By OBAKENG MAJE
The much-anticipated ANC provincial elective conference in the North West will finally take place from 23 to 25 June 2022 at Rustenburg Civic Centre.
There is a fierce political battle for the provincial chairpersonship between the former ANC provincial chairperson in North West, Supra Mahumapelo, the North West Premier, Bushy Maape and the former North West MEC for Local Government, Nono Maloyi who is believed to be the favourite.
The ANC’s Head of Media and Publicity Desk in the Greater Taung Sub-region (ward 7), Vela Ntuli said the ruling party in the province needs a solid, tried and tested leader who will unite and rebuild the organisation.
“I and many other silent citizens of this province have no doubt or whatsoever that Maloyi will provide proper, revolutionary, conscious and ethical leadership that will translate into economic growth, social transformation, political stability and better life for all.
“Working with the collective, Maloyi is better positioned to take this province to new heights thus restoring the confidence of the people in the congress movement,” Ntuli said.
Maloyi’s culpable homicide case was provisionally withdrawn by the Stilfontein Regional Court on 25 May 2022. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson in North West, Henry Mamothame said the court provisionally withdrew a culpable homicide case against Maloyi, owing to his application for representation.
“Maloyi has applied for representation to the office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), for his case to be struck off the roll. Should the application be rejected, the case will be re-enrolled and a new court date will be decided upon.
“Maloyi is facing a charge of culpable homicide, following a fatal crash that resulted in Pontsho Motsamai losing her life. It is alleged that on the night of 1 September 2018, Maloyi was traveling at high speed on the N12 between Klerksdorp and Stilfontein, when he crashed into another vehicle that had two occupants,” he said.
The former ANC regional secretary in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda region, Lopang Rothman said they support Mahumapelo to become the new provincial chairperson in the upcoming elective conference.
“One of our reasons is that there was unity and stability during Mahumapelo’s tenure as the provincial chairperson. So, we have confidence that his leadership will assist us to unite, re-build and take the organisation forward in the province.” Rothman said.
The ANC member, Mmoloki Cwaile who supports Maape said: “Maape is a historical and contemporary experienced candidate for the position. He is dedicated, selfless and embodies humility. So, he has the capacity to bring unity in the province.
“It is painful to see the money meant for service delivery stolen from the public coffer and being used for campaigns. However, we are not worried even that Maape was not nominated at the branch level, but we urge our delegates to vote wisely and make determination.”
Meanwhile, the ANC IPC spokesperson in the North West, Kenny Morolong said the anticipated ANC provincial elective conference preparations are at an advanced stage. Morolong said they have already conducted the remainder of BBGMs, which sat on Tuesday.
“We are also resolving all disputes through our provincial Dispute Resolution Committee. So, we have given ourselves a 20 June 2022 deadline, where we would have dealt with all disputes,” he said.
The Political analyst at North West University in Potchefstroom campus, Professor Andre Duvenhage said there is ‘dirty’ politics at play. Duvenhage questioned the timing of handling Maloyi’s case.
“It is a month before the anticipated conference takes place. So, according to my understanding, Maloyi is by far the favourite to win the provincial chairperson position. So, what we are seeing now are individuals who want to use a step-aside rule for their political purposes.
“The timing indicates that this is part of the dirty politics we come to know here in the province. I am not sure about the status of this case, but it happened over three years ago,” he said.
However, he said if Maloyi wants to have a successful political career, he should clear his name.
The Guardian 