The president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, cut short his trip to Britain for the Commonwealth summit in order to travel to the province along with other African National Congress (ANC) leaders, in order to calm the tensions caused by protests.
President Ramaphosa replaced President Jacob Zuma in February who during his time as president was surrounded by controversy: his relationship with the Gupta family, charges of corruption and rape, and his upgrade to his Nkandla homestead. Ramaphosa, upon taking Zuma’s place, vowed to tackle governance issues and root out corruption. Zuma was a key political ally to the local government leader, Premier Supra Mahumapelo.
The protests called for the resignation of Mahumapelo, who has a number of corruption and fraud accusations against him. The Economic Freedom Fighters demanded that a secret ballot take place to protect the African National Congress members who wanted to take him out of office. He has since taken a leave of absence and appointed Wendy Nelson as the replacement premier in the meantime. He is currently traveling across the province according to the Daily Maverick, to gain support to help him fight against the attacks and criminal charges he is likely going to face.
The North West province is rich in platinum. However, it only contributed to 6% of South Africa’s economy in 2016, which is the third smallest contribution of the nine provinces, and the economy has shrunk even further since. The protests stem from a strike by the National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union. The protestors wanted more employment opportunities for local youth and had issues with the poor public services, such as housing and toilets.
The protests spread across the much of the Northwest province and have interfered with health facilities and the delivery of services. Even though they were initially against Mahumapelo, as they spread they transformed into something more general and chaotic. Police claimed that protestors have looted several shops, set buildings on fire, and attacked police officials.
A building was set on fire in the town of Stella and police are investigating the murder of a 16-year-old boy who died during this time in Taung. Eleven people in Christiana have been arrested for stolen goods. It is estimated that up to a thousand foreigners were also displaced during the protests in the town of Mahikeng, as looters targeted foreign-owned stores and are stuck in temporary accommodation.
When the cabinet realized that simply firing Mahumapelo would not be enough to save the province, it was first suggested a couple weeks ago to Ramaphosa by the South African Communist Party (SACP) to place the entire province under national government administration. The idea was that whether Mahumapelo was in charge or not, things in the province were deeply damaged.
The national government thereby invoked the constitutional clause which gives it the right to take over the provincial administration, which says, “When a province cannot or does not fulfil an executive obligation in terms of the constitution or legislation, the national executive may intervene by taking any appropriate steps to ensure fulfilment.” This is the first province to be taken over by the South African National government.
The province’s health and treasury have already been placed under central control. As a temporary solution, the government deployed army medics to treat hospital patients. As of now, Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, leading an inter-ministerial committee, is taking charge of the intervention and finalizing the details. Members of the executive councils (MECs) and heads of departments will likely have to step aside as the national government takes over.
