THE AXE IS SHARPENED: LIMPOPO PREMIER SHOWS SHE'S IN CHARGE AND LEAVES NO STONE UNTURNED AS RIVALS SHOW WEAKNESS

Limpopo Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba — First female Premier and first female ANC Provincial Chairperson — unequivocally showing she is in charge, leaving no stone unturned. The Constitution is clear: appointing the Executive is the Premier's prerogative. The axe is sharpened.

By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief

The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.  

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POLOKWANE — Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba, the first female Premier of Limpopo and the first female ANC Provincial Chairperson of Limpopo, is unequivocally showing that she is in charge and that she asserts that command and she is leaving no stone unturned as her political rivals show weakness.

Her political rivals are Legislature Speaker Dr Makoma Makhurupetje and Social Development MEC Florence Radzilani — both permanent members of the ANC Provincial Executive Committee (PEC), both women who are NOT her allies.

And as they show weakness, the axe is sharpened. This is not a routine reshuffle. It is a reckoning. And in this new chess game in Limpopo, if you are a rival, you don't make mistakes. You become perfect. Because you are walking on an axe.

The ANC PEC is the highest decision-making body between conferences. To be a PEC member is to be in the inner sanctum.Two of its most senior female PEC members are walking on that axe. Whether people like it or not, they are her political rivals.

The first weakness was exposed in February 2026. Promotional posters and social media material for the State of the Province Address — constitutionally the Premier's address — were published featuring only Speaker Makhurupetje, completely omitting Premier Ramathuba.

The Office of the Premier lodged a formal written complaint citing protocol violations and a pattern of "deliberate disrespect." The Legislature claimed it was "resolved internally and closed."

But it was never closed. On 14 June 2026, News24 captured it: "A poster, a calendar, a Cabinet axe: How Ramathuba's complaint put Limpopo Speaker in firing line."

Makhurupetje is a PEC member, but she is not part of the Unity Slate that swept the 27 March 2026 conference — Dr Phophi Ramathuba as Provincial Chairperson, John Mpe as Deputy Chairperson, Reuben Madadzhe as Provincial Secretary, Pule Shayi as Deputy Provincial Secretary and Eddie Maila as Provincial Treasurer — orchestrated by Tala Mathope and which defeated the "Alliance of the Wounded" in the Polokwane High Court.For a rival walking on an axe, a poster mistake is not a mistake. It is a verdict.

The second weakness was exposed in Social Development.MEC Radzilani is no ordinary rival. Former ANC Deputy Provincial Chairperson, Vhembe powerhouse, the only woman touted to contest Ramathuba for Chairperson in March who then declined at the eleventh hour.

Recently EXCO considered the 2025/26 audit outcomes. While Ramathuba reported overall improvement, she singled out Social Development for regression.

The Auditor-General flagged that NPOs funded by the department allegedly received state grants then immediately transferred them to other accounts, making money meant for the vulnerable untraceable. Possible links between some NPOs and public servants were also flagged.

Ramathuba's response was a hammer: Provincial Treasury ordered to conduct a full forensic investigation, and 50 unemployed BCom graduates deployed on two-year contracts to fix NPO financial management.

"Every single cent from the state that was allocated towards supporting the vulnerable, it must go and support the vulnerable. We must root out corruption, irrespective of who that person is," Ramathuba declared.

When you are walking on an axe, a qualified audit is not a finding. It is a trapdoor.

The Constitution is clear: appointing the Executive is the Premier's prerogative.

Ramathuba is preparing to bring her trusted Top 5 — Pule Shayi and Eddie Maila — into the Legislature as MPLs ahead of the #PeoplesManifesto launch on 23 August and the 4 November Local Government Elections. One vacancy came when David 'Che' Selane resigned for Great North Transport (GNT). The second is blocked by SACP Secretary Chuene Malebana, who refused the Public Service Commissioner post, saying "come hell or high water" he will not resign.

But the message from Polokwane is unequivocal.

Limpopo has its first female Premier. First female Chairperson. And she is unequivocally in charge.The axe is sharpened. No stone is left unturned.

This is The Azanian — Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.

Legislature Speaker Dr Makoma Makhurupetje — PEC member and political rival walking on an axe after the February 2026 SOPA poster that erased the Premier. Office of the Premier lodged formal complaint. News24 headline on 14 June 2026 said it all: "A poster, a calendar, a Cabinet axe."

Social Development MEC Florence Radzilani — Former ANC Deputy Provincial Chairperson, Vhembe powerhouse and political rival walking on an axe after Social Development audit regression. AG flagged NPO millions vanishing, possible links to public servants. Premier: "Every cent for the vulnerable must go to the vulnerable." Treasury forensic probe ordered.