This, as the ANC Women’s League continue to lobby for a female premier. They are pushing for the former speaker of the North West Legislature, Susana Dantjie, the former mayor of Dr Kenneth Kaunda district municipality Pinky Moloi, or the League’s national secretary-general Meokgo Matuba to replace Mokgoro in this position.

The party’s alliance partners in the province have, on the other hand, appealed to the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) to retain Mokgoro as the premier. 

Dr Ina Gouws, a Senior Lecturer in the department of political governance and transformation at the University of the Free State, tells OFM News that the situation in the North West proves the kind of pressure president Cyril Ramaphosa is under from certain factions in the ANC with regard to who they will like to have in certain positions.

“There is a lot of criticism with the premiers he has already chosen for the other provinces, except with David Makhura in Gauteng who seems to have wide support to continue.”

Meanwhile, the former premier Supra Mahumapelo has announced that the NEC should be allowed to decide on the North West premier candidate. This, after his name was included amongst those set to be deployed to parliament.

Mahumapelo resigned from the premiership position last year in May amid service delivery protests and mounting calls for his resignation.

OFM News