Sylvia Lucas Sylvia Lucas
The newly elected Northern Cape ANC provincial executive committee (PEC) said yesterday there were no plans to remove Premier Sylvia Lucas, but has ordered that the two MECs axed last week be reinstated.
ANC provincial chairperson Zamani Saul said that the reshuffling of the executive should be immediately reversed.
“If she (Lucas) wants to continue with the reshuffle, she must consult the PEC, the alliance partners and Luthuli House and provide plausible reasons.”
He added that the reasons for the reshuffle were now, however, irrelevant.
“It is in the past, we are not interested in the reasons. But if she claims that she consulted with the PEC, it is a lie.”
Saul indicated that while the PEC had yet to decide on whether any disciplinary steps would be taken against Lucas for reshuffling the cabinet without consultation, there were no intentions to remove her.
“We want to make her the best performing premier in the country and this can only be achieved through having a good relationship with her. There is no fight with the premier, but we want her to play by the book.”
He explained that all ANC members were expected to abide by the rules.
“We are not here to make anyone happy, but we are here to do the work of the ANC. The premier was appointed by the PEC. We elected the premier and she must account to us.”
Saul denied that R26 million was diverted from state departments to fund the ANC provincial elective conference.
Saul said that they paid service providers R1.4m to organise and host the conference, out of their available funds of R8.3m.
“We have proof of payment to our service providers if anyone wants to view it. The conference was not funded by any private individual, the ANC funded the entire event from the party political fund that was allocated to us by the provincial legislature.
“We are fully entitled to use these funds.”