North West premier finally fires education MEC who called him weak
Motsumi allegedly dared the premier to fire her after calling him a weak leader, as the tape section was deleted after a request to legislature secretary.
The North West premier, Lazarus "Lazzy" Mokgosi, has terminated the employment of his education MEC, Viola Motsumi, who has been widely regarded as a vocal adversary of the premier. However, Mokgosi has retained other political rivals, including Wessels Morweng, who oversees community safety, and Bitsa Lenkopane, who is responsible for economic development, environment, conservation, and tourism.
Motsumi's dismissal came after she reportedly disparaged Mokgosi as a weak leader and threatened to fire him during a live address to the legislature. Despite her subsequent attempts to have the recording of her comments deleted, Mokgosi did not act against her. It is believed that Mokgosi could not dismiss Motsumi and other colleagues due to their allegiance to the Nono Maloyi faction, which holds a dominant position in the province.
Mokgosi is reportedly contemplating challenging Maloyi for the ANC provincial chair position at the upcoming party conference. As part of his recent reshuffle, Mokgosi appointed Desbo Mohono, a seasoned provincial Cabinet member, to replace Motsumi in the education portfolio.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
