Lungani Zungu
ANC stalwart Bushy Maape is the new North West premier after the axing of Job Mokgoro on Tuesday.
Mokgoro was fired “for not carrying the party mandate,” according to Hlomane Chauke, co-ordinator of the interim provincial committee (IPC).
Making the announcement, Chauke said: “This is not the purging of any person, but we are intervening because things are not happening the way they are supposed to here in the North West,” he said.
He added that they want to employ leaders who understand what the ANC stands for and who will also empower South Africans.
Maape went through a rigorous interview process before he got the go-ahead to lead the crisis-riddled province.
Others interviewed for the top job included legislature speaker Suzan Dantjie and Finance MEC Motlalepula Rosho.
Earlier on Tuesday, a group of Mokgoro’s supporters burnt tyres and blocked roads, in protest against his removal. Despite this last-ditch attempt to save the 73-year-old Mokgoro, the ANC didn’t hesitate to drop the axe.
Maape, who is said to be a President Cyril Ramaphosa backer, is expected to be sworn in on Tuesday.
He is currently a member of the provincial legislature in the North West.
The writing was on the wall for Mokgoro, who took over as premier in 2018 after Supra Mahumapelo was forced to resign following unrest over service delivery in the North West.
Maape is expected to appoint his cabinet as soon as he officially takes the premier’s seat.
Image source: @JacarandaFM
