Too little too late for president as Cosatu calls on him to quit

President Jacob Zuma staged a fightback in the party’s extended national working committee meeting on Tuesday, with his backers demanding that deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa‚ secretary-general Gwede Mantashe and treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize issue a public apology for publicly disagreeing with his decision to reshuffle his cabinet.

The news, which “was leaked by mistake” last night, comes as efforts by Zuma to heal the rift between him and tripartite ally Cosatu appeared to have failed, with the labour federation calling for his resignation. Zuma is said to have called Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini early on Tuesday morning in an attempt to smooth things over after failing to consult the federation on his far-reaching cabinet reshuffle last week.

Cosatu, once among Zuma’s staunchest allies, later in the day, publicly called on him to step down.

While all of this was happening, the ANC’s top brass remained behind closed doors at Luthuli House, discussing the consequences of the president’s cabinet reshuffle.

The party had called an extended national working committee meeting that included

3 unions are said to have opposed the decision for Zuma to step down taken at a special central executive committee meeting on Monday

provincial chairs and secretaries to discuss the issue.

Cosatu general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali announced at a media briefing that the federation’s leaders had taken a decision to call on Zuma to step down.

He said that among the reasons for this call was the president’s failure to consult the federation on the reshuffle.

It is understood that only three unions, one of which was not in good standing, had opposed Cosatu’s decision taken at a special central executive committee meeting on Monday.

Business Day understands

that Zuma had telephoned Dlamini, saying he regretted not consulting the federation on the reshuffle and that he would like the opportunity to explain his motives to the federation’s top leadership.

Zuma had asked to meet Dlamini and Ntshalintshali and offered to, thereafter, take Cosatu’s central executive committee into his confidence on the reshuffle too.

But insiders say it was too late as Cosatu’s opposition on Zuma had already been discussed and cemented at an executive committee meeting after the November 2016 local government elections.

Monday’s meeting simply decided to go public with the stance, the sources said.

On Tuesday, Dlamini said at the media briefing that Zuma had called to ask for a meeting. He said the federation would meet the president as well as inform the ANC of its call for Zuma to step down.

The aftershocks of the reshuffle continued to reverberate on Tuesday.

At a separate briefing, party veterans called on the ANC to recall Zuma as party and state president before any motion of no confidence against him could be heard in Parliament.

The veterans’ call came a day after the ANC’s integrity commission, which includes stal- warts Frene Ginwala and Andrew Mlangeni, also called for the second time on Zuma to step down.

Party veteran Cheryl Carolus also revealed on Tuesday that the ANC’s integrity commission had made a finding against Zuma in December 2016.

“There was an integrity commission finding which was communicated to the president last year, saying that he had been found wanting and in violation of the Constitution and values and principles of the ANC, and the integrity commission actually asked him to step down,” she told journalists in Johannesburg.

In 2015, after the ANC’s national general council, the party resolved that the commission be given more teeth and that its decisions were binding.

“We are calling on the ANC to implement its own policy,” Carolus said.