The recent provincial executive reshuffle by North West Premier and ANC provincial deputy chairperson, Lazarus Mokgosi, is believed to be a veiled strategy to consolidate political power, rather than a means of realigning governance and service delivery strategy.
Political observers believe the rearrangement forms part and parcel of the ANC’s factional battles in the province, with Mokgosi believed to be setting himself up to challenge incumbent provincial chairperson, Nono Maloyi, at the party’s next provincial elective conference expected in early 2027 after the local government elections this November.
The removal of Viola Motsumi - Mokgosi’s political detractor - from the MEC for Education portfolio and ultimately from the provincial cabinet is believed to be a political power play by the premier. Motsumi was replaced by former provincial legislature Speaker, Dr Desbo Mohono, who is believed to be Mokgosi factional ally.
Meanwhile, MEC’s Virginia Tlhapi and Wessels Morweng simply switched roles with the former being moved from Sports Arts and Culture to lead the Community Safety and Transport Management portfolio, while the latter moved in the opposite direction. All the other provincial executive members remain in their positions.
The ANC in the North West remains divided between two major factions termed N12 and M26 respectively. The N12 faction is alleged to be led by Maloyi, while the M26 grouping is believed to be led by Mokgosi himself.
Within the ANC provincial top five officials the N12 faction maintains a clear majority through Maloyi, provincial secretary, Louis Diremelo, and deputy provincial secretary, Motsumi.
Mokgosi serves as the sole M26 representative within the top five, while provincial treasurer, Sello Lehari, is believed to be non-aligned – at least not yet.
While the ANC maintains strict discretion regarding internal leadership contestation, the N12 and M26 rivalry reflects broader factional alignments with the party’s national sphere factions. The N12 faction is supposedly linked to ANC Deputy President, Paul Mashatile, while M26 is believed to be Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula.
Mashatile and Mbalula are expected to prospectively contest for the ANC presidency at the party’s national elective conference in 2027.
Political analyst and Local Governance and Public Leadership Research Fellow from University of the Free State, Dr. Harlan Cloete, highlighted that Premiers can reshuffle their executives on both governance and political grounds.
“It could be that there's underperformance in a department … that could be the reason. Secondly, there could be a tension between the head of department and the member.
“Thirdly, there could be factional reasons why he or she needs to reward people that have fallen out of favour with him,” Cloete added.
Additionally, Cloete said that the latest changes could also be viewed against the backdrop of the upcoming local government elections.
He suggests that Mokgosi could be seeking to strengthen his executive and improve government delivery ahead of the polls.
“It could also be local government elections coming. Maybe there is somebody else he wants to appoint as MEC of local government, to make sure that the resources are used to ensure a continuation,” he said.
