Premier expected to remain provincial chairman

North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo’s fate could be known this week. Though it is understood he has agreed to step down as premier after talks with President Cyril Ramaphosa last week, he will remain provincial chairman, meaning he would still be in charge of ANC structures in the province.

Protests have engulfed the North West over the past three months, with calls for Mahumapelo’s removal as premier from the broader community, ANC members, the South African Communist Party and Cosatu.

ANC spokesman Pule Mabe said speculation of a special national executive committee meeting to take place on Monday to decide Mahumapelo’s fate was not correct. He said no meeting has yet been called.

Mabe said discussions between the ANC’s officials and Mahumapelo are continuing.

Last week the ANC’s national working committee met in Cape Town and took a decision to recommend that Mahumapelo be recalled to the party’s highest decision-making body between conferences, the national executive committee.

The meeting was expected to be held on Monday if Mahumapelo had not resigned by then. By late Sunday he remained in his post.

The committee would have to debate whether to dissolve Mahumapelo’s provincial executive committee and place it under a task team.

Meanwhile, the office of the premier in the North West said at the weekend Mahumapelo reported to the Hawks that he had uncovered a plot to assassinate him.

A case of conspiracy to commit murder was opened at the Mahikeng police station.