News / Local
Ramaphosa ordered to crack the whip on Panyaza
02 Jul 2024 at 09:50hrs | Views
Former Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Douglas Gibson has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to crack the whip on Panyaza Lesufi.
This comes after the announcement of the executive council for the seventh administration in Gauteng hit a snag and was postponed at the eleventh hour for a second time.
The DA said it would not be part of the announcement after it was offered only two positions in Lesufi's executive.
Gibson told Newzroom Afrika Lesufi is in denial that voters rejected him.
"Premier Panyaza Lesufi has forgotten that he is only the premier because the DA voted for him. He is in the first stage of grief which is denial that the voters rejected him and his party because they were unsatisfactory as the rulers of Gauteng over the last few years.
"The third thing is, he's got 28 seats and the DA has got 22 and he mustn't now be greedy and they to grab far more than he's entitled to. The DA really want to make Gauteng work and wants to make Lesufi look good for a change for our own people to look good, But the most important thing is to serve the people of this province," Gibson said.
The African National Congress' (ANC) provincial leadership, in a media briefing after the postponed of the announcement, said it could not agree with the DA's demands.
Gauteng head of elections Lebogang Maile said it was not the first time the DA and the ANC had reached a deadlock in their negotiations.
Maile said if it had not been for the disagreements between the two parties, Lesufi would have announced his Cabinet two weeks ago.
He believed the DA wanted to bully the ANC, and while the ANC was prepared to negotiate, it was not going to allow for the party to be bullied.
"They (DA) is behaving like a spoilt brat, and now we must be entertaining that."
ANC provincial secretary TK Nciza said the ANC will try again to negotiate with the DA, but this will be led by the party's secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula.
Nciza said Lesufi would announce his Cabinet on Tuesday "with or without the DA".
This comes after the announcement of the executive council for the seventh administration in Gauteng hit a snag and was postponed at the eleventh hour for a second time.
The DA said it would not be part of the announcement after it was offered only two positions in Lesufi's executive.
Gibson told Newzroom Afrika Lesufi is in denial that voters rejected him.
The tone is set at the top ... pic.twitter.com/lsiwghxPFK
— Engineer Matšhela Koko, MBL (@koko_matshela) July 1, 2024
"Premier Panyaza Lesufi has forgotten that he is only the premier because the DA voted for him. He is in the first stage of grief which is denial that the voters rejected him and his party because they were unsatisfactory as the rulers of Gauteng over the last few years.
"The third thing is, he's got 28 seats and the DA has got 22 and he mustn't now be greedy and they to grab far more than he's entitled to. The DA really want to make Gauteng work and wants to make Lesufi look good for a change for our own people to look good, But the most important thing is to serve the people of this province," Gibson said.
Gauteng head of elections Lebogang Maile said it was not the first time the DA and the ANC had reached a deadlock in their negotiations.
Maile said if it had not been for the disagreements between the two parties, Lesufi would have announced his Cabinet two weeks ago.
He believed the DA wanted to bully the ANC, and while the ANC was prepared to negotiate, it was not going to allow for the party to be bullied.
"They (DA) is behaving like a spoilt brat, and now we must be entertaining that."
ANC provincial secretary TK Nciza said the ANC will try again to negotiate with the DA, but this will be led by the party's secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula.
Nciza said Lesufi would announce his Cabinet on Tuesday "with or without the DA".
Source - The Citizen
