AFTER almost a year without an accounting officer, Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane will announce the name of the director-general of the province before the end of the week.

Sowetan was reliably told yesterday that Nosizwe Nokwe, daughter of former ANC general secretary Duma Nokwe, has been appointed to the post.

Nokwe, who is an engineer, was the CEO of Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency.

Mokonyane's spokesperson, Dumisani Zulu, yesterday refused to confirm the appointment of Nokwe. He said the premier would reveal the identity of the director-general this week.

Last week Mokonyane was said to have opposed moves by the ANC provincial executive committee (PEC) to impose former Gauteng Shared Services Centre (GSSC) CEO Mike Maile on her.

The rejection of Maile, who is regarded as a close ally of ANC provincial chairperson Paul Mashatile, could escalate tension between the party and the provincial government.

Sowetan understands from various sources that Mokonyane's refusal to consider Maile had not gone down well with the PEC.

"There is a lot of unhappiness about her refusal to implement a directive from the PEC," a source said.

Immediately after the election of the PEC earlier this year a team was appointed to appraise Mokonyane and members of her executive committee.

The team had completed its work and reported back to the ANC. There were speculation that the PEC could use the report to force Mokonyane to re-shuffle her cabinet and make way for Tshwane mayor Gwen Ramokgopa.

Ramokgopa, who is deputy chairperson of the ANC in the province, had been under pressure in Tshwane to resign after she was accused of interfering in an investigation that was probing mismanagement.