the statement, Nyanda says: “I look forward to this deployment and the opportunity to contribute to strengthening relations between Parliament and the executive. I am also encouraged by the president's determination to promote good working relations with political parties represented in Parliament. We have to further develop these relations so that we can identify and highlight issues that are in the national interest, that we can work on together.”
Political manoeuvres
Nyanda lost his ministerial post in Zuma's Cabinet shuffle last month. At the time, several commentators expressed surprise at his loss of political clout as he was considered an ANC heavyweight. Industry observers welcomed his ousting, however, as the Department of Communications had deteriorated markedly since his appointment.
Nyanda was then reported by Eyewitness News to have rejected an offer of the post of South African Ambassador to Germany. Had he taken the diplomatic post, he would have replaced former SABC chairman Eddie Funde.
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