‘I was being disrespected’: SACP member refuses to resign from Ramathuba’s Cabinet

The fallout between the ANC and the SACP in Limpopo threatens to cripple the tripartite alliance ahead of the local government elections on 4 November.

So serious is the rift that some insiders say it will take a miracle for Limpopo premier Phophi Ramathuba to reshuffle her Cabinet before the municipal polls.

Ramathuba was elected as the first female provincial chairperson of the ANC in Limpopo on 28 March 2026, succeeding Stan Mathabatha.

Since her election, pressure has been mounting, including from the ANC Youth League and opposition parties, for her to reconfigure her executive council.

Last week, the legislature placed the names of two ANC heavyweights – Mopani District Municipality Mayor Cllr Pule Shayi and Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality Mayor Eddie Maila – on the waiting list to be sworn in as members of the provincial legislature (MPLs). The two were elected alongside Ramathuba, Polokwane Mayor Makoro ‘John’ Mpe as deputy chairperson, and Vhamusanda Reuben Madadzhe as provincial secretary, as the new top five officials.

SACP member refuses to resign

But for Ramathuba to reshuffle her Cabinet, there must be a vacancy in the legislature. This means two MPLs must first resign.

Former ANC Youth League deputy provincial chairperson David ‘Che’ Selane resigned from the legislature last month after allegedly being offered a high-ranking position at the beleaguered Great North Transport (GNT) to create space for one of the newly elected officials to be sworn in.

But for the second official to be sworn in, the SACP’s provincial secretary Chuene Malebana needs to resign.

However, Malebana told The Citizen he will not resign, “come hell or high water”.

“They have only one option: either they remove me or deal with the fact that I am part of the furniture at the legislature,” he said.

Offered lucrative post

Three sources from within the tripartite alliance confirmed that Malebana was offered the lucrative post as Limpopo’s Public Service Commissioner if he agreed to resign. He was expected to assume his duties a day after the ANC conference in March.

At that conference, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the question of dual membership between the ANC and the SACP ahead of the November polls.

He reiterated that every member of the ANC must campaign for the ANC.

Ramaphosa warned that members who hold dual membership and are seen campaigning for the SACP would face “consequences”.

This came after the SACP said it would contest the local government elections on its own.

‘I was being disrespected’

Malebana confirmed that he had been approached by the ANC to serve as the province’s new Public Service Commissioner.

“Yes, I was approached and asked to leave politics, to abandon the SACP and to collapse the party,” he said.

“But I did not take the offer because the correct alliance protocol was not followed. I was approached as an individual, not through party-to-party channels.”

Malebana said, on principle, he could not accept.

“I realised that when junior elements were sent to demand my resignation in advance, that confirmed I was being disrespected and so was my party.”

“I am an ANC member in good standing, and I know where seniority lies in the alliance. We need unity of the alliance to fight poverty. By the way, the people I associate with regard this as a tribal issue. I was elected to the Legislature on an alliance ticket while serving as the provincial secretary of the SACP, a position I have held since March 2022. The ANC’s own guidelines allowed for this.

“Further, the SACP took a principled decision in July 2022 to contest elections independently in defence of the interests of the working class. To resign now would betray that collective alliance decision and the mandate of our members,” he told The Citizen.

At the time of publication, the ANC was not available for comment. Its response will be added once received.