RUNNING THE SHOW
FOR many 2021 is a year best forgotten. The grind of the pandemic, skyrocketing unemployment, record highs for the petrol price, Eskom struggling to keep the lights on...
If we thought the year was going to be better than the horror that was 2020, we were sorely mistaken.
Often when times are dark and friends are few, we look to our leaders whose job it is to help navigate stormy seas.
So how did those in charge of some of the biggest portfolios in the government do? We asked experts to unpack it – and to look ahead to what ministers need to do in 2022.
MINISTER OF HEALTH DR JOE PHAAHLA
‘THE REACTION TO OMICRON WASN’T HYSTERICAL – IT WAS CALM AND CALCULATED’
The deputy health minister took over in August when Dr Zweli Mkhize resigned after being implicated in the R150-million Digital Vibes scandal.
WHAT DID HE GET RIGHT? Phaahla took over a vital ministry at a difficult time and has done fairly well, says political analyst Professor André Duvenhage of North-West University – especially when it comes to his weekly briefings on the government’s Covid-19 response, which keep the public up to date and informed.
Phaahla’s department also handled the Omicron outbreak well, he says. “The reaction wasn’t hysterical – it was calm and calculated. Despite a rampant fourth wave, the ministry is working to find a way
