Rasool’s resignation made official

By Mishkah Anthony
23 July 2008


The African National Congress has officially announced Premier, Ebrahim Rasool’s resignation.

The Party’s National leaders were addressing a media briefing in Cape Town at the Provincial ANC offices this morning. ANC National chairwoman Baleka Mbete chaired the conference.

Mbete said, “The statement of the ANC is a straight forward statement, relating to issues that have regrettably been in the media before decisions were taken by the ANC; however we as the ANC thought we should stop the agony.”

“On Friday Comrade Ebrahim Rasool will resign as Premier, and will be replaced by Comrade Lynne Brown. We must make clear there is no process of punishment and purges.”

Rasool says this comes as a great moment of relief personally, “increasingly one would have to ask ones self what is the honour in pushing ahead, when very clearly the ANC needed to be strengthened in which ever way, to the run up to the 2009 elections.”

Rasools added that it was not his intension to put the ANC through any pain, “the issue of resignation was always the only option that I was going to exercise and I said that from the outset.”

Lynne Brown says she is truly humbled by being asked to lead the ANC in the Province for the next eight months. “I know from Comrade Ebrahim, that I do take over a government that is quite stable.”

The newly appointed Premier said that she will use her time as Premier to work hard to unite the party and the people of the Western Cape.

Premier Brown claimed the biggest problem in the province is the breakdown in social cohesion and that the province as a collective, should work toward uniting the people.

“It’s not going to be a one woman show, it is whether I am able to unite the alliance, and unite the people of the Western Cape.” She added that, everyone who makes the Western Cape its home should make it possible to do so.