David Makhura has resigned from his position as the Premier of Gauteng and a member of the provincial legislature. He said in a statement that he submitted his resignation letter to the speaker of the legislature, Ntombi Mekgwe.
After serving as the Gauteng provincial chairperson for over two decades, David Makhura is expected to resign from his position on Thursday. He will be replaced by Panyaza Lesufi, who was recently elected as the new premier. At the Cadres Assembly of the ANC earlier this year, Makhura revealed that he would not be seeking to lead the party in the province.
There were reports that the ANC in Gauteng forced Premier David Makhura to resign from his position following the 14th provincial conference in June. However, he denied that he was being forced out of office. He said he had always wanted to hand over the reins to a new leader. The move has been condemned by the trade union federation Cosatu.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said that the decision by the new provincial executive committee (PEC) of the African National Congress (ANC) to remove Makhura from his position was an indication of the party’s intention to carry out a political suicide mission. It also noted that the new leadership did not seem to have the necessary understanding of the message sent by the voters in the elections.
