Even the Democratic Alliance agrees that Cabinet is much improved, and in marking their report cards has given a number of ministers and departments improved grades.

The new ministers — although they have only been in office for three months — get good marks with both Barbara Hogan at Health, and Geoff Doidge at Public Works receiving a convincing eight out of ten.

Hogan gets her marks because no doubt of the contrast with her predecessor, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.

DA leader Helen Zille said at a media conference in Parliament on Wednesday called to announce the ratings: "Minister Hogan has wasted no time in rejecting Aids denialism, opening up communication links with civil society and working to restore some sense of order to a department which had lost all coherence."

She praised Doidge for withdrawing the Built Environment Professions bill from Parliament after the ANC had already pushed it through the National Assembly. "His stance on the insidious Expropriation Bill which — was also withdrawn — was commendable," Zille said, "although that bill seems likely to be reintroduced next year."

Only praise for Manuel

In contrast to these two scores, Trevor Manuel who received nothing but praise in the DA assessment was awarded only seven out of ten. It is better than the six out of ten he got last year, but according to chief whip Ian Davidson, who used to be the party's finance spokesman, he lost points because he had not taken counter-cyclical measures early enough — mending the roof when the sun was shining.

President Kgalema Motlanthe was marked down to only six out of ten, although he had started promisingly. "The caretaker president ... has executed his duties commendably thus far," Zille said, "but he stumbled and fell over his first major hurdle on Monday when he announced his decision to fire suspended national director of public prosecutions, Advocate Vusi Pikoli."

Up to that point the DA was prepared to score him eight out of ten.

Of the old Cabinet, Mosibudi Mangena scored eight. Naledi Pandor at Education scored seven out of ten up from last year's five, because she has addressed tough problems that were conspicuously ducked by her predecessors - in particular teacher performance, learner discipline and the lack of accountability within the system.

Scraping through

The Minister of Communications, Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri and Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour were the worst performers scraping only one out of ten each.

Tshabalala-Msimang gets a provisional score of four in her new job in the President's office, having scored zero last year and the year before at health.

Mandisi Mpahlwa, the Trade and Industry Minister, drops a point from three last year to two this. Davidson explained that he has not done well. "He really is just a shadow minister," he said.

Davidson cited the debacle over the national lottery, and the failure to produce a coherent industrial policy in time, as well as "the mess up" over the Chinese clothing quotas.

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