Do your job Mbete – Maimane

Mmusi Maimane says speaker is dodging her duties

The DA has refused to help speaker Baleka Mbete to “fulfil her constitutional obligation”.

Yesterday, DA leader Mmusi Maimane said Mbete wanted political parties to undermine the constitution when she asked them to help her decide on the secret ballot.

This was after the Constitutional Court ruled that she had the constitutional power to prescribe that voting in a no-confidence motion in the president be conducted by secret ballot.

Maimane said Mbete was running away from the inevitable and wanted them to undermine the constitution.

The motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma will be debated and voted on on August 8.

Maimane said the move was to protect herself in case they take her to court if she decided against the secret ballot.

“I believe in an open ballot but this time around no, because there has been intimidation against those who spoke against the president.”

In a wide-ranging interview with Sowetan yesterday in Randburg, Johannesburg, Maimane said there were people proposing a government of national unity in case the motion of no confidence succeeds.

“But a government of national unity will have to include the ANC, we don’t want the ANC because A NC policies have put us in recession.

“The problems are beyond Zuma. The people of South Africa need a new beginning, that is why 2019 is a crucial year,” he said.

He added that they can’t wait for the ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal in September on whether the over 700 corruption charges against Zuma should be reinstated.

“[The] ANC as a collective is a problem. They are united by smallernyana skeletons, that is why some are talking about giving Zuma a deal. We don’t want that, we want to see him in the dock, charged,” he said.

As much as he wants to see DA win 2019 general elections, Maimane also does not rule out forming coalition governments.

He said his party had a plan on how to build the economy, create jobs and take the country out of recession.

He said the ANC needed to own up that it had failed to adopt policies that ensured that black people participated fully in the economy.

‘ ‘ They [ANC] are united by smallernyana skeletons

/ MDUDUZI NDZINGI Leader of the DA Mmusi Maimane says intimidation against those opposing President Jacob Zuma rules out the possibility of an open ballot.