Zuma’s days are numbered

AUGUST 9 is Women’s Day but that could change to Liberation Day this year as our infamous president faces a motion of no confidence in Parliament the day before. In all probability it will be by secret ballot.

It’s D-Day for a defiant President Jacob Zuma who has refused to abdicate the presidency before the December elective conference. His resilience and stubbornness during attempts of impeachment have his enemies baying for his blood.

As cabals and cliques contrive behind closed doors, it will give political quislings a chance to hide behind a veneer of collusion and get rid of a leader whose hegemonic aspirations must come to an end. It will be maturity day for the relentless conquests of proselytisers in the mould of ANC MP Makhosi Khoza. Zuma has been destructive and like a locust – he went where the fields were most fertile, indulging himself on Gupta crops. But the harvest is over and the poisoned feast of the Last Supper awaits him. Whatever the outcome, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa will be the focus. An ambitious man, he injects a level of prudence into the political discourse. A big thinker with an extraordinary mind, he’s an honourable man burdened with the need to do the right thing.

If he wins the ANC presidency over Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, he will look to repair the image of the ailing organisation and win back lost support. If he loses, there is every possibility of forming a new party with support from across the political spectrum. As the DA strives for a 30% stake of the votes in 2019, a new party would put ANC dominance at risk and render coalition politics no more than a dot on the horizon. Kevin Govender