By Moshoeshoe Monare
North West Agriculture MEC Mandlenkosi Elliot Mayisela is going to court this week to prevent the provincial ANC from removing him from government in an unprecedented move sparked by fierce infighting.
The North West ANC confirmed after a two-day heated provincial executive committee meeting in Rustenburg that it had removed Mayisela as MEC.
The provincial ANC said its decision to restructure government was part of its commitment to strengthen "an effective governance and accelerate service delivery".
The ANC replaced Mayisela with former MPL and a junior government official, Mamatia Mampane.
The decision was initially not approved by premier and ANC provincial chairperson Edna Molewa. But the party said the premier is free to reshuffle her cabinet without Mayisela in the picture.
"The premier of the province will in due course exercise her constitutional prerogative to appoint a replacement for Mayisela in the provincial executive council. This decision falls outside the competency of the ANC," said ANC North West media liaison officer Oupa Matla on Sunday.
However, Mayisela's lawyer, Caroline Nicholls, confirmed that his client would be taking the matter to the North West high court on Wednesday.
"He will be challenging his removal on the basis that he was not given notice and no procedures were followed. He was just informed that he will be replaced," Nicholls said on Sunday.
Mampane was sworn in on Monday last week while Mayisela and premier Molewa maintained that they knew nothing about the replacement.
This triggered the convening of the two-day provincial executive committee meeting where the decision was confirmed.
Mayisela, according to Matla, only attended the first day of the meeting. He could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
The incident portrays a fractious ANC and ferocious divisions between a group that calls itself the Taliban led by the ruling party's North West secretary Supra Mahumapelo which is frustrating Molewa.
The Taliban's aim, according to sources in the province, is to purge those associated with former premier Popo Molefe and fight another faction called Mapogo that is suspected to be linked to Molewa.
Mahumapelo could not be reached for comment yesterday as his voicemail facility was full.
The factional fighting has caused what the ANC head office - through spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama - called "an unnecessary crisis" and a "bad precedence".
Ngonyama told Independent Newspapers last week that the ANC secretary-general Kgalema Motlanthe would intervene in the crisis.
Matla confirmed that Molewa and Mahumapelo would meet Motlanthe about the matter "but no date has been confirmed". Motlanthe was not available for comment.
The office of Molewa was adamant last week that it was not consulted about Mayisela's replacement.
"It's an ANC matter. We did not get notification (about the replacement).
"Officially, we were not informed, we just heard about it. As far as we are concerned the MEC is still part of the premier's executive council," said Cornelius Monama, spokesperson for Molewa.
However, Monama on Sunday said he was "awaiting further instructions".
Mayisela is not the only casualty of the factional fighting in the province.
"The leadership of the ANC is convinced that intervention made by the organisation, in reorganising various positions in the government will assist and sharpen our capacity to confront with more vigour challenges related to meeting commitments we have made to the public in the 2004 and 2006 elections manifestoes," said Matla.
The reshuffling includes "redeploying" Nono Maloyi, who was in the national assembly, as the new chief whip of the ANC in the North West legislature.
MPL Nomvula Hlangwana will replace Maloyi in the national assembly.
Former provincial chief whip Boitumelo Tshwene is now deputy speaker, replacing George Madoda who will remain an ordinary MPL.