The success of President Cyril Ramaphosa's Cabinet will be measured in many ways, but the first test will be economic growth and the creation of an enabling environment. Another aspect that will be closely monitored is the management of the relationship between ministers and deputy ministers from different parties working in the same departments.

President Cyril Ramaphosa and others have said that the new Cabinet stems from the electoral outcome and the voters' desire to include people from other parties. This appears to be a concession that politics has trumped competence and is more important than how well the appointees manage their portfolios.

However, it's no different from what has happened in the past. Cabinets composed entirely of ANC members always reflected the internal politics and balance of power within the party. This new multiparty situation is more complicated but pretty much the same in its nature.

Instead of an ANC leader having to take into account various factions inside his party and manage the representativity of language, ethnic and geographic groups, a range of other parties now has to be included.

Leaders in other democracies often have to make similar choices and experts are seldom appointed to cabinets as they are not elected. Politicians occupy the Parliament benches and the Cabinet must represent the wishes of voters (it is for this reason that the President can appoint only two people from outside the National Assembly as ministers).

All of that said, this Cabinet will be judged a success or a failure on whether...