job makgoro anc nec north west premier

Ace Magashule / Image via Twitter: African National Congress
@MYANC

ANC keeps Job Mokgoro as North West Premier

A tough call for the ANC.

job makgoro anc nec north west premier

Ace Magashule / Image via Twitter: African National Congress
@MYANC

In its rejuvenated state, the ANC took a week to arrive at a decision on who the North West Premier would be.

Through the vigorous campaigning of President Cyril Ramaphosa, the ANC survived a close-call at the polls to, once again, govern South Africa for the next five years.

A tough call on North West Premier position

In the wake of their victory, the party gathered for the special NEC meeting to discuss the Premier positions of the eight provinces they won at the polls. Excluding the Western Cape that was retained by the DA, the ANC’s leadership had tough calls to make about its preferred Premier candidates.

North West was never going to be an easy decision to make, considering the outcome of Supra Mahumapelo’s court bid against the party.

Related: The Supra Mahumapelo predicament: ANC to appeal court ruling

In February, the South Gauteng High Court disregarded the NEC’s decision to replace Mahumapelo and his provincial executive committee PEC with the provincial task team (PTT).

The courts based the ruling on the ANC’s blatant disregard of its investigative report recommendations, which found that the former premier was not guilty of fraud and mismanagement.

According to Mahumapelo and his defence, the investigator, whose task was to assess the fitness of the North West premier and the PEC to hold office, had advised against the decision to oust Supra and co.

Related: ANC NEC reveals candidate recommendations for Premier of Province

Who is the new NW Premier?

While mediations on this ruling have continued behind closed doors, the ANC resolved that the future of a province that has been riddled with rampant corruption ought to be left in the hands of Job Mokgoro, the man they had placed in charge on an interim basis.

Related: Tebogo Job Mokgoro: Five quick facts about the new North West Premier


“We looked at the different proposals. There were people to be considered but those people were not on the list of the ANC and we therefore agreed that comrade Job Mokgoro should remain Premier of the North West so that we stabilise that province and at the right time, I think, we will then interact on that matter.” ANC secretary-general said at the media briefing in Cape Town.