The provincial executive committee (PEC) of the ANC is set to announce changes to the executive of the North West provincial government to meet the party’s gender parity demands.
The decision was taken at an ANC national executive committee (NEC) lekgotla) earlier this month, which instructed that North West and Mpumalanga review their MECs appointments and implement gender parity.
In North West, an MEC from one of the following provincial government departments: health, agriculture, sports, arts and culture, human settlement, or community safety and transport will make way for a female candidate.
The North West PEC has asserted that this is a challenging task because the government relies on meticulously managed logistics to function effectively.
ANC provincial spokesperson Tumelo Maruping said the PEC had not anticipated the instruction from the NEC.
“There are continuous engagements with national on how soon [the changes] can be [implemented] because we don’t want to disrupt governance. Much as we agree that this must be done, we must do it in such a way that it does not disrupt governance,” Maruping said.
In June, North West Premier Lazarus Mokgosi announced his cabinet, which includes five male and five female MECs.
The appointments include provincial ANC treasurer Sello Lehari as health MEC, SACP provincial secretary Madoda Sambatha as MEC for agriculture, Oageng Molapisi as MEC for human settlements, former ANC Youth League president Collen Maine is the sports, arts, and culture MEC and North West ANCYL chairperson Wessels Morweng is the MEC for community safety.
The NEC, however, insisted that the provincial executive did meet the demands of the ANC’s 60/40 gender parity policy.
The policy states that if the premier is a man, then women should dominate the provincial executive committee.
Provincial ANC Women’s League secretary Mpho Makolomakwa said they were pleased that its mother body has convinced the PEC to correct the female representation in the North West provincial government’s executive.
“Every woman who is now a member of the legislature in the North West is a woman who has gone through the vetting process and meets the minimum requirement of qualifications as stipulated in the guidelines,” Makolomakwa said,
“They have a clean criminal record, and their footpaths within the organisation are reputable. Let them go and serve the constituency with pride.”
Makolomakwa said the women’s league had not been happy with the cabinet appointments.
“Most of the time, the majority of members in the ANC lekgotla are men, so we came up with a plan to deal with this because women dominate the ANC’s membership and volunteers. We want them to hold critical positions. The women’s league is ready to lead,” she said.
An ANC insider said one of Priscilla Williams, Karabo Magagane and Kgalalelo Magokgoa is expected to make it into the provincial executive.
“As it stands, the allocation of exco positions as per the North West region is that Dr Kenneth Kaunda has four MECs, which is likely seen as the most benefited region in the allocation. The question is: who among the five North West male MECs would make way for a woman MEC to meet the gender parity policy?”
He said that if it went down to the wire, the decision could be between Sambatha and Molapisi. “They might have to make way for a woman’s candidacy in the North West legislature, where the riding horses to ascend could be Pricilla Williams, who has been in the legislature for at least two terms, and Karabo Magagane, who is currently serving as the chairperson for health and social development [portfolio committee],” he said.
Ngaka Modiri Molema region is believed to have the upper hand as it had the least number of MECs. This allows Williams to provide Ngaka Modiri Molema with fair representation.
“A dark horse candidate is predicted to be former sports and culture MEC Tsotso Tlhapi. However, she may be disadvantaged by the fact that she is from Bojanala, which already has a speaker and two MECs.”
The source said, given the dynamics of the province, Maine might make way because he is not leading any ANC structure and could therefore be easily targeted to vacate his post.
