Rustenburg -ANC North West provincial deputy chairperson, Lazarus Mokgosi has been sworn in as a new member of the provincial legislature.
North West Premier, Bushy Maape has also appointed former deputy speaker of the provincial legislature, Viola Motsumi as Education MEC, replacing Mmaphefo Matsemela.
In a statement, the chief whip of the ANC in the North West Provincial Legislature, Paul Sebegoe congratulated Motsumi for her appointment and also welcomed the swearing in of Mokgosi as a new member of the provincial legislature.
"I wish on behalf of the ANC caucus to congratulate the new deployees to their respective areas of responsibility and wish them success. We are confident that they will hit the ground running to accelerate service delivery and perform their assigned task to the best of their ability as well as with commitment and dedication," Sebegoe said.
He said the skills, experience and expertise that Motsumi and Mokgosi bring into their new roles will contribute towards strengthening good governance and accountability.
He also thanked former Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) MEC Lenah Miga, who is still a member of the legislature, Matsemela and former chairperson of the community safety, transport, public works and roads portfolio committee, Kim Medupe for the services they rendered to the people of the North West, communities and their respective constituencies.
Matsemela resigned as a member of the provincial legislature on December 6.
Last month, Maape appointed ANC North West provincial chairperson, Nono Maloyi, as the MEC responsible for cooperative governance, human settlement and traditional affairs, replacing Lenah Miga.
Maape said the changes in the executive council were aimed at strengthening the work of government in expediting service delivery and addressing a number of challenges confronting the province.
"Since assuming office the provincial government has been stable and where there have been challenges, there have been appropriate actions to respond to such matters," Maape said in a statement following his cabinet reshuffle.
The Democratic Alliance said the cabinet reshuffle was purely political and without any merits, but was to create space for the newly elected ANC party leadership to lucrative positions in government, following the ANC elective provincial conference in August.
In October, Sunday World reported that provincial secretary Louis Diremelo has written to the provincial legislature to amend the list of the party’s candidates, a move indicating that appointments of new members of the executive committee were on the cards.
According to the newspaper, Diremelo requested Maloyi, Lazarus Mokgosi and Elizabeth Mokua to be roped in as members of the legislature, paving the way for them to be eligible to be appointed as MECs.
IOL