SEDIBENG. – One of the most outspoken members of a faction of the New Horizon Movement (NHM) has resigned from its executive committee.

Butiki Nkopane, NHM’s Secretary recently resigned from NHM citing his resignation being based on focusing on and facilitating reconciliation of the two NHM factions and preparing them for the upcoming NHM Annual General Meeting (AGM) that is to be held in August this year.

Nkopane had been vocal in the second faction of NHM that is led by Benjamin Motsukunyane calling for the removal of the first executive committee of NHM, which had apparently claimed the second to be illegitimate. This is after elections were allegedly held where Bishop Vincent Jones, the leader of the other (first) faction of the NHM, was apparently unseated.

In the last local government elections, NHM and other smaller parties such as the PAC, Patriotic Alliance, Solidarity Party, and Vaal Party formed a coalition government with the African National Congress (ANC) in the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) and Jones was elected as a Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Public Works.

Jones has since been removed from office by ELM Executive Mayor, Sipho Radebe together with PAC’s Mbulelo Gantsu following allegations of sabotage after they allegedly collided to table a failed motion of a vote of no confidence in Radebe, earlier this year.

In his resignation letter to Motsukunyane, Nkopane said that his decision to resign was not easy to take and that it was given much thought. He further said that this move is informed by self-conviction as a leader to lead by example.

“I am convinced that as NHM leaders we can all agree to this idea that we can do better than this, hence I am taking the first step in the right direction. Having served in the area of this responsibility, I only have one thing to say… (and that is that), the engine cannot move the body if the body is heavy and the driver is unable to drive. The journey was good as it lasted, and I remained committed to the advancement tasks as mandated by this office for so long.”

Nkopane said that he is indebted to the loyalty of citizens’ commitment to this movement and will forever be grateful.

“My membership remains, but my service ends. I thank Exco and the whole constituency in membership to instill confidence and give me the opportunity to serve in this role. As an activist, you will always be cautious to balance your political and your personal life. Having said that, allow me to quote this saying, ‘there are no permanent enemies in politics much as there are no permanent friends in politics’. The community of Sedibeng Region deserves better.”

Nkopane ended by saying that among other areas of interest, his focus will be to facilitate reconciliation between NHM ‘factions’ to consider options of coming together and forge ahead as one strong and capable movement.