The Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on the North West has been beefed up as more provincial departments in the province are placed under administration.
“Cabinet increased the members of the IMC with the Ministers of Basic Education, Public Service and Administration, Human Settlements, Social Development, Tourism, Environmental Affairs and Transport,” said Communications Minister Nomvula Mokonyane on Thursday.
Mokonyane was briefing the media on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday.
The IMC was asked to do further work in the province and advise Cabinet on which of the provincial departments should be placed under Section 100 (1) (a) or Section 100 (1) (b) of the Constitution.
As a result of this work, Cabinet approved that five of the provincial departments should be placed under Section 100 (1) (b) and these include the:
(1) Office of the Premier;
(2) Department of Community Safety and Transport Management;
(3) Department of Basic Education and Sports Development;
(4) Department of Health and
(5) Department of Public Works and Roads.
In addition to the departments placed under Section 100 (1) (b), five other departments are to be placed under Section 100(1) (a) namely:
(1) Department of Finance, Economy and Enterprise Development (FEED);
(2) Department of Local Government and Human Settlement;
(3) Department of Rural, Environment and Agricultural Development (READ);
(4) Department of Social Department and
(5) Department of Tourism.
According to Mokonyane, placement under Section 100 (1) (b) means that national government will “fully takeover” the administration of the listed departments, while those placed under section 100 (1) (a) will work alongside the IMC.
Cabinet’s intervention follows the resignation of the Premier of the North West, Supra Mahumapelo, on Wednesday afternoon after weeks of protracted strikes in the province.
“Cabinet approved that the necessary correspondence be sent to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and that communication with the relevant stakeholders in the North West should take place.
“The investigative work of the Justice Crime Prevention and Security Cluster (JCPS) will continue on all those matters that require law enforcement agencies to intervene,” said Mokonyane. – SAnews.gov.za
