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Dukwana tipped for Free State premiership, as province recalls Sisi Ntombela

The newly-elected ANC Free State chair Mxolisi Dukwana is set to take over as premier.
The newly-elected ANC Free State chair Mxolisi Dukwana is set to take over as premier.
Image: MLUNGISI LOUW

The newly-elected ANC Free State chair Mxolisi Dukwana is expected to take over as premier of the province.

This after the provincial executive committee (PEC) resolved over the weekend to recall Sisi Ntombela and install Dukwana as premier of the troubled province.

Ntombela was hammered by Dukwana in the race for the ANC chair position at the provincial conference last month, and in doing so, is said to have buried the political prospects of the once strongman Ace Magashule.

Ntombela failed to make it onto the 30-member PEC, that is mostly made up of Dukwana’s allies.

Provincial spokesperson Jabu Mbalula on Wednesday confirmed the decision to recall Ntombela.

“The PEC meeting expressed a need that Ntate Mxolisi Dukwana should be installed as the premier of the Free State,” Mbalula said.

“Because we understand that it’s a national competency, our officials will continue to engage with national, so that a decision can then be made concretely on this. But we have decided that we want Dukwana to be the premier.”

This, he said, was to ensure there was effective service delivery in line with the January 8 statement delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the province last month. 

Mbalula said the leadership in the province had already started discussions with Luthuli House about Dukwana’s imminent takeover. Dukwana is a staunch ally of Ramaphosa.

“Until there is absolute finality, she [Ntombela] is still the premier, but we have taken a decision that Dukwana must replace her. Our officials have started to engage national so that there can be finality on the matter,” Mbalula said.

The PEC was scathing in its assessment of Ntombela’s performance, recognising the performance in education as the single element of her government that works well.

The ANC's national leadership earlier called for the party in the province to immediately take action against the Mangaung mayor, the entire executive and some rogue councillors.

One of the factors that led to the recall of Ntombela, according to Mbalula, was the auditor-general’s report on the poor state of service delivery in the province.

The other was, he said, the need to align the leadership of the ANC in the province to the government.

“If you look at the auditor-general’s report, it is particularly concerning with regard to our municipalities in the Free State. It points to accountability, service delivery and stability issues.

“So we looked at that, also the performance of various government departments. The only area where we seem to be doing well, corroborated by the matric results, is in education. But as for other departments, there is so much that needs to be done.

“So we feel we need to act with speed on these things to make sure that there is real service delivery. We are concerned about the state of our roads, there is a concern about issues of water treatment, sewer spillages and energy and economic opportunities.”

TimesLIVE reported last month that the leadership of the province, ahead of the conference, recalled its Mangaung mayor, Mxolisi Siyonzana

The decision was taken by the ANC Free State interim provincial committee (IPC).

It came just days after the ANC was embarrassed by the shocking levels of service delivery in the Mangaung metropolitan municipality, when thousands of its guests descended on the province for the January 8 celebrations.

From roads riddled with life-threatening potholes to revelations that some residents were still using the bucket system, the poor state of the metro was laid bare for everyone to see.

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa’s motorcade had to swerve around potholes that have become synonymous with the Free State as he criss-crossed the province in the lead-up to the celebrations.

TimesLIVE

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