Durban — The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has finally broken its silence on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Sipho Hlomuka’s imminent resignation to join Cogta national department as Deputy Director-General.
In a media briefing on Tuesday, the party’s provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli said Hlomuka has already briefed the party’s top five that he has been appointed as DGG but was still waiting for the confirmation letter which will indicate when he will start on the new job.
Ntuli said the MEC had told them that he applied and was subsequently shortlisted and then appointed, saying the party has accepted that he would leave the position of the MEC since he cannot do both.
''It’s true our provincial deputy secretary has briefed us about his appointment, and we have accepted it. We think he is waiting for the confirmation or formal appointment letter as to when he will start,'' said Ntuli.
There have been rumours that Hlomuka was going to leave and join Cogta national department as DDG, but neither the ANC nor the government confirmed the rumours. The MEC has not publicly talked about his imminent resignation, which kept the public in the dark as to whether the rumours were true or not.
KZN Cogta spokesperson Senzo Mzila told the Daily News that the MEC had directed them to refer the media to him about the matter. Hlomuka was appointed in 2019 to the position following the party’s retention of the province after the national and provincial elections.
He was appointed following his election as provincial deputy secretary in a party elective conference in 2019, which was held at the Durban University of Technology’s Durban campus. The MEC had not yet responded to the questions sent to him at the time of the publication.
When the news broke last month that he was leaving, lobbying by the party regions began for their preferred leaders to replace him. His departure to Pretoria also means that he is no longer available for re-election to the party’s provincial top five at the conference next month. Regions that were said to have initially nominated him to return to his current position are said to have already replaced him with the current Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane.
Meanwhile, Ntuli denied weekend media reports that the ANC acting secretary-general Paul Mashatile was asked to persuade embattled eThekwini regional chairperson Zandile Gumede to resign from her position. Gumede was elected in the April conference while she was on a step aside.
Ntuli said that although Gumede remains in her position, the new step aside rule forbids her to further contest any position in the party until she is cleared of her corruption cases.
Daily News