DA's Nt'sekhe set to resign as Gauteng deputy speaker

The newly elected Gauteng legislature deputy speaker Refiloe Nt’sekhe, who is from the DA, was expected to tender her resignation from her position on Thursday.

DA leader in Gauteng, Solly Msimanga, confirmed to Sowetan that Nt’sekhe was busy submitting a resignation.

“I can confirm that she is submitting her resignation.

“However, I cannot confirm if she has resigned at this point because I have been busy doing interviews. I have not spoken to her,” he said.

Sowetan reached out to Nt’sekhe to find out why she was resigning. However, she said she was currently busy and unable to talk.

Asked the reason behind Nt’sekhe's resignation and whether it had anything to do with the DA opting to be the opposition in Gauteng, Msimanga said: “We will not take positions that will not allow us to effect changes in cabinet to better the lives of South Africans. We are not taking positions for the sake of taking them.”

Nt’sekhe's resignation comes after premier Panyaza Lesufi announced his cabinet on Wednesday, which excluded DA members who had agreed to be the opposition in the province after both parties failed to agree on seat allocation.

The DA's federal chairperson, Helen Zille, had earlier stated that the ANC was not negotiating in good faith and wanted to act like they have majority.

“We quickly reached an agreement in KZN because they honoured the terms of the statement of intent and they [IFP] were negotiating in good faith. We hit a bit of impasse in Gauteng.

“We as the DA are prepared to enter the government of provincial unity on the power-sharing partnership as reflected by the will of the voters of Gauteng.

“The ANC is acting as if they still have the majority which they don’t have,” she said.

The story is a developing story.