'I hope all of us can rise above the fray' - Mahumapelo wants to move forward
22 February 2019
North West ANC leader Supra Mahumapelo has welcomed a national executive committee (NEC) decision to collapse the provincial executive committee (PEC) and provincial task team (PTT) in favour of brokering peace between the warring groups.
The decision was made at a special NEC meeting held on Sunday and Monday.
"I hope all of us can rise above the fray, honestly self-correct as part of renewal," Mahumapelo said in a short statement on Friday morning.
He welcomed the NEC decision despite having won, along with four others, two court applications to be reinstated as North West chairperson.
Mahumapelo said current political challenges in the North West created an opportunity for the ANC in the province to "rebrand, reposition and renew" itself as a collective.
In August last year, the NEC stripped Mahumapelo of his powers. The PTT was appointed to run the organisation in the province in the interim.
Enforcement order
However, he approached the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria and successfully challenged both NEC decisions to remove him and to form the PTT.
Later, he went back to the court after obtaining an order, in terms of which he was allowed to return to work within two days, was disregarded. The court later granted an enforcement order in terms of which he had to be reinstated urgently.
But the ANC argued that there was no need to do so because it was appealing.
"Whilst going to court was necessary, it was also a bit uncomfortable as it was imposed by circumstances that we ought to control as a movement," Mahumapelo remarked.
"Now is the time to learn the lessons of revolution and build a better movement going forward," he continued.
News24 previously reported that party president Cyril Ramaphosa decided to join the ANC's rapid response team, which had already started talks between the PEC and PTT.
"He is the chief custodian of the constitution of the ANC and conference resolutions, the resolution of unity and renewal programme of the ANC," ANC acting spokesperson Dakota Legoete said.
"It is my firm believe that all of us as cadres of the movement in the province should say, it is possible to be coherent, work together and ensure decisive ANC victory in the May elections," he added.
The ANC also announced that a provincial elections team would take over the running of the organisation in the North West and prepare for the upcoming polls.
