RAMATHUBA RETAINS CORE AS ANC LIMPOPO WELCOMES NEW EXECUTIVE, WOMEN STILL LEAD LIMPOPO ACROSS THREE ARMS OF STATE
- Mpho Dube
- 36 minutes ago
- 4 min read
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
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Limpopo Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba has demonstrated measured, consultative leadership by retaining the core of her Executive Council, a decision the ANC in Limpopo as the mother body has officially welcomed as a move that brings stability and strengthens service delivery.
The reconfiguration announced on 02 September 2026 was not a purge. That is what proves she is smart and not power drunk.
Premier Ramathuba today holds absolute power in the province. She is both Premier and Provincial Chairperson of the ANC in Limpopo — the first woman to hold both positions.
In June 2024 she ascended as Premier when she was only a PEC member, while former Premier Stan Mathabatha was Chairperson, an arrangement deliberately made to avoid two centres of power. Today she is both.
She had every prerogative to overhaul the entire executive. She did not. She consulted the ANC Provincial Executive Committee. She retained six MECs, redeployed two and brought in only three new members. That is not arrogance. That is intellectually pregnant leadership — she can read the dynamics very well.
She removed three MECs — Violet Mathye from Transport and Community Safety, Dieketseng Mashego from Health, and Jerry Maseko from Sport, Arts and Culture. She redeployed two — Basikopo Makamu from COGHSTA to Agriculture and Rural Development, and Nakedi Kekana from Agriculture to Transport.
She retained six — Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya in Education, Florence Radzilani in Social Development, Dr Tshitereke Matibe in Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Kgabo Mahoai in Finance, and Tonny Ernest Rachoene in Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure.
She brought in three — Pule Shayi to COGHSTA, Eddie Maila to Health, and Constance Kupa-Mabuza to Sport, Arts and Culture.
The full council is now Basikopo Makamu, Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya, Florence Radzilani, Nakedi Kekana, Dr Tshitereke Matibe, Kgabo Mahoai, Tonny Ernest Rachoene, Constance Kupa-Mabuza, Pule Shayi and Eddie Maila.
The ANC in Limpopo welcomed the move. In a statement issued on 02 September 2026 by Provincial Secretary Vhamusanda Reuben Madadzhe and Provincial Spokesperson Tonny Ernest Rachoene, the ANC said it views the reconfiguration as an important step towards strengthening implementation of the ANC-led government programme and ensuring government remains responsive to the people. It expects faster service delivery and inclusive growth.
That matters because two of the new entrants are ANC officials — Deputy Provincial Secretary Pule Shayi and Provincial Treasurer Eddie Maila — proof that she consulted and worked with the collective.
The criticism came from the leagues. The ANCWL said the new executive has four women and six men, down from six women previously. ANCWL Provincial Secretary Tebogo Mamorobela said she was disappointed and would seek an audience with the Premier. Veterans League Secretary Sechaba Nkoana said he was alarmed.
That criticism counts only one arm. It forgets how the state works.
The state is divided into three arms to balance power and prevent abuse: The Legislature makes laws and oversees the Executive, the Executive implements laws and runs departments, and the Judiciary interprets laws.
In Limpopo, women from the ANC lead two arms — and that is the story the noise misses.
The Executive is led by Premier Ramathuba herself — a woman who understands gender parity to the letter.
The Legislature is led by women. Dr Makoma Grace Makhurupetje has been Speaker of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature since 2024. She is a PEC member of the ANC and a member of the ANCWL.
Her Deputy is Tebogo Mamorobela herself — the same ANCWL Secretary complaining about regression. Both Speaker and Deputy Speaker are women from the same movement. That is rare in the country.
Combine that with a female Premier who is the first female ANC Provincial Chairperson in Limpopo, and you have women from the ANC leading both the Executive and the Legislature. That is substantive balance, not regression.
A senior government source put it clearly: “Ramathuba is the only woman in all the provinces who understands the language of gender parity. When she was elected in June 2024 she appointed four more women as MECs, two women to lead the Legislature as Speaker and Deputy Speaker, had a woman police commissioner and a woman chief of staff. She appoints on merit, skill and capability to deliver, not on gender alone.”
The ANCYL campaigned for its Provincial Chairperson Faith Sebopela to be deployed. She was left out. But the ANC already has youth in the executive — MEC Tonny Ernest Rachoene is a former ANCYL Provincial Chairperson who graduated to PEC member and was appointed MEC in 2024. He is a hard worker and was retained on merit. Clean audit in 2025/26, 590 permanent posts, roads like R522 Makhado-Vivo.
The mother body has spoken. The ANC in Limpopo is the mother body of the Women's League and Youth League. It has welcomed. It reports to ANC National led by President Cyril Ramaphosa. When the mother body welcomes, leagues cannot create a separate centre.
You will never find many leaders with that kind of power who are not arrogant. She had the power to purge. She chose to unite. She consulted. She retained the core.
She deserves flowers.
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