North West premier sacks education MEC after public clash, replaces her with Desbo Mohono

North West premier Lazarus “Lazzy” Mokgosi has sacked education MEC Viola Motsumi and appointed Desbo Mohono as her replacement, according to The Citizen.

What The Citizen reports

According to The Citizen, Mokgosi removed Motsumi from the education portfolio and installed Desbo Mohono as the new education MEC.

Background to the decision

The Citizen reports that Motsumi had publicly clashed with Mokgosi and had allegedly called him a “weak” leader, daring him to fire her. The publication says that during the opening of the legislature earlier this year, Motsumi was heard speaking on a microphone she believed was off and said she hated Mokgosi.

Recording and response

The Citizen says Motsumi was seen approaching legislature secretary Lutendo Netshitumbu to ask that the recording being streamed live on the legislature’s Facebook page be deleted, and that the section of the tape containing her remarks was subsequently deleted. The publication adds that neither the legislature nor Mokgosi took action at the time, and that the premier’s office said it was unaware of Motsumi’s attack.

Political context

The Citizen reports that Mokgosi has spared other rivals in his cabinet, naming community safety and transport management MEC Wessels Morweng and economic development, environment, conservation and tourism MEC Bitsa Lenkopane as examples.

The publication also says Mokgosi could not previously remove Motsumi and others because they belong to the Nono Maloyi faction, which is dominant in the province, and that Mokgosi is said to be planning to challenge Nono Maloyi for the ANC provincial chair position at the party’s next provincial conference.

What changed

According to The Citizen, Mokgosi has now moved to replace Motsumi in a reshuffle of his provincial cabinet by appointing Desbo Mohono to the education portfolio.

Next steps

The Citizen’s report provides the personnel change and background tensions; no further official statements or dates for the reshuffle were provided in the material supplied.