As the country braces for the start of the term of office of the 7th National Assembly and nine provincial legislatures, the ANC in Limpopo says it is ready to elect the next premier.
The party says it considered both the political and academic records of candidates when making recommendations for premier’s position.
Limpopo is one of five provinces where the ANC retained its 50 plus one percent majority. The Limpopo provincial legislature has expanded to 64 seats from 49, with six political parties being represented.
For the first time since 1999, six parties are preparing to take their seats in the legislative chambers. This as newcomer MK Party and UAT have each garnered one seat. They join the ANC, EFF, DA and FFplus which were also represented in the sixth administration.
Former SANDF member and Polokwane Municipality employee, Lulami Jack, will represent the party in the legislature. Following a resolution by the party he will not attend the first sitting. MK head of the election, Matlala Maremane, explains:
“In Limpopo, we started to be active [campaigning] somewhere around the end of February. We were able to mobilise the whole of Limpopo to get one seat in the legislature. Our convener, Jack Lulami, is the one going to the legislature. We go to government to restore the dignity of the African people, to reverse the effect of 1930, the land must go back to our chief.”
With 48 of the provincial legislature’s 64 seats, the ANC says it is ready to field candidates for both the Speaker and Premier positions.
Spokesperson Jimmy Machaka has disputed its provincial deputy chairperson, Florence Radzilani, and NEC member, Thembi Nkadimeng, were interviewed alongside Dr Phophi Ramathuba, Basikopo Makamu and Nakedi Sibanda-Kekana, for the premier position.
“We have not announced an additional two names for candidates for the position of premier to be interviewed. If there is such a decision we have not been advised by the national leadership of the ANC but of course in terms of the guidelines of the ANC, officials are permitted to add two more names if the three candidates submitted do not meet the criteria both politically and academically.”
Machaka added that the manipulated IEC list in which six party members were moved higher to the detriment of six others, should be correct by the time MPLs are sworn in on Friday.
“We anticipate that any time from now the national leadership ought to give us guidance as to what must happen in restoring the list of the ANC leadership in Limpopo. We expect that the leadership must come in strength before the sitting of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature. Even if the sitting takes place and the matter has still not been resolved there is nothing can prevent the ANC from attending to the matter before or post the sitting of the Provincial Legislature.”
The EFF has garnered nine seats, up from seven in the last term. The deputy Provincial Chairperson of the EFF, Rassie Maepa, is the only member of the party’s top six provincial executives deployed to the provincial legislature. The DA has garnered four seats from three previously, while the FFplus retained its one seat.
