Modise’s office and the DA after the opposition party raised concern on provincial heads of department’s attending a two-day ANC lekgotla in Rustenburg last week.

The DA raised concern over allegations that Modise summoned the heads to a party event at the expense of the government. It has since taken up the issue with the public protector and the Public Service Commission.

In a statement, provincial DA leader Chris Hattingh said: “It appears that the government’s top officials, paid by the taxpayer, have been summoned by Premier Thandi Modise to the ANC North West lekgotla. In doing this Premier Modise has basically presided over a brazen mixing of party and state.

The lekgotla was taking place over two days and who was running the provincial government?”

Hattingh said that Modise’s actions were deeply unethical and an abuse of public resources.

“We will be laying an ethics violation complaint with public protector Thuli Madonsela. If an investigation finds Modise guilty of violating the Executive Ethics Act, she must do the honourable thing and resign. This attitude of serving the ANC and not the people of the North West has been a hallmark of Modise’s term in office.

“The DA warned the premier on many occasions when she was the deputy secretary-general of the ANC that she was neglecting governance to do her party work. We are demanding answers from her office about why this abuse has taken place immediately,” he said.

In response provincial government spokesperson Lesiba Kgwele said that only a desperate but shallow politician would target Modise for a meeting that was convened by the acting provincial secretary of the ruling party and not the premier. He said that it was unfortunate that he chose to use the office of the public protector to validate his spurious claims.

Kgwele further said that heads of department who attended the lekgotla had taken leave from their official duties, “in order to contribute towards and internalise resolutions to be taken in the interest of communities and receive a mandate from the party that has deployed them in the government”.

Kgwele said the heads were paid by the taxpayer and were not political appointments.

The DA said it would include these statements as evidence in the ethics violation charge and that they would now ask how often the heads were summoned to political gatherings and whether leave was taken.