[TOP STORY] Onicca Moloi resigns as MEC for Sports, Arts & Culture
Limpopo Premier, Chupu Mathabatha accepted Moloi's resignation with immediate effect
POLOKWANE – Rumours surrounding Moloi’s resignation recently ignited over social media after she allegedly resigned on Facebook.
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The Office of the Premier, this afternoon, confirmed that Premier, Chupu Mathabatha accepted Moloi’s resignation with immediate effect.
Premier Mathabatha has accepted the resignation of Sport, Arts and Culture MEC, Ms Onicca Moloi with immediate effect.
The Premier therefore wishes to thank the MEC for the sterling performance she executed in the Department for the past few years she was a Member of the EXCO.— Limpopo Provincial Government (@OtpLimpopo) July 3, 2018
Through a press statement, he thanked Moloi for sterling performance over the years.
“Although we wished her to stay longer, we wish her good luck in her endeavours and hope she will perform her duties with the same energy she did when deployed in government,” Mathabatha said.
Rob Tooley, MEC for Treasury was deployed as acting MEC for the department until such time the position is filled.
This leaves the province with two acting MECs, as Seaparo Sekoati, MEC for the Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism is still acting as MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development too.
Earlier this week Mathabatha’s Spokesperson, Kenny Mathivha said the only comment he could furnish was that Moloi resigned through Facebook last week.
Attempts for comments from Moloi drew fruitless as all calls went to voicemail.
Her future was discussed at a meeting at the Office of the Premier on Monday, but decisions taken had to be processed by the ANC in Frans Mohlala House.
Following Moloi’s Facebook post, in which she referred to her superiors as ‘Masana Bishops’, speculation was rife that she had become disgruntled after not being elected to the ANC Provincial Executive Council following the party’s recent elective conference.
The position she was eligible for was taken up by Basikopo Makamu (Deputy Secretary).
Her Facebook post, which ruffled feathers in the party and drew much criticism from her superiors, read: ‘Dear Masana Bishops. Don’t worry, we will send our resignation letters and handover your so-called ‘bluelights’ by Friday to make your job easy. We didn’t join the ANC for blue lights! Yours Onicca Moloi’ (sic).
The post has since been removed from social media.
Soviet Lekganyane, Provincial Secretary of the ANC said in a press release the party wished the matter was handled differently by the MEC.
“The ANC in Limpopo has noted the resignation of Onicca Moloi from her deployment as MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture, which was accepted by the Premier of Limpopo. The ANC takes, in a serious light, the manner
in which Moloi conducted herself in the week leading up to the premier accepting her resignation. It is of serious concern that she handled herself in a manner that undermined the integrity of both the organisation and the
government. The ANC remains a home to all the people of our country and thus, members who feel aggrieved in whatever way, are expected to use the available channels to raise their concerns.”
Lekganyane said the ANC had expected a cadre of her calibre to have handled the matter differently and better, having risen within its ranks, first serving as an employee of the ANC caucus in the Legislature, later
deployed as a Member of Provincial Legislature and then as Member of Executive Council. “The ANC will engage with Moloi further on this matter. She remains a Member of the Limpopo Legislature,” Lekganyane said
