Supra's replacement to be decided on Wednesday

The North West will have a new Premier by tomorrow.

A special sitting of the ANC’s national executive committee has deferred the decision to select a new Premier to the party’s national working committee (NWC)‚ which will hold a special sitting on Wednesday and formally announce the new candidate on Thursday.

The party has also asked its members to give it more time to resolve internal disputes before rushing to the courts.

North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo went on “early retirement” after a revolt against his leadership resulted in the ANC recommending his removal as Premier. Mahumapelo is‚ however‚ staying on as an ordinary member of the provincial legislature and in the powerful position of ANC North West chairman.

“The Special NEC mandated the NWC to take a decision on the Premier candidate by Thursday‚ June 21‚ 2018. In this regard‚ a Special NWC will sit on Wednesday the June 20‚ 2018‚ to conclude on the matter‚” the party said in a statement.

Former North West director-general Job Mokgoro‚ South Africa’s ambassador to the UN Jerry Matjila and Speaker of the Provincial Legislature Susan Dantjie‚ who is acting Premier‚ were the three names that had been put forward to the NEC as possible replacements for Mahumapelo. The party also urged members to exhaust all ANC internal processes before resorting to court action to resolve disputes.

“It implored responsible leadership structures and collectives at all levels to abide by the letter and spirit of the ANC Constitution in how they oversee and run organisational processes and give ANC members the space to be heard and raise their grievances and complaints. It urges members to utilise all internal processes‚” the statement read.

Unhappy ANC members in KwaZulu-Natal‚ the Free State and the Eastern Cape have taken to the courts to challenge internal decisions‚ especially with those related to the holding of provincial conferences.

The KwaZulu-Natal ANC conference was unable to sit two weeks ago after branch leaders successfully interdicted it at the Pietermaritzburg High Court. They argued that the conference could not go ahead until grievances related to gatekeeping‚ parallel branches and bogus members were dealt with.

Meanwhile‚ elections of provincial executives in the Eastern Cape and the Free State have been endorsed by the NEC despite several challenges mounted by aggrieved members in those provinces.

Regional conferences in Gauteng in preparation for a provincial conference have also been given the green light.

There was confusion earlier when ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule indicated that all regional conferences to be in held in Gauteng this weekend had been postponed. But party spokesperson Pule Mabe later claimed Magashule had been quoted out of context‚ confirming that the regional meetings would indeed go ahead. The Limpopo ANC conference is also set to go ahead this weekend.