Cape Town — The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has confirmed that the deputy speaker in the Gauteng legislature, Refileo Ntsekhe, will resign from her position.
The decision comes after the DA declined to take up seats in the provincial legislature on the African National Congress’ (ANC) terms.
The DA intends to be the official opposition in the province, the party said in a statement.
“In the spirit of unity, and in an effort to build a relationship with a foundation of trust, we entered into these critical negotiations. It is, however, impossible for the DA to be co-opted into government, as we are meant to be power sharing partners,” DA leader in Gauteng, Solly Msimanga, said.
Msimanga announced that Ntsekhe will resign after Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, announced his Members of the Executive Council (MEC) which included seven members from the ANC and three from the Inkatha freedom Party (IFP), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Rise Mzansi, The Citizen reported.
The DA leader Solly Msimanga @SollyMsimanga
confirms that the DA’s Refileo Ntsekhe will resign as Dep Speaker of the Gauteng Legislature. He was speaking to @Oliver_Speaking on #SAfmSunrise @SAfmRadio. #SafmRadio #SABCNews— Ashraf Garda (@AshrafGarda) July 4, 2024
“She will be resigning because her being in that position is not serving what we actually envisioned. We were looking at playing a meaningful role in the executive with a number of positions and also in the legislature where her position would have complemented that of the chair of chairs plus other oversight committee chairpersons,” said Msimanga.
He said the DA would announce its shadow cabinet and intends to work alongside other parties to support them in opposition.
According to EWN, Lesufi said he would try and talk the DA out of recalling Ntsekhe from her position describing the decision as “unfortunate”.
“It’s unfortunate but I understand that as a political party they have taken a decision, they have to defend that decision. The good thing, just something that is still opening a window for opportunity is that we are in partnership with the DA at national level, we are running South Africa together and there’s no way we can fail to run Gauteng together,” the reort quoted Lesufi as saying.
The DA decided not to take part in the provincial government of unity in Gauteng following a failure to reach an agreement with the ANC. Gauteng DA leader Solly Msimanga says what the ANC has given other parties will not have an impact on the lives of Gauteng residents.
Watch:… pic.twitter.com/jIUNQk1JRe
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) July 4, 2024
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
