Cape Town - The ANC’s Western Cape head of elections Ebrahim Rasool has decided not to take up a position as a member of the Western Cape Legislature, he announced on Wednesday.
Rasool was set to be sworn in on Wednesday. He was one of the 12 ANC members headed to the provincial legislature.
The former Western Cape premier in a statement confirmed he had tendered his resignation to the incoming speaker of the Western Cape Provincial legislature.
"Since 1994, I had spent 14 of my best years in this Legislature as MPL, MEC in various portfolios, Leader of the Opposition, and even as Premier. While Western Cape politics was always robust, we can all point to the achievements in service delivery that underpinned successive administrations.
"When I was asked to lead the ANC's Elections Campaign in the Western Cape, it was never with the intention to return to the Western Cape Provincial Legislature, but simply to help stem the ANC’s slide in the province and rebuild trust and excitement behind the renewal project headed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Western Cape. Anything more would be a bonus."
Rasool went on to say: "I believe that across racial, class, religious and linguistic divides, all citizens are willing president Ramaphosa to succeed in fostering an inclusive unity, rebuilding a shared economy, re-establishing strong institutions with integrity and rooting out corruption and cleansing our society. I remain at the service of this Renewal Project.
"Over the last decade, my contribution to South Africa has been through the entity I founded in 2009, the World for All Foundation. Through this I have exported the South African model of opposing bigotry and injustice, fashioning win-win solutions and reconciliation, striving for an inclusive and shared society, and ensuring an economy that is growing and being shared among all.
"I will continue to do this, but also accelerate my efforts to attract global investments to South Africa from markets with which I have some familiarity," he said.