The top five leadership structure remains unchanged since 2021. Bentley Vass stays on as deputy provincial chairperson, Deshi Ngxanga continues as provincial secretary, Maruping Lekwene retains his role as provincial deputy secretary, and Fufe Makatong remains treasurer.

While the leadership reflects continuity, Saul acknowledged the need for stronger gender representation in the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC).

“There will be strict compliance with the 50/50 requirement. We have very strong women in the province who are fully capable of leading the ANC, and we greatly value their capacity,” Saul said.

Only one woman currently forms part of the top five. Saul assured this imbalance would be addressed through broader PEC appointments to reflect gender parity.

“Gender equality in the province will be addressed through the election of the PEC,” he added.

Saul also framed the uncontested re-election of the leadership as a sign of unity within provincial ANC structures.

“I’m certain if you check the secretary-general’s report at the ANC’s last national conference, he described the Northern Cape as the most united province in the country. What we see here is a clear demonstration of that unity. The province is rock solid, and there are no major internal issues,” Saul said.

Despite this unity, the ANC in the Northern Cape secured only 49% of the vote in the last national elections. Saul said the party conducted its own research and identified ongoing loadshedding as a major contributing factor to the drop in support.

“This is understandable, as 95% of households in the province rely on the Eskom grid,” he explained, suggesting electricity outages discouraged voter turnout.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi cg