NEC to ‘finalise Zuma transition on Monday’
• Ramaphosa says the country wants closure • Mandela ‘put the interests of the people first’
ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday gave the clearest indication yet that Jacob Zuma’s future as head of state could be resolved on Monday.
The uncertainty about Zuma’s fate as president has left the country in limbo with opposition parties, alliance partners and some in the ANC calling for his removal.
Speaking at the Grand Parade in Cape Town to launch the centennial celebration in honour of former president Nelson Mandela, Ramaphosa said the country wanted “closure on this matter”.
“As the leadership of the ANC we are engaged in discussions around the transition … and specifically the position of the president of the republic,” Ramaphosa said.
The national executive committee (NEC) would meet on Monday “to discuss and finalise this matter.
“We know you want this matter to be finalised. We know you want closure on this matter. We will finalise this matter keeping our eyes on what is in the interests of all our people.”
Ramaphosa said a resolution of the issue would have significant consequences for the country and for the ANC.
“It is therefore important that we manage the discussions with care and purpose, ensuring that we place the interests of the South African people first. The key objective is uniting our people. If you look at the way in which Mandela handled challenges in his presidency, he was always very careful. He put the interests of our people first and he was clear about uniting South Africans and uniting the ANC.”
Sunday marked 28 years since Mandela was released after 27 years in jail.
Ramaphosa and Zuma met at the weekend to thrash out the “transition” from the Zuma presidency. On Saturday, the party’s top six leaders met into the night. Details of the meetings have not yet been revealed.
Monday’s NEC meeting is scheduled to take place from 2pm on Monday at St Georges Hotel in Irene, outside Pretoria.
According to sources and political observers, two possible
scenarios could unfold at the NEC meeting.
The first is that the party leadership will be briefing the committee on a possible agreement between Ramaphosa and Zuma. The second could be a possible debate and recall of Zuma if the two did not agree on Zuma’s exit.
Sources said on Sunday that Zuma was poised to resign and that Monday’s meeting was aimed at confirming Ramaphosa as the new head of state and selecting his deputy. “He has agreed to resign. The meeting tomorrow is to confirm Cyril and his deputy,” said a source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Another said it was common cause that Zuma had agreed to resign, it was just a matter of working out the details. Insiders say Zuma is likely to leave the Union Buildings by Monday or by the end of the week at the latest.
Last week a similar meeting, meant to recall Zuma, was cancelled at the eleventh hour. Ramaphosa requested the postponement, indicating that his discussions with Zuma had been “constructive”.
Insiders had said Zuma was ready to resign and the finer details were being negotiated.
At the weekend, the Zuma family apologised for a social media post by first lady Thobeka Madiba-Zuma.
In the post, she hinted Zuma was not going anywhere, saying he would be around to “finish what he started”. But in a statement from the Zuma family, his son Edward expressed disappointment at the post.
Meanwhile, a group of ANC and South African Communist Party members vowed not to leave the Union Buildings until Zuma resigns.
During a joint media conference in Pretoria on Sunday‚ ANC Gauteng member Hangwi Maumela announced a “national shutdown” for Monday and encouraged South Africans not to go to work in solidarity.
“We are not going to leave the Union Buildings‚ by the way‚ until he [Zuma] resigns‚” Maumela said. He said the group would march to the Union Buildings on Monday. The march would start at Burgers Park in Pretoria at 8am.
However, ANC Johannesburg regional spokesman Jolidee Matongo distanced the party from Maumela and the shutdown, saying: “We don’t know them. They are not sanctioned by the ANC structures.”