Gauteng Premier will replace male MEC with a female following NEC directive

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Johannesburg - ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, confirmed that Gauteng Premier David Makhura would “in a few days from now” replace one male MEC on the provincial cabinet with a woman. Magashule was addressing the media at a briefing held at the party’s headquarters, Luthuli House in Johannesburg, on Wednesday. For nearly two months, a seemingly recalcitrant Makhura had stalled on the decision to implement a directive of the highest decision-making body, the national executive committee (NEC) of the ANC, to install a woman in the place of a male MEC without any delay. This is in line with a resolution of the ANC that in provinces, where the premier is male, as is the case with Makhura, 60% of the MECs must be female. In Gauteng, currently five male MECs and an equal tally of female MECs, make up the provincial cabinet with Makhura at the helm.

At the same media briefing, where Magashule read out the ANC NEC’s resolution from a statement of outcomes document which related to the NEC’s September 27-30 meeting held in Johannesburg, he reiterated that Makhura had not defied the NEC and was willing to install a new female MEC.

While Magashule reiterated that the NEC had “met Gauteng” without any specific indication as to whether he meant the ANC Gauteng provincial executive committee or the Gauteng provincial cabinet, he nonetheless said, “Gauteng will implement the national executive committee decision”.

He said: “Gauteng has no problem with implementing our decision, because that decision is the decision of the highest decision-making body, the national executive committee.

“We have once more met them (Gauteng). You will hear the implementation of that decision. It’s going to happen.”

Pressed on when such a decision would be implemented, Magashule responded: “In politics we don’t deal with when. It might be tomorrow (October 4). David Makhura and the leadership of Gauteng has (sic) never said they will never implement the decision of the national executive committee.

“I am talking on authority. There is no way Gauteng will not implement our decision,” said Magashule.

Sunday Independent