ANC in North West instructs Supra to go on leave

This comes amid the uncertainty over Mahumapelo's leadership following several allegations of corruption and protests demanding that he should step down. 

The ANC in the province indicated on Tuesday that the embattled Premier would be resigning. However, Mahumapelo later said he would first wait for a decision from the PEC before making any announcement. 

Briefing the media on Wednesday afternoon, acting provincial secretary Susan Dantjie said the PEC had instructed Mahumapelo to go on leave. 

"As for the leave, effectively immediately or not, we have taken a decision as the PEC that he must take leave and he must appoint an acting premier. We'll take it from there. We did not even put a time frame for him as to when he should actually do that. We did not put a time frame, we will hear from him."

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Dantjie said it was never up to Mahumapelo to announce his resignation. 

"The Premier was not under any duress when he made the comments of his resignation, he did that on his own will. The PEC forced him to stay,  saying that he cannot decide to resign without us blessing that resignation.

"When we met as the PEC, he still insisted that he was ready to leave as soon as the PEC adjourned but the PEC said it is not about you but about the ANC. You did not deploy yourself." 

Mahumapelo will now have to appoint an interim Premier to act on his behalf, as the inter-ministerial task team appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa concludes its findings into the crisis in the province.