South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) party John Steenhuisen the country's new agriculture minister.
Steenhuisen will be deputised by Rosemary Nokuzola Capa. At the same time, Ramaphosa said the incumbent deputy president, Paul Mashatile, who is a member of the African National Congress (ANC), will continue serving in that capacity.
Ramaphosa named ministers in his administration, which he describes as the "government of national unity", on Sunday. The new office holders are drawn from different political factions.
The president said he had promised a leaner government in the run-up to the May 29 elections, but "due to the need to ensure that the national executive is inclusive of all the parties that are part of the government of national unity, this has not been possible."
National dialogue
Ramaphosa said some ministries were merged, while others were fragmented to improve service delivery.
"The incoming government will work with other formations to convene a national dialogue," the president said.
The Democratic Alliance, which got 87 parliamentary seats, and a few other parties joined forces with Ramaphosa's ANC to ensure Ramaphosa gets a second term.
ANC, which got 159 parliamentary seats, polled below 50% in the elections for the first time since 1994.
Second term
Following the coalition deal with a host of parties, Ramaphosa got 283 votes against Economic Freedom Fighters' candidate Julius Malema's 44 to win a second term in the June 14 presidential poll.
In South Africa, it is the 400-member parliament that elects the nation's president.
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