Newly elected chair of the ANC in Limpopo Stan Mathabatha has vowed to extend an olive branch to former allies he thrashed at the provincial conference.
Mathabatha was re-elected chair for a third consecutive term, beating his former ally Dickson Masemola by over 400 votes.
The pair, who were inseparable just a few years ago, went toe-to-toe this weekend where Mathabatha emerged victorious.
Mathabatha told the media after his election he will reach out to Masemola to chart a way forward, a move seen as extending an olive branch to his former ally.
He also said he would do the same with Soviet Lekganyane who lost the provincial secretary position to Reuben Madadzhe.
The Mathabatha slate made a clean sweep, taking the top five positions. He received 781 votes while Masemola got 373.
He said there would be no animosity between him and Masemola and that they remain friends despite their differences.
He did not rule out removing Masemola as an MEC in his government, but said should this happen it would be based purely on performance.
“In the ANC we differ to agree ... It is not about animosity, we will still remain friends with Dickson and Soviet, we are comrades after all,” said Mathabatha.
“You can’t drop a person from the cabinet because they contested you. Our deployment in government is guided by the executive council review. We do not have any reshuffle on the cards currently, if it does happen you must know it is based on that review.”
Mathabatha said though he won a third term, he was aware that the country’s laws prohibited him from coming back as premier when his two terms expire.
He said his re-election reaffirmed the party position that “there is one centre of power and that is the ANC”.
Mathabatha also said they would work on ridding the province of corruption that has become synonymous with the ANC.
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There will be no retribution: Mathabatha
Image: Thapelo Morebudi
Newly elected chair of the ANC in Limpopo Stan Mathabatha has vowed to extend an olive branch to former allies he thrashed at the provincial conference.
Mathabatha was re-elected chair for a third consecutive term, beating his former ally Dickson Masemola by over 400 votes.
The pair, who were inseparable just a few years ago, went toe-to-toe this weekend where Mathabatha emerged victorious.
Mathabatha told the media after his election he will reach out to Masemola to chart a way forward, a move seen as extending an olive branch to his former ally.
He also said he would do the same with Soviet Lekganyane who lost the provincial secretary position to Reuben Madadzhe.
The Mathabatha slate made a clean sweep, taking the top five positions. He received 781 votes while Masemola got 373.
He said there would be no animosity between him and Masemola and that they remain friends despite their differences.
He did not rule out removing Masemola as an MEC in his government, but said should this happen it would be based purely on performance.
“In the ANC we differ to agree ... It is not about animosity, we will still remain friends with Dickson and Soviet, we are comrades after all,” said Mathabatha.
“You can’t drop a person from the cabinet because they contested you. Our deployment in government is guided by the executive council review. We do not have any reshuffle on the cards currently, if it does happen you must know it is based on that review.”
Mathabatha said though he won a third term, he was aware that the country’s laws prohibited him from coming back as premier when his two terms expire.
He said his re-election reaffirmed the party position that “there is one centre of power and that is the ANC”.
Mathabatha also said they would work on ridding the province of corruption that has become synonymous with the ANC.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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