Calls for Zuma to resign tonight
The most appropriate pronouncement President Zuma could make during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday, is to announce his resignation.
The call comes from the opposition party, the Democratic Alliance who said that it has already requested a debate on a motion of no confidence in the president.
“South Africa continues to suffer from a leadership crisis, as the President hops from one scandal to the next, all to protect himself and his cronies. This while our country remains on the verge of economic meltdown due to low economic growth, spiralling corruption, rising unemployment, a nationwide drought, rising inflation, and failed service delivery,” said DA leader, Mmusi Maimane.
He cited Zuma’s ‘catastrophic decision’ to fire minister of finance, Nhlanhla Nene, in December last year as the reason behind the no confidence debate.
“This request was agreed to by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, and I push for this to be debated and voted on at the very next sitting of Parliament,” Maimane said.
“However, the President should himself expedite the process of his removal from office by doing the honourable thing and resigning,” he added.
The DA said that when taking his oath of office, as per Schedule 2 of the Constitution – the supreme law of the land – President Zuma swore to “be faithful to the Republic of South Africa” and “obey, observe, uphold and maintain the Constitution and all other law of the Republic”.
“Following the revelations in the Constitutional Court earlier this week, it is clear that the President didn’t mean a single word he said,” Maimane said.
The DA’s sentiments echo those of non-governmental organisation Accountability Now, which said on Wednesday that all South Africans want to hear during President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address is “I am retiring”.
Zuma’s credibility was at an all-time low, its director Paul Hoffman told reporters in Cape Town.
However, Zuma would neither resign nor retire on his own as he was too compromised and too protected.
“But the interests of the country would be served if he resigned,” he said.
Hoffman said the main problem was lack of confidence in the president as a result of “Nenegate” and the “flip-flop on Nkandla”.
Zuma axed Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene in December, replacing him with relatively unknown ANC member and former Merafong mayor David van Rooyen.
Following public outrage and the rand falling to new lows against the dollar, Zuma replaced Van Rooyen with Pravin Gordhan.
Hoffman said the country, and some in the ruling party, did not trust Zuma anymore, especially following arguments about Nkandla in the Constitutional Court on Tuesday.
A survey published in November showed that the president’s approval rating was at its lowest level since 2000 – while dropping by as much as 28% from 64% in 2011 to 36% in 2015.
Deputy Secretary-General of the ANC, Jessie Duarte, said in December that the ruling party does not support calls for Jacob Zuma to be recalled as president.
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