Why we haven’t sacked Zuma: Mantashe
ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe has again defended president Jacob Zuma, despite voicing concerns that the ruling party is losing supporters’ confidence.
Opposition parties failed to have Zuma impeached last Tuesday, following a Constitutional Court ruling that he had failed to uphold his constitutional obligations as president.
143 MPs voted in favour of impeachment, while 233 voted against impeachment with no members abstaining.
The motion needed 66% of the vote, and only managed to capture 38%.
“It is not the Constitutional Court judgement that is the issue. The issue is the trust deficit that has developed, with people beginning to trust us less and less and less and less,” Mantashe said on Sunday.
Speaking at the anniversary of the 1993 killing of anti-apartheid activist Chris Hani, Reuters reported that Mantashe defended the ANC’s rejection of the impeachment drive against Zuma, saying to do otherwise would have served the opposition’s agenda.
“We can’t follow the programme of the opposition forces. It’s unheard of that ANC MPs would vote for that impeachment, it will not happen. The ANC must process these things and take its own decisions,” Mantashe said.
“But it doesn’t absolve us from looking into our own behaviour. There must be change in our behaviour as a movement,” he added. “If we don’t change our behaviour, we become arrogant in dealing with our problems. We are going to pay the price.”
Last week, Mantashe warned that ANC members who speak out against president Jacob Zuma will ‘pay the price’.
President Zuma has announced that the next Local Government Elections will take place on 3 August 2016.
More on the ANC
Speak out against Zuma and pay the price: Mantashe
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