Supra Mahumapelo at a press conference at Luthuli House, 23 May 2018, where he announced that he would be going on early retirement, thus leaving his post as premier of the North West Province. Picture: Michel Bega
Former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo was in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday to attend former president Jacob Zuma’s Christmas party for the elderly.
Zuma welcomed Mahumapelo to the party and jokingly showed off his Tswana-speaking skills to attendees.
Mahumapelo has openly defended Zuma from condemnation.
In July, he reacted strongly to what he said was a narrative that the nine-year-long presidential term was wasted time.
Mahumapelo was among a few prominent ANC members supporting Zuma at the commission of inquiry into state capture.
He said three critical things happened during Zuma’s tenure: a massive outreach programme and consultation programme were undertaken, and the alliance partners functioned much better.
During the world economic recession, Mahumapelo said Zuma rolled out a massive infrastructure programme worth R1 trillion.
Recently, the premier’s office, when Mahumapelo was the incumbent, was implicated in the state capture saga.
The inquiry heard testimony that it allegedly approved payment of R50 million to include SA Express’s use of the province’s two airports, without following proper procurement procedures in a deal described as “strange”.
North West community safety and transport department chief financial officer Kutlwano Phatudi told the commission that on March 16, 2015, the department received an invoice to make a R50-million prepayment to the airline, but the amount had not been budgeted for.
Earlier, opposition parties in parliament criticised the ANC for electing, among others, Mahumapelo as the chairperson of the portfolio committee on tourism.
Mahumapelo, once a member of the so-called ‘Premier League’, was stripped of the premiership and the province was placed under administration by national government last year. This followed widespread protests against his provincial government.
(Compiled by Gopolang Moloko, background reporting by OFM News)
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