Makhura resigns as premier
-2+$11E6%85* 'avid 0aNhura has resiJned from the Sosition of the Premier of *autenJ and a member of *autenJ Provincial LeJisla ture, effective from today.
In a statement, 0aNhura said he handed in the letter to *aut enJ LeJislature 6SeaNer 1tom bi 0eNJwe on 7uesday.
0aNhura is e[Sected to hand over the reiJns to newly elected *autenJ ChairSerson Panya]a Lesufi tomorrow, when mem bers of the Srovincial leJis lature will sit to elect a new Sremier.
Earlier this year, 0aNhura in formed the $1C at the Cadres $ssembly attended by branch chairs and secretaries of his intentions to not stand for a leadershiS Sosition of the $1C in *autenJ, after servinJ the
Srovince for years.
+e was elected the Sremier th of *autenJ in 0ay , and re elected in 0ay
Served
.
³I have served the SeoSle of *autenJ with humility, and outmost dedication and inteJri ty throuJh the eiJht years of my tenure,´ said 0aNhura. :hile there had been media reSorts that 0aNhura was forced to steS down after $1C *autenJ’s
th Srovincial conference in -une, the Sremier denied that he was beinJ Sushed out from Sower.
0aNhura said he had always e[Sressed his desire to hand over the reins to a new Sre mier even thouJh he was only left with two years before his second term ended.
%ut the move has been criti cised by the ConJress of 6outh $frican 7rade 8nions C26$ 78 in *autenJ.
It said the $1C in the Srov ince was embarNinJ on a ‘So litical suicide mission’.
C26$78 said the decision on 0aNhura’s e[it from of fice by the new PEC was ‘in ward looNinJ’ and followed ‘the same old traMectory of obsessinJ over Salace Soli tics while the worNinJ class is bleedinJ’. ³7here are no siJns that the newly elected leader shiS has understood nor man aJed to decode the messaJe of the last couSle of elections outcomes.
³7he SeoSle of the Srovince have been cryinJ for a Seo Sle centred Jovernance model that is focused on resolvinJ their Sroblems, yet they are still waNinJ uS to headlines about leaders MostlinJ for Sositions,´ C26$78 said in a statement.