Opposition parties join forces to fight Zuma

National day of action planned

As opposition parties were heading to court to challenge President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet reshuffle, the country received a body blow yesterday as S&P Global Ratings cut South Africa’s sovereign credit rating to junk status.

The ratings agency decided the economic crises President Jacob Zuma plunged the country into with his midnight cabinet reshuffle on March 31 was too severe to wait until June 2 for its next scheduled review of SA’s sovereign rating.

Parties are heading to court to challenge President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet reshuffle.

The DA said it will be submitting papers for a review application which seeks to test the legal rationality of last week “disastrous” cabinet reshuffle which saw Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas being removed.

Senior ANC leaders like Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and party secretary-general Gwede Mantashe have already expressed their unhappiness about the reshuffle. Last week Cope joined the EFF and UDM in their bid to start impeachment proceedings against Zuma.

Opposition parties met at Marks Park Sports Club in Johannesburg to discuss what they call a “hostile takeover of National Treasury and selling of the country by Zuma to a grouping whose only interest is to amass wealth and weaken the state through the theft of people’s money”.

They are also calling for a motion of no confidence in Zuma.

However, constitutional law expert Professor Shadrack Gutto said the DA’s review was unlikely to succeed.

The parties admitted yesterday their motion of no confidence failed in the past because South Africa was not in the crisis it is facing now and also there was no intense lobbying.

DA leader Mmusi Maimane said this was not an academic exercise.

“We are doing everything in our power to make sure that we act in a bi-partisan manner that involves all political parties in the National Assembly,” Maimane said.

African Christian Democratic Party president Kenneth Meshoe said intense lobbying was taking place.

EFF national chairman Dali Mpofu echoed similar sentiments, saying: “There is no contradiction in the opposition having lost confidence in the president after Nkandla and lost the vote.

“We are now bringing a motion of no confidence on the basis of a different reason which is the crisis the country has been plunged into now.

IFP’s Mangaqa Mncwango said it would have been nice if some members of the ANC supported the motion of no confidence.

The UDM’s Bantu Holomisa said it would be hypocritical if SACP members vote in Zuma’s favour.

The DA and EFF have asked National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete to reconvene parliament. The UDM submitted its request yesterday.

The opposition parties are also planning a national day of action to the Union Buildings next week.