FORMER Gauteng finance MEC Mandla Nkomfe on Thursday said he remained an African National Congress (ANC) member and that his decision to withdraw from the party list this week dated back to 2009.
Mr Nkomfe, who was touted as a potential premier candidate, wrote a letter withdrawing his name from the party list in April.
It was confirmed on Thursday that he would not be part of the provincial legislature in the new term.
Mr Nkomfe, in an interview with BDlive on Thursday night, said he needed to serve Gauteng in a different capacity going forward.
He will be pursuing an academic career in information and communication technology policy and regulation research. However, he will remain part of the Gauteng ANC’s provincial executive committee.
He said the ANC’s performance in the province during the election — it won 54% of the vote, which dropped from 65% in 2009 — was not a factor in his decision.
"The ANC in Gauteng secured a victory against all odds," he told BDlive on Thursday.
He said he was happy that the ANC had secured a majority, but was worried about the drop in its percentage of the vote.
The ANC in Gauteng is likely to take the blame for the poor showing in the province, with the South African Communist Party already calling for a renewal of the organisation.
But provincial leaders have dismissed this saying that most other provinces had also dropped in their support for the party, including Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
The ANC in Gauteng is set to conduct further analysis on its showing in the 2014 polls.
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