‘All Zuma wants is to say his goodbyes’
• • ‘Pertinent matters’ must be settled Exit is a matter of ‘when and how’
ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa is racing against time to clinch President Jacob Zuma’s resignation, with “pertinent matters” still under discussion.
Several senior ANC sources expect that Zuma could vacate his office by the end of this week, with a postponed state of the nation address and the annual budget address hanging in the balance.
A national executive committee (NEC) member said the “pertinent matters” referred to in Ramaphosa’s statement were Zuma being able to say his goodbye to the Cabinet and to address the nation.
The budget has to be tabled by March 14 to allow for the accommodation of possible changes to personal income tax in company payrolls at the beginning of the new tax year.
But this could even be too late, given the rigorous parliamentary processes it has to be subjected to once presented.
Opposition party leaders were to meet on Monday to discuss the motion of no confidence in Zuma, “provisionally” scheduled for February 22, and the election of a new president after his removal.
A source in the NEC said the postponement of the special committee meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, was a “delaying tactic” by Zuma.
“If he is going, why does he keep postponing it? It does not make sense to postpone it for
two days … he might be playing Ramaphosa,” the source said.
Zuma’s exit from SA’s political stage remains a matter of “when and how”.
An NEC meeting is scheduled for February 17, and that is expected to receive a reportback from Ramaphosa.
On Wednesday, Ramaphosa released a statement saying that there had been “progress” in his talks with Zuma. He would “be able to conclude our discussions and report back to our organisation and the country in the coming days”. Ramaphosa said his Tuesday meeting with Zuma marked the first of their “direct discussions” on Zuma’s exit.
The ANC began the discussion at the first ordinary NEC meeting in January, and its national working committee on Monday recommended that Zuma be recalled.
The committee also called for the special NEC meeting. However, this was postponed on Tuesday night, fuelling speculation that Zuma had agreed to resign. While this was the case, there was no formal undertaking for a date for Zuma to step down. Ramaphosa said there remained “pertinent matters” to be ironed out before the matter could be finalised.
“I am certain the process we have embarked on will achieve an outcome that not only addresses these concerns but also unites our people around the tasks that all of us must undertake to build our country,” he said in the statement issued by the ANC. He did not indicate what these “pertinent matters” were, as speculation swirled that they related to the plethora of criminal charges Zuma faces.
The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution executive secretary Lawson Naidoo said there was no legal basis for immunity for Zuma in SA law. If such an agreement was reached, the council would lodge legal proceedings to interdict it.
“Both president Zuma and myself are aware that our people want and deserve closure. The constructive process we have embarked on offers the greatest opportunity to conclude this matter without discord and division,” Ramaphosa said in a tacit confirmation that Zuma was digging in his heels.
THERE IS NO FORMAL UNDERTAKING FOR A DATE FOR ZUMA TO STEP DOWN