Issued by: Office of The President
Reports in an Afrikaans Cape Town paper this morning about clashes amongst Ministers during the Cabinet meeting of Wednesday 31 May 1995 are inaccurate, misleading and wildly exaggerated.
There was at one point early in the meeting prolonged and heated debate over a procedural matter, viz. whether a previous decision meant that the Cabinet had approved a particular draft Bill (on the Remuneration of Traditional Leaders) for submission to Parliament or whether it had to return to Cabinet after consultations; and whether the consultations had been sufficient and representative. The debate and dispute did not, as the report suggests, only involve ministers from the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Front, but Ministers from all three parties.
Allegations that the debate threatened to lead to physical confrontation in Cabinet are outrageous, fabricated and a slur on the dignity of the executive. Neither was there at any time the faintest suggestion that any parties or Ministers were contemplating withdrawal from the government of national unity.
G J Gerwel
Secretary of the Cabinet
1 June 1995