Mokgoro resigns as premier but is still MPL
Maape can't take over without seat in North West legislature
The ANC in the North West legislature was still in the dark late yesterday about whether Job Mokgoro would vacate his post as an MPL after he tendered his resignation as premier.
Mokgoro’s resignation came after a push by the interim provincial interim committee (IPC) that is planning to replace him with ANC stalwart Bushy Maape.
Mokgoro, who was headhunted by the ANC national leadership to lead the troubled province in 2018, had demanded to first meet President Ramaphosa before agreeing to resign. He finally met Ramaphosa on Wednesday.
Maape is, however, not a member of the provincial legislature, which meant Mokgoro needed to vacate his post as an MPL.
ANC chief whip Paul Sebegoe said while Mokgoro had called and told him that he had resigned from his post of premier, he had not left his seat in the legislature to make way for Maape.
“We are still awaiting guidance from the ANC in terms of going ahead and making changes in the caucus. He called me and said he resigned as premier but he has not resigned from the legislature and we have not received any formal engagement from the ANC on what to do with the issue,” Sebegoe said.
The province remains plagued by a governance crisis which has seen six of its departments placed under administration, including the premier’s office. Many municipalities in the province have also experienced a collapse in governance.
Mokgoro said he had been left with two choices after taking over in 2018, which were pleasing competing political interests or restoring good governance and the provision of service delivery.
“This arduous, yet rewarding journey had two roads. The one was that of pursuing popularity and applause at the expense of our citizens and the other was putting my head down and doing hard and unfashionable work for the good of our citizens. I took the road less travelled over various competing interests,” Mokgoro said.
He said leading the province, which he took over from Supra Mahumapelo, who was removed by the ANC after massive protests, had been “very lonely and often riddled with difficulty” at times as he tried to solve its problems.
IPC co-ordinator Hlomani Chauke did not respond to questions as the provincial leadership was busy discussing the succession saga yesterday.
ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte said Mahumapelo had to resign from the legislature to make space for Mokgoro in 2018.
Duarte said the party in the province was trying to find a solution to the problem in a bid to enable Maape to find a position within the legislature for him to be appointed as the next premier.
“They have until the 15th of September to try to solve this problem and I imagine that what is probably going to happen is some discussions with the caucus in the North West to find a way forward. It is not a negative thing. It happens in politics and it happens all the time,” Duarte said.