It’s business as usual‚ KZN premier assures his provincial cabinet

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Willies Mchunu has assured his cabinet that the events currently engulfing the ruling party at national level will not affect the programmes and functioning of the provincial government.

Mchunu was delivering a speech at the Executive Council Lekgotla on Wednesday in KZN.

“I must say that this situation does not affect government in the province. This matter is raised because we do realise that this development may have led to some confusion across the length and breadth of our province. That we are gathered here today is proof that government programmes‚ processes and functions remain unaffected by any political developments at the level of the ruling party‚” Mchunu said.

He said that government programmes would continue as usual as there was a clear distinction between party and state programmes.

“These programmes will remain so because party and state affairs are‚ in our constitutional state‚ separate and clearly delineated from each other. May we therefore take this opportunity to reassure all our people that they will continue to receive services in the same quality‚ quantity and frequency that they are accustomed to‚” he said.

Mchunu raised concerns however that the party in the province did not have a provincial executive committee after the ANC’s national executive committee decided to dissolve the Sihle Zikalala led PEC.

The PEC was dissolved after a court ruling found that the ANC KZN conference that elected the Zikalala leadership should be set aside.

On Tuesday the NEC recalled President Jacob Zuma as its deployee in government. Subsequent to that on Wednesday the ANC caucus was directed to vote with the opposition during the Economic Freedom Fighters-sponsored vote of no confidence debate.

Announcing the decision of the caucus‚ ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu said that the party would amend the reasoning for the vote of no confidence tabled by the red berets.