By OBAKENG MAJE
The Congress of South African Trade Union (COSATU) in the North West said it welcomes the newly-appointed Executive Council (EXCO) that was introduced by the North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi on Friday last week. COSATU alleged that the ANC in North West, went ahead to appoint and pronounce the EXCO without consulting its alliance partners.
COSATU provincial spokesperson, Kopano Konopi as the alliance, were called into a meeting in Hartbeespoort Dam on 18 June 2024, to be told about the criteria which is going to be used to appoint the EXCO. Konopi further said no names were presented to them that match the criteria.
“We were also told to meet at the ANC Headquarters in Johannesburg on 20 June 2024 at 12:00 to finalise the names, which match the criteria. We were shocked and surprised when the meeting was cancelled 20 minutes before it could commence.
“This happened while we were waiting outside for us to be called in. As COSATU, we view this conduct of the ANC leadership as disrespectful and abusive of the relation we have in the province,” he said.
Konopi added that COSATU calls on the ANC to convene an urgent political council to explain this kind of behaviour. He said they want to remind the ANC that they have been part of the consultation when it comes to political appointments since 2021, and the most recent one is when they participated in the appointment of the North West Premier.
South African Communist Party (SACP) provincial chairperson, Smuts Moatshe shared the same sentiments. Moatshe said even though they welcome the newly-appointed EXCO, they were not happy with how the process unfolded.
“We worked well with the party and agreed on who should ascend to the North West premiership position. What was a concerning factor being that, we could not complete the process of those who will be appointed as MECs.
“However, we welcome the names of those who were tasked with responsibilities to lead various portfolios. This really shows that the ANC is capable. We wish them well and the message of the residents is clear,” he said.
Moatshe said the residents in the province are not happy regarding the ‘snail pace’ of service delivery. He said they hope the provincial government will adhere to this clarion call.
“We have been working tirelessly with the current crop and came up with various strategies to address challenges faced by our people. We want the ANC to be wary even though we have won the province with an outright majority.
“This does not necessarily mean what happened in other provinces such as Gauteng and Northern Cape, might not happen to us in the future. We would have loved to see some individuals not being moved from their positions due to continuity,” said Matshe.
However, ANC provincial spokesperson, Tumelo Maruping refuted the allegations. Maruping said there was a proper consultation with its alliance partners before appointing new MECs.
“We welcome the newly-appointed EXCO and the fact of the matter is that all our alliance partners were consulted, including COSATU. Actually, consultations started long before the elections when we were compiling the list.
“After the elections, we continued with numerous consultations with all alliances. We have engaged them through the process to help the ruling party to arrive at its final determination,” he said.
Maruping said their last meeting was two days before the announcement of the newly-appointed EXCO, where they dealt with the criteria to be used. He said after that meeting, the ANC had a caucus amongst itself and used the same criteria to select those who fit the gages.
“Consultation does not necessarily mean, we must even get into the names. What is important is that criteria will include gender parity, experience and continuity, which reflects on the core.
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