South African President Appoints Former Opposition Leader as Agriculture Minister

South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa appointed former opposition leader, John Steenhuisen as Minister of Agriculture on Sunday, integrating the Democratic Alliance and other parties into his new coalition cabinet says Reuters. Ramaphosa’s African National Congress was compelled to form alliances with rival parties to retain power after losing its majority for the first time in three decades in the May 29 election. The announcement of the new government of national unity cabinet followed weeks of protracted and sometimes acrimonious negotiations.