Court threat to state of nation address
Mabuza leads group of top officials to tell No 1 it’s time to go
● Opposition parties have threatened to interdict the state of the nation address if parliament’s presiding officers, Baleka Mbete and Thandi Modise, do not accede to their demand for a postponement by tomorrow.
As ANC officials make a last-ditch attempt today to persuade President Jacob Zuma to leave office, opposition leaders are cranking up the pressure to prevent him from delivering the speech at the opening of parliament on Thursday.
They are demanding that the speech be postponed until parliament can hold impeachment proceedings, or that a new president present the address.
In a letter seen by the Sunday Times, United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa called it “objectionable” that Mbete and Modise had decided the address should go ahead as scheduled.
Writing on behalf of the UDM, COPE, the EFF, the DA, the IFP and the African Christian Democratic Party after a meeting on Friday, Holomisa noted that the Constitutional Court, in ruling last year that the National Assembly had failed to hold Zuma to account over Nkandla, gave parliament a deadline to formulate impeachment procedures for a president.
“We therefore urge you to postpone the Sona . . . to enable your office to complete the process of adopting the impeachment regulations and procedures,” the letter says.
“Accordingly, we await your urgent positive response to this request not later than the end of business on Monday.
“Failure to meet this deadline [means] we shall be left with no option but to consider approaching an appropriate court.”
The ANC is split over the address, with growing internal opposition to Zuma remaining president and delivering it.
Zuma has refused to step down, telling allies this week that he was prepared to face impeachment proceedings.
The argument to be presented by senior ANC leaders today that he should step aside to avoid impeachment or a motion of no confidence is expected to fall on deaf ears.
Mbete said on Friday that a motion of no confidence requested by the EFF had been scheduled for February 22.
EFF leader Julius Malema has written to Mbete asking that she allow a secret ballot on the motion of confidence on the grounds of intimidation and surveillance of MPs, as well threats of a civil war if Zuma is removed.
Parliament’s spokesman, Moloto Mothapo, said a secret ballot was only granted in exceptional circumstances.
“Voting on motions of no confidence is generally open, and the one scheduled for February 22 is no different,” he said.
● ANC deputy-president David Mabuza is set to lead a delegation of senior officials who will meet President Jacob Zuma today to discuss his fate.
The meeting, due to be held at Zuma’s official residence, Mahlamba Ndlopfu in Pretoria, could also determine if the president will deliver the state of the nation address scheduled for Thursday.
According to those familiar with the discussions, the ANC’s top six officials will meet Zuma this evening to discuss his exit from the west wing of the Union Buildings, whether he should deliver the address, and possible impeachment proceedings.
Agreement on the date of Zuma’s final departure from the presidency could be reached.
Mabuza will be joined by ANC national chairman Gwede Mantashe, secretary-general Ace Magashule, his deputy Jessie Duarte, and treasurer-general Paul Mashatile.
The ANC officials are acting on the mandate of the party’s highest decision-making structures, the national executive committee and the national working committee, which both resolved that Zuma should no longer be president of the country.
ANC insiders have also indicated that Cyril Ramaphosa, the governing party’s president, has recused himself from the meeting after being advised to do so by senior party leaders.
This is why Mabuza has been designated to lead the delegation.
The sources said other senior party leaders felt it would not augur well for Ramaphosa to be present at a meeting to ask Zuma to step down from government, citing a conflict of interest as he was expected to take over the presidency.
ANC national communications manager Khusela Diko declined to respond to specific questions on the matter, dismissing them as speculation.
“Our position is that the national working committee has mandated the national officials to meet with President Jacob Zuma. When they meet him, they need to discuss a number of issues,” said Diko.
“They must discuss the upcoming motion of no confidence and the impeachment process.
“Together, they must find a way to help the party navigate all these [matters] in the best interests of the country and the organisation. So that’s what we have. Anything else at this point is speculation.”
Other senior party leaders said Zuma would be told it was in his best interests to resign immediately to avoid a possible impeachment process or a vote of no confidence sponsored by ANC MPs.
The EFF has already tabled its own motion of no confidence in Zuma and National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete has scheduled this for February 22, just two weeks after the state of the nation address.
Those sympathetic to Zuma said the president had vowed to reject requests that he step down and was accusing those asking him to do so of betrayal, including perceived supporters.
Zuma this week carried on with business as usual, chairing the three-day cabinet lekgotla that ended on Friday.
The lekgotla usually sets the tone for the address to be delivered on Thursday, identifying policy and service delivery priorities the government wants to focus on this year.
By the time of going to press, Zuma’s spokesman, Bongani Ngqulunga, had not responded to requests for comment.
The NEC is set to hold a special meeting within two weeks at which top officials will report back on their talks with Zuma. There are concerns within the ANC that should there still be no agreement on how and when Zuma might be removed, ANC MPs opposed to the president could vote with opposition parties in favour of the motion of no confidence on February 22.
A member of the NEC said MPs in the party’s parliamentary caucus were already worried about how to respond when opposition parties objected to Zuma speaking on Thursday. “A lot of us think it’s pretty disastrous and we’re still trying to put in a last-minute bid to prevent it from happening, but we are resigned to the fact that it may happen. Still, I can’t see him surviving beyond the next vote of no confidence,” the member said.
It is understood that should Zuma agree to step down before Thursday’s address, the opening of parliament would go ahead as planned, with Mbete serving as acting president.
She would then delegate Ramaphosa to deliver the state of the nation address as deputy president.