SA waits as ANC dithers on Zuma
• Meeting set to go into Tuesday morning • Opposition starts moves to dissolve Parliament
The ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) was still discussing President Jacob Zuma’s fate late on Monday night.
At the time of going to press Business Day understood that more than half of the NEC members still wanted their opportunity to speak on the issue, meaning the meeting could continue early into the morning.
There was mounting speculation on Monday that Zuma had been recalled and that he had asked for three more months in office. Business Day was unable to verify this.
The ANC was poised to recall Zuma after lengthy discussions between him and ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa.
An NEC decision to recall Zuma would once again lob the ball into his court and he would have to resign as Thabo Mbeki did in 2008.
But should Zuma refuse to resign, as requested by the party, it would be plunged into another crisis and would have to go the time-consuming route of bringing a motion of no confidence in him in Parliament.
Ramaphosa assured the nation on Sunday that the Zuma matter would be “finalised” on Monday, but by late night no official communication was forthcoming from the party.
The ANC now also faces increasing pressure from opposition parties, which on Monday announced that they would move to have Parliament dissolved. This would result in fresh elections, should they succeed. Opposition parties have also given National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete a Tuesday deadline to bring forward the EFF’s motion of no confidence urgently.
Parliament has already scheduled a no-confidence vote on Zuma for February 22, the day after the budget is delivered, but opposition parties want this brought forward.
The parties want Zuma removed through a motion of no confidence followed by the
dissolution of Parliament, and they are prepared to lose their seats in the process.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane said they could not longer be “spectators to ANC’s discussion in the bush as opposed to engaging Parliament on what must be done”.
EFF leader Julius Malema said Mbete had not responded to his party’s request to move up the vote.
“If she does not by 10am tomorrow [Tuesday], then we will pursue an urgent application in that regard because we are in a crisis as things stand,” said Malema.
Parliament issued a statement on Monday, saying Deputy National Assembly Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli had, on behalf of Mbete, responded to the EFF leader’s request.
Parliament said that in a letter to Malema and his attorneys on Monday, Mbete had informed them that she was consulting on the request as the rules of the National Assembly entailed consultation with relevant structures, including the chief whip of the majority party, Jackson Mthembu, and the leader of government business, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Maimane also wrote to Mbete and National Council of Provinces chairwoman Thandi Modise on Monday, requesting the dissolution of Parliament, in terms of section 50 of the Constitution, and an early election.
“This section of the Constitution envisages that a situation such as the one that we find ourselves in, whereby the country needs a fresh beginning and a fresh mandate,” he wrote in his letter. “Moreover, whoever succeeds Jacob Zuma as president of the ANC does so with the mandate of the ANC and not the people of South Africa.”
If Parliament is dissolved, early elections will have to take place within 90 days.
Zuma and the leadership of the ANC have been in drawnout talks on his tenure as president over the past two weeks after an earlier decision by the NEC that he should step down.
The NEC, however, initially referred the matter to the ANC’s top officials, but Zuma refused to step down.
At its ordinary NEC meeting in January, the ANC did not decide to recall Zuma, but instead offered him the opportunity to resign voluntarily.
Zuma’s refusal to resign resulted in further discussions, the unprecedented postponement of the state of the nation address and cancellation of a special NEC meeting.
Ramaphosa’s announcement in Cape Town on Sunday drew a line in the sand as he vowed that the matter would be resolved on Monday.
“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.