ANC members set to back EFF to oust Mahumapelo – SACP

The South African Communist Party (SACP) in North West is demanding the ANC address allegations of corruption involving Premier Supra Mahumapelo and some government officials if it wants its MPLs to unite to defend Mahumapelo against the EFF-initiated motion of no confidence against him.

SACP provincial secretary Madoda Sambatha said some ANC members were concerned about the endemic corruption under Mahumapelo’s governance and wanted it stopped.

He said some ANC members were so angry they were contemplating supporting the motion in the legislature.

If it was a public ballot some members might vote against their consciences, but a secret ballot could produce a different result, he added.

The EFF have also expressed fear that ANC members voting in favour of the motion would be victimised by their party.

This week the EFF approached the court for an interdict to compel the provincial legislature speaker, Suzan Dantjie, to conduct the no-confidence motion vote through a secret ballot.

The EFF was confident that if it was a secret ballot some ANC MPLs would vote with them and other opposition parties to oust Mahumapelo.

Yesterday, Dantjie postponed the motion to allow the EFF application to be processed by the court.

Dantjie, who is also the ANC acting provincial secretary, was not available for comment.

Constitutional specialist Phephelaphi Dube, from the Centre for Constitutional Rights, said the Constitutional Court has already set a legal precedent regarding a speaker’s prerogative on the use of secret ballots.

Dube said there was no need for the EFF to take the matter to court again, as the argument they would likely present in court would be similar to that in the UDM versus the speaker of National Assembly matter ruled on by the Constitutional Court.

Dube said it was now a given that the speaker must decide which option would be in the best interest of democracy.

The SACP’s Sambatha said if the opposition parties were all united, they needed only seven ANC votes for the motion to succeed.

If the EFF, which has five seats, is supported by the ANC’s seven, the four from the DA and the one of the Freedom Front Plus, Mahumapelo would be removed.

Sambatha said the ANC leadership must work with the caucus to deal with the issues raised to prevent a rebellion.

Recently both the offices of Mahumapelo and provincial director-general Lydia Sebego were raided by the Hawks who are investigating allegations of corruption.

Also read: Mahumapelo’s days as North West premier may be numbered

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