Zuma survives a second no confidence vote
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma has reportedly survived a second vote of no confidence in him at the ANC’s National Executive Committee meeting last night.
Extended for a third day, the meeting ended late last night.
The move to remove Zuma from office was seemingly defeated when only 18 members spoke in favour of it and 54 against.
It was apparently agreed not to refer the issue to a committee of 10 members, as initially proposed as a compromise between bitterly divided groups.
The NEC also decided to officially open the succession race with nominations due in September. The committee also instructed NEC member Lynne Brown to seek an out of court settlement in the Brian Molefe matter.
The motion against Zuma, who will face MPs on Wednesday for the presidency’s budget, was tabled by the ANC’s policy guru Joel Netshitenzhe on Saturday.
The move was supported by Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and his deputy Joe Phaahla, axed tourism minister Derek Hanekom and NEC member Sue van der Merwe, according to sources.
Political analyst Protas Madlala, said the possible removal of Zuma would have far-reaching implications as it would also see a mass exodus of his backers in Parliament.
“What surprises me is why the president is being asked to step down whereas Thabo Mbeki was told in no uncertain terms to do so,” said Madlala.
He said the ANC needed to take the similar hard-line against Zuma.
But Zuma supporters in the meeting argued that a motion of no-confidence had not been on the agenda – and even so, the NEC did not have the authority to recall him.
Yesterday’s meeting took place against the backdrop of the most damning newspaper reports yet against Zuma’s controversial friends, the Guptas, revealing the business family’s influence on the state allegedly through Zuma and his son Duduzane.
They also detailed how the Guptas prepared for Zuma to move his family to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
But the Gupta family’s attorney Gert van der Merwe dismissed the reports, which are based on internal emails.
“I invite the newsrooms relying on these documents to disclose them (and the sources from which it was ostensibly obtained) to my client for consideration and comment if possible. Once the documents are studied and verified, my client will be in a position to comment if justified. The family deny any wrongdoing or paying any amounts to ministers or the president and reserve its rights,” Van der Merwe said.
Hours after the allegations were made public, ANC stalwart Mathews Phosa, a Zuma critic, reiterated his call for the president to step down.
Phosa, delivering the keynote address at the Peter Mokaba region in Limpopo yesterday, criticised what he called “corrupt leaders with broken values, who have lost the moral high ground”, saying they had let the entire country down.
Meanwhile, Zuma has to give reasons today in the Pretoria High Court for his midnight Cabinet reshuffle, one of the reasons his future at the Union Buildings hangs in the balance.
JACOB ZUMA has to give reasons in the high court in Pretoria today for firing five ministers in a midnight reshuffle of his cabinet on March 31 which caused consternation and anger among many South Africans.
He will also appear in Parliament for the first time since that reshuffle.
The DA took Zuma to the high court, calling for him to explain his decision. The official opposition wants his record of decision, and who he consulted when he decided to change his ministers.
They believe he acted improperly when he changed his cabinet and are calling for him to give details about his decision.
The cabinet reshuffle led to unprecedented shows of dissatisfaction with Zuma’s leadership of the country, with opposition politicians and civil society organisations alike taking to the streets to express their frustration.
Opposition parties led marches to Pretoria’s Union Buildings against Zuma and also protested outside the National Treasury, warning that it was in the throes of being captured.
In addition to arguing his case in court, through his lawyers, Zuma will also face MPs for the first since that decision two months ago.
Zuma is going to table his department’s Budget vote speech in Parliament on Wednesday and will reply the following day.
But he is expected to get a hostile reception from the opposition, who want him to quit after the scandals that have rocked his tenure as president.
The latest e-mail scandal, reported in the weekend papers, points strongly to the Guptas running key areas of the state. It has again put Zuma at odds with the opposition, who are promising to launch further legal action against him.
The DA and EFF have complained that they have lodged several cases against Zuma, ranging from the exorbitant cost of renovations to his Nkandla home to the State of Capture Report compiled by former public protector Thuli Madonsela, but that no progress has been made in the investigations by the authorities.
The South African Council of Churches (SACC) and a group of academics have also released their own reports on alleged corruption between Zuma and the Guptas. The SACC has called on the ANC to act against Zuma.
This is the same call made by the opposition parties in Parliament.
However, they will face Zuma for the first time since the calls for him to go widened and more scandals started coming out.
Zuma’s axing of Pravin Gordhan as finance minister was one of the major issues that split the ANC and resulted in Cosatu and the SACP calling for him to go.
Cosatu has gone as far as banning him from speaking at its gatherings.
Controversial midnight reshuffle of the cabinet caused anger among South Africans