ANC’s provincial shake-up kicks off

THE ANC Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) yesterday moved swiftly in introducing the first of several expected provincial government shake-ups after it announced the deployment of three officials to the Northern Cape Legislature.

This follows a resolution taken earlier this week at the Northern Cape ANC’s mid-year lekgotla to place its top five provincial officials into strategic government positions, which could see a reshuffle of the provincial cabinet

ANC provincial secretary, Deshi Ngxanga, stated yesterday that ANC NCOP member, Patrick Mabilo, the former MEC for Transport, Safety and Liaison, would be redeployed to the Province.

He added that fellow NCOP member, Mase Manopole, would also return to the provincial legislature. ANC provincial deputy chairperson and executive mayor of the Namaqua District Municipality, Bentley Vass, will be placed on the province-to-province list (a list that has the names of candidates that are expected to represent the ANC in provincial legislature).

Ngxanga said that the PEC had decided to amend the ANC’s public representative list to “reinforce its capacity in the legislature with comrades that have the necessary pedigree”.

“This will ensure that we fast track the implementation of our elections manifesto. The PEC resolved that the province-to-province and the province-to-national reserve list need to be overhauled to make way for the changes that need to be effected in the provincial legislature.”

Ngxanga believed that the newly appointed Speaker of the Gamagara Municipality, Dineo Moyo, and the newly appointed mayor, Edwin Hantise, as well as the change of the plenary type municipality to a collective executive system, would be to the “greater benefit” of communities in this municipal area.

He added that the ANC was confident of a landslide victory in the upcoming by-elections in the Magareng, Gamagara and Dawid Kruiper municipalities.