Lesufi, forced to postpone announcement of provincial executive, again

Simon Nare

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi was forced to postpone the announcement of his provincial executive for the third time on Sunday amidst disagreements with coalition partners and within his own party.

At the centre of the disagreements is the allocation of portfolios- with the DA demanding no less than five departments, including education or health departments for the opposition parties.

For the first time since 1994, the ANC in Gauteng finds itself in a precarious position after it only managed to garner 35% of the votes during the recent national and provincial elections. The DA is sitting at 27%.

Lesufi is insisting on keeping both education and health departments under the ANC.

Lesufi, who is also Gauteng ANC chairman, is prepared to forgo Human Settlements, E-government, Roads and Transport, Community Safety and Infrastructure departments.

Other departments likely to remain under the ANC include; Social Development, Finance and Economic Development.