ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina has attempted to influence Luthuli House to remove Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as speaker of the National Assembly and appoint Thandi Modise instead.
If not Modise, Majodina‘s second preference was Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, followed by former Eastern Cape premier Noxolo Kiviet. Mapisa-Nqakula, who has been serving as speaker since 2021, was Majodina’s last option on her list.
The explosive details are contained in the letter she wrote to ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula on January 29 last year, proposing a review of strategic posts in parliament.
Despite nailing her colours to the mast about her top preferences for the powerful job, Majodina said it was in the end the prerogative of the ANC to decide whether or not to retain Mapisa-Nqakula for the cushy job.
“It is an option for the NEC to resolve that Cde Mapisa-Nqakula should remain as the speaker of the National Assembly for the remainder of the parliamentary term until the elections in 2024,” she wrote in the letter.
But she warned earlier in the letter that ahead of an election year “the (National Assembly) needs a firm and decisive person who has a deep and thorough understanding of the rules and procedures [of parliament]”.
Majodina stated she was making these proposals because three posts had become vacant in parliament. This, included her position, Mapisa-Nqakula’s and the post of deputy chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), then held by Sylvia Lucas.
She added that the proposal was also informed by the outcomes of the ANC national conference in December 2022 as well as the party’s guidelines for the strategic deployment of members to positions in parliament.
Of the three posts, she no-ted that she was the only one re-elected as a member of both the powerful ANC national executive committee (NEC) and its operational wing, the national working committee, while both Mapisa-Nqakula and Lucas failed to win the necessary votes at the conference.
“In this regard, the office of the chief whip wishes to bring to the organisation’s attention that it is not automatic that an NEC deployee incumbent in a strategic position in parliament remains in that position for a full parliamentary term. The term of office of strategically deployed members of the NEC to positions in parliament may be reviewed after the national elective conference by the newly elected NEC,” Majodina wrote.
Majodina said her office was aware that it could be cumbersome to redeploy Modise, who is minister of defence, after such a short time, but said “she was a respected and firm speaker during her tenure”.
She added that Kubayi was a deputy chief whip for an extended period, served as a minister in various departments, and had a deep and thorough understanding of the rules of parliament, while Kiviet was a former speaker and premier of Eastern Cape and deputy minister of public works and infrastructure.
And if the NEC considered replacing her as chief whip of the majority party, Majodina recommended any of the candidates who missed the speaker’s post could take over the role. But in terms of priority, she preferred Kubayi, Sisisi Tolashe (deputy- minister in the presidency for women, youth, and persons with disabilities), Thoko Didiza (mini-ster of agriculture), Kiviet, and Cyril Xaba (ANC MP).
Regarding the position of depu-ty chairperson of the NCOP, she noted that after the national elective conference, there was no NEC member who served as a member of the NCOP. “One option would be to redeploy a current sitting member of the national assembly to the NCOP through the review of the province-to-province lists.”
She recommended the appointment of Kiviet, the late Tina Joemat-Pettersson, Thembi Nkadimeng (minister of coperative governance and traditional affairs), Thandi Moraka (Limpopo ANC MPL) and Lucas.
Majodina’s letter was leaked to Sunday World’s last week, shortly after we published a story in which we exposed the WhatsApp message she wrote to former Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina expressing her wish for Mapisa-Nqakula to be arrested so that the ANC could invoke its step-aside rule and force her to resign as MP.
According to the explosive text, which we have seen, Majodina (incorrectly saved on the mobile phone as Majodima) said Mapisa-Nqakula had to be charged so that the ANC could effect the step-aside rule.
Masina and Majodina confirmed that the conversation did take place but insisted that the text should be read in the context of the entire conversation.
Majodina said the interpretation that she wanted Mapisa-Nqakula booted out was “all utter rubbish” that was not deserving of her response.
The text messages came after a message accusing Majodina of rejoicing over the downfall of the speaker was circulated on ANC leadership WhatsApp groups and other social media platforms. The message claimed that Majodina was at the centre of the leakages and abuse of state power to humiliate and embarrass the speaker.
The message further said that before the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) raided Mapisa-Nqakula’s home, Majodina was among senior politicians who knew about it and rejoiced in parliament when she told some MPs that the speaker’s home would be raided and she would be arrested.
Mapisa-Nqakula resigned from her job last week after her application for an urgent order to interdict the NPA from arresting her for corruption was struck off the roll of the Pretoria High Court.
She handed herself to the Lyttelton police station, where she was formally charged with corruption for allegedly receiving more than R4-million in kickbacks from a service provider when she was minister of defence between 2016 and 2019.
She was released on R50 000 bail, and the case was postponed to June 4 this year.
