Sisi Ntombela is scheduled to step down as Free State premier on Tuesday after consulting with ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula.
On Tuesday, Mbalula told reporters that he received a phone call from Ntombela signaling his resignation. However, he said he had not seen the letter.
Mbalula said the newly elected Free State provincial executive committee had decided to reorganize the government, following engagements with top ANC officials.
“The matter has now reached a conclusion. The national officials working with the province are processing the matter. We do not want the government to be disturbed; we want a smooth transition process where the intervention is carried out,” he said.
Ntombela lost the race to become provincial chairman against Mxolisi Dukwana, an ally of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Earlier this month, the M&G reported that Dukwana was high on a list of provincial candidates sent to ANC officials for consideration to replace Ntombela.
Apart from Dukwana, provincial deputy secretary Dibolelo Mahlatsi and deputy chairman Toto Makume have also emerged as preferred candidates for the job. All three were elected at the provincial conference in January. Dukwana got 346 votes for the post of chairman, while Ntombela got 303 votes.
Dukwana previously held the post of interim structure convener appointed in May 2021 to run the province. In October of that year, he was appointed as a member of the executive board for the governance of the cooperative.
Ntombela, once an ally of former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, has been accused of failings as Free State prime minister, including failing to curb the culture of criminality in the province.
Under his administration, the municipality has also failed to deliver services, and no one has received a clean audit in the past five years.
The ANC in the Free State has been fighting internal battles, with those loyal to Magashule creating parallel structures.
However, on Tuesday, Mbalula sought to allay fears that the ANC in the province was in crisis, saying the party was ready for change.
“We will, in due course, thank you [Ntombela] for his service to the people of the Free State, and for his service to the people of this country, and for accepting the deployment of the ANC,” he said.
The ANC in the past has been known to recycle its leaders to parliament. Ntombela, who still has influence in the Free State, is likely to be sent back to the provincial legislature or the national assembly.