ANC not in position to recall Supra

Saftu claims Mahumapelo, leaders colluding with Guptas

THE ANC was not in a position to remove its North West premier Supra Mahumapelo, the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) said yesterday. “Some leaders in the ANC are beneficiaries of the Gupta-Supra corruption, people of North West are being taken for a ride by the ANC. If they do not remove Supra, we are going to help them to,” said North West convener Puseletso Molise.

He said President Cyril Ramaphosa had cut short his visit to the UK last week to return home, not to remove Mahumapelo, but to stabilise the situation after Mahikeng residents shut down the provincial capital, demanding that Mahumapelo resign.

Residents closed roads with burning objects and went on a looting spree and damaged buildings, while vehicles were also torched during the protest that started on April 18 in Montshioa.

Molise said a meeting has been scheduled where all those against corruption would discuss what steps to follow to remove Mahumapelo.

Meanwhile, ANC leaders in the four districts of North West pledged support for the embattled Mahumapelo.

In a joint statement, they said they believed he has performed exceptionally well. “The call by the Revolutionary Council, Cosatu, SACP and opposition parties is malicious and misinformed. We are arguing that the narrative for recalling the premier must be performance-based and supported by factual evidence that, indeed, he is corrupt.

“As things stand, no one has backed their allegations with concrete evidence. It is our considered view that this call – among other things – is triggered by the posture taken by the premier on corruption and his pronouncements during his State of the Province Address when he asked previous and current premiers, MECs, heads of department, and municipal managers avail themselves when so requested by law enforcement agencies and forensic investigators on all corruption cases dating from 1994 as a commitment and support for the fifth administration’s endeavours to fight greed, crime and corruption,” the regions said.

The regions said they were against the party’s provincial executive committee being disbanded. “We don’t agree with this. Our determination is informed by the PEC’s performance report and mainly by key performance indicators used when evaluating performance of constitutional structures.”

There has been a call that the PEC should disband if Mahumapelo left. – African News Agency (ANA)