The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said it was not convinced that President Jacob Zuma’s latest cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday was in the best interests of the country as Zuma had retained some of his most ineffectual ministers.

“Cosatu expects cabinet reshuffles to be about strengthening the capacity of government in order to help government to better implement its developmental agenda and deliver on its promises,” a statement from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) alliance partner said.

“We are not convinced that this reshuffle is informed by that [agenda], considering that some of the most ineffectual ministers like Minister Bathabile Dlamini, Minister Nomvula Mokonyane, and Minister Mosebenzi Zwane are still part of the National Executive.”

Cosatu is part of the tripartite alliance, consisting of the ANC, Cosatu and the South African Communist Party (SACP). The major change to Tuesday’s reshuffle saw SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande cut from the executive.

While confirming it received a courtesy call from Zuma before announcing the reshuffle, Cosatu said it found the “frequency” of cabinet reshuffles unsettling and contributing towards instability at key government departments.

“All of this is happening while workers and the poor are continuing to be victims of a system that has condemned millions of our fellow citizens to lives of brute survival,” the trade union federation said.

Cosatu, along with the SACP, previously some of Zuma’s biggest supporters, remain some of his fiercest critics now following allegations of state capture benefitting the president’s friends.

Both alliance partners had gone as far as calling on the President to resign.