WATCH: These are ANC’s premier candidates for seven provinces

The African National Congress (ANC) has announced its premier candidates in seven provinces.

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula on Thursday said the party conducted interviews with premier candidates between Monday and Wednesday.

Mbalula said the chairperson of the ANC’s electoral committee, Kgalema Motlanthe, conducted all the interviews.

Watch Fikile Mbalula announcing the ANC’s premier candidates

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“The national officials posed a range of questions to the candidates covering ethical and capable leadership as set out in Through the Eye of a Needle and the six priorities in the ANC 2024 Election Manifesto that are critical to speeding up transformation and improving the lives of the people.”

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Premiers

Those who made the cut include:

• Eastern Cape: Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane
• Free State: Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae
• Gauteng: Andrek Hendrick “Panyaza” Lesufi
• Limpopo: Phophi Constance Ramathuba
• Mpumalanga: Mandla Ndlovu
• North West: Kagiso Lazarus Mokgosi
• Northern Cape: Cde Zamani Saul

Meanwhile, Mbalula said the ANC is not going to “retreat on the concept of the Government of National Unity (GNU).

“We believe the government of national unity to us represents the outcome of the elections. We did not get the right majority. We are a 40% party. We have been supported and voted for by six million people who want us to continue with the transformation agenda.”

The ANC, which has been in power for 30 years, lost its majority in the 29 May elections. It secured just over 40% of the national vote, while the main opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA) got 21.8%.

GNU

It has met with 17 parties over the last few days to discuss coalitions, including the EFF, but the red berets have rejected the ANC’s GNU.

This was announced by EFF Julius Malema on Thursday.

Malema said that the EFF could not work with parties funded by the billionaire Oppenheimer family.

“Despite our commitment to unite all opposition parties to completely remove the ANC from power since it was rejected by 59% of voters in South Africa, we did not and will never meet with the Democratic Alliance (DA) and all right-wing Oppenheimer funded political parties. The DA is our enemy.”

Malema said while the EFF shares common values with the ANC, it doesn’t with some other parties in the GNU.

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