ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule says Gauteng premier David Makhura would make changes to his cabinet in the next couple of days where he would install a female MEC to replace a male.

Makhura has been at odds with the ANC top structures over defying an order for him to remove a male MEC in his executive to achieve a six women, four men gender parity ratio that has been implemented in all other provinces.

Following complaints that Makhura was being treated with kid gloves on the gender parity issue, the party’s highest decision-making body between conferences, the national executive committee [NEC], ordered Makhura to implement the decision but did not say when.

Now, for the first time since the order was made in July, it appears there is an expectation for Makhura to make the demanded change to his cabinet within “few days from now”, according to Magashule.

“You will hear the implementation of that decision. It’s gonna happen. In politics we don’t deal with when, it might be tomorrow,” he said.

“David Makhura and the leadership of Gauteng has never said they will never implement the decision of the NEC. I’m talking on authority. There’s no way Gauteng will not implement our decision.”

This comes after several failed attempts by the ANC leadership in the province to sway the party’s top six to allow them to maintain the current status quo.

The meetings came after ANC Gauteng was taken to task at an NEC meeting in July to explain why it deviated from the April decision that where a premier is a man, there must be six female MECs and four male MECs.

According to sources, Limpopo chairperson Stan Mathabatha and the women’s league, including Lindiwe Sisulu and Nomvula Mokonyane, stood up to complain in the NEC that Makhura was being given special treatment as opposed to other provinces who met the requirements on gender.

In the end, the NEC resolved that Makhura’s cabinet did not meet the gender parity requirements and demanded that the provincial executive committee (PEC) convene a sitting to address the issue.

ANC Gauteng spokesperson Bones Modise said that the provincial executive committee would meet soon to decide on who to remove from the cabinet.

Male MECs in Gauteng include MEC for roads and transport Jacob Mamabolo, education MEC Panyaza Lesufi, MEC for economic development and agriculture Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, MEC for health Dr Bandile Masuku, and Lebogang Maile, MEC for human settlements.

“There will be a provincial working committee and PEC meeting where the decision will be tabled for discussion and once there’s a decision, the premier will be informed of the decision,” said Modise.

The ANC provincial secretary Jacob Khawe previously told Sowetan that the delay was as a result of the provincial leadership’s belief that changing the MEC then was not an option as the MECs, during Makhura’s state of the province address, were tasked with coming up with plans on how their departments will implement the ANC manifesto in the next five years in their first 100 days, which expires this month.