JOHANNESBURG - Outgoing Gauteng Premier David Makhura will not be going to Parliament.
His party, the African National Congress (ANC) in the province, said that he’d asked for time to be with his family and to reflect on his political career.
Makhura announced his resignation on Tuesday, with the provincial legislature already set for a special sitting to elect a new premier on Thursday.
He served as Gauteng’s sixth premier, having first come into office in 2014.
The ANC has nominated Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi as his replacement.
Makhura, unlike most public servants who serve at regional or provincial level, is not destined to become a backbencher in the National Assembly – at least for now.
ANC Gauteng provincial secretary, TK Nciza, said that Makhura had been in service of the movement for 22 years and wanted to take a break.
"So therefore when our leaders say 'it is time for me to go and give my family some time back and love', we are able to give them that opportunity."
Attempts by some to throw Makhura’s name in the race for a top six position in the ANC ahead of its December conference have failed.
But Nciza said that Makhura would not be lost to the movement as his home province had plans to push for him to be elected to the ANC national executive committee.
He will officially step down from his role on Thursday when a new premier is elected in the legislature.
