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Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi (Melinda Stuurman/Netwerk24)
- Panyaza Lesufi postponed the announcement of the provincial Cabinet.
- The postponement comes as GNU talks appear to have reached an impasse.
- A phone call from Gauteng's administrative boss instructed officials to postpone the announcement.
Gauteng government officials were at the Sandton offices of the Gauteng Partnership Fund, preparing for the announcement of the new provincial executive, when they received a brief call to "postpone this thing".
No further explanation was given.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi postponed the announcement of the provincial Cabinet on Sunday, signalling further disarray in assembling the government of national unity (GNU).
The provincial government made the announcement on social media platform X, without providing further details.
Lesufi, sworn in as premier last week, has been in office for a week, but has yet to announce his executive council.
Approached to comment on why the announcement was postponed, provincial government spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said:
We don't know the reasons; we were not given the reasons. We were just told to postpone this thing until further notice.
He rejected the claim that the intervention came from the ANC, saying they did not deal with political parties.
He added: "The director-general [DG] of the [province] is the one [who issued the instruction]. We are sitting here at the venue. He just called and said: 'Guys, can you issue a postponement that we're not doing this at 14:00; you'll hear from us as to when we're proceeding."
READ | GNU Deadlock!: Cabinet portfolio haggling threatens to derail GNU
The postponement comes amid reports that the ANC and the DA cannot agree on the GNU.
The DA is playing hardball and the ANC is refusing to concede on portfolios.
News24 called Lesufi, but his phone rang unanswered.
Postponement of the media briefing on appointment of Members of the ExecutiveCouncil for the 7th Administration. pic.twitter.com/zaj5CbwG4D
— Gauteng Provincial Gov (@GautengProvince) June 23, 2024The DA's Gauteng caucus chief whip, Fred Nel, referred a request for comment to party spokesperson Solly Malatsi, who referred News24 to provincial leader Solly Msimanga.
Nel said: "There is not much to report at the moment."
Msimanga said he couldn't comment as talks were at a sensitive stage.
Editor's note: This article has been amended for accuracy
