The ANC’s national working committee has selected 70-year-old Tebogo Job Mokgoro to replace former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo.
ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule made the announcement at a media briefing on Thursday at the party’s Luthuli House headquarters in Johannesburg.
Mahumapelo, Mokgoro’s predecessor – who was also present at the announcement – congratulated the premier-elect on his nomination and said that the new premier “is expected to be sworn in on Friday” in the provincial legislature dominated by the ANC.
Magashule said the special national working committee met on Wednesday and “unanimously” resolved on the nomination of Professor Mokgoro as premier-elect of the North West province
“Mokgoro is a tried and tested activist and administrator fit enough to deal with the challenges at hand [in the North West province],” said Magashule.
The secretary-general also said that Mokgoro’s appointment would bring the necessary stability to “the provincial administration” and effect the “much-needed delivery of basic services”.
He also called for everyone within the ANC as well as the general public to support the newly appointed premier.
Mokgoro, who will become the sixth premier of the province when he is sworn in on Friday, has been credited with turning around the province’s national school of governance. He had been mandated with “cracking the whip” and teaching the state how to clean up its act.
READ: Tebogo Job Mokgoro: The right man for the job
The announcement of Mokgoro’s nomination came a day before the 30-day Constitutional deadline to find a candidate to replace Mahumapelo was set to expire.
Mahumapelo was forced into “early retirement” last month after weeks of violent protests by residents calling for him to step down. The protests led to the province being placed under administration by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Magashule explained that Mokgoro, who had also worked as the former director-general for the province, was picked ahead of three other candidates.
The ANC in the province was deeply divided, which led to the delay in the nomination of the new premier. Mahumapelo’s critics argued that the current executive was dominated by his faction, which was responsible for the provincial collapse.
ANC alliance partner the South African National Civic Organisation welcomed Mokgoro’s appointment describing him as a “seasoned administrator and a man of integrity”.
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