S.Africa slashes cabinet size, appoints 50% women

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday cut the number of cabinet ministers from 36 to 28, in a move he said would tackle the country's "bloated" government and improve efficiency. Half the new ministers are women, making South Africa one of the world's few gender-balanced governments. Ramaphosa announced the new line-up after he led the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party to victory in elections earlier this month. He took office last year after the ousting of graft-tainted Jacob Zuma, who had expanded the number of ministerial posts in an alleged attempt to strengthen his patronage network.