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What is happening in the North West is part of a “well-thought out programme ... targeting certain provinces and senior ANC leaders viewed to be too powerful and pro-radical economic transformation”.
This is according to pro-Supra Mahumapelo leaders of various ANC regions in the province, who have been downplaying the violence as an “act of defence” by some of those they serve with in the same leadership structures.
They said the three targeted provinces were North West, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.
Parts of the North West have been plunged into chaotic and violent protests, which have been characterised by looting and the destruction of property.
At least one person, a 16-year-old boy, died during battles with the police in Taung on Monday.
The protests started in Mahikeng last Wednesday, a day after a motion of no confidence in Mahumapelo was postponed indefinitely.
They spread like wildfire to other areas of the province with communities calling for the North West premier’s removal from office.
Regional leaders said all these were brewed from “operation centres” – two based in Mahikeng and one in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda region.
When they spoke to the media in Mahikeng earlier they explained that the plan was divided into three phases with making the provinces ungovernable and removing people topping the list.
Dr Kenneth Kaunda acting regional chairperson, Zanele Mphafudi, said: “Once Supra [Mahumapelo] is gone, people must be removed; mayors must go, [members of the mayoral committees] must go, ANC branches and provincial leadership must be disbanded ... that cannot be allowed to happen.”
The regions have expressed their opposition to calls for Mahumapelo to be removed, saying they “believed that the premier had performed exceptionally well”.
The representatives of Dr Kenneth Kaunda, Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, and Ngaka Modiri Molema regions (Bojanala region was also listed although no one came through) addressed the media on Tuesday as the violent protests continued to spread.
Scenes of looting, barricaded roads and burning tyres were reported overnight in Vryburg and Taung.
A municipal office was torched in the early hours of Tuesday morning in Stella, a small town outside Vryburg.
As the day went by, areas within Tswaing municipality – including Atamelang – were plunged into chaos and violence.
A group calling itself the Revolutionary Council, which is known to be made up of politicians and businessmen with the aim of “saving the North West”, came under fire from the regional leaders, who said it was behind the unrest in the province.
The regional leaders said the council was a “actually a lobby group that was pro-CR17” – that supported current ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa.
“It is our view, therefore, that they still exist post- Nasrec [the ANC national conference that saw Ramaphosa elected to the party’s top job] and refuse to let go of any lobbying or conference-related difference of opinion. Their composition largely explains their reason for existence ... its membership is mainly composed of former and current members of the executive council, members of Parliament, members of the provincial legislature, some ANC provincial executive committee members, and members of the former provincial task team that led our province between 2009 and early 2011.
“It is basically a coalition of the wounded who get angry and are prepared to fight if things don’t go their way.”
The ANC’s own alliance partners – the South African National Civic Organisation, South African Communist Party and Cosatu – had backed calls for Mahumapelo’s removal and the regions expressed their unhappiness at this.
They also urged party leaders to act against ANC members found to be taking part in these calls.
“It is our view that the call by the Revolutionary Council, Cosatu, SACP and opposition parties is malicious and misinformed. The narrative for recalling the premier must be performance-based and supported by factual evidence that he is corrupt,” the regional leaders said.
“As things stand, no one has backed their allegations with concrete evidence. It is our considered view that this call – among other things – is triggered by the posture taken by the premier on corruption and his pronouncements made during his state of the province address when he requested that all previous and current premiers, members of the executive council, heads of department and municipal managers must avail themselves when so requested by law enforcement agencies and forensic investigators on all corruption cases dating from 1994 as a commitment and support for the fifth administration’s endeavours to fight greed, crime and corruption.”
The regional leaders said they were not defending Mahumapelo, saying he should face the might of the law if found wanting through any investigations, but until then he “remains innocent until found guilty by a court of law”.
