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Hope Papo. Picture: Deon Raath
The ANC in Gauteng wants President Jacob Zuma to reflect deeply and
“do the right thing” to resolve the unprecedented crisis facing the governing
party in light of a damning Constitutional Court judgment that he violated the
Constitution in his handling of Nkandla.
The province held its extended provincial executive committee
meeting yesterday, during which Zuma’s apology was accepted but a decision was
taken that he must resign.
This was said in a summarised statement that took hours to prepare
as leaders battled to agree on the exact wording.
In the final statement, issued this afternoon, ANC provincial
secretary Hope Papo said the ANC had already paid a price during the 2014
elections due to, among others, the anger of the electorate over the
multimillion-rand security upgrades to Zuma’s Nkandla home in
KwaZulu-Natal.
“As the ANC we have to do deeper introspection and take
far-reaching decisions that will repair the damage to our image and [so the
party will] continue to enjoy the confidence and trust of our people,” he
said.
“The provincial executive committee reiterated that the ANC had
earned its leadership of society through the struggles and sacrifices of its
members and supporters over generations. It is in that context that our
president Comrade Jacob Zuma should reflect deeply and do the right thing to
resolve the unprecedented crisis that the ANC currently faces. The ANC has never
taken the support of our people for granted and was founded to defend and
advance the rights of our people.”
Papo said that the provincial leadership believed that Zuma’s
apology was “just the beginning of dealing with the political damage and
mistrust caused by the mismanagement of the Nkandla matter”.
There has been mounting pressure for Zuma to step down from the
public and the opposition. ANC veterans – including Ahmed Kathrada and church
leaders – have also spoken out against Zuma, calling for his removal.
Some ANC branches in Johannesburg echoed the sentiments that Zuma
had become a huge liability and must make way for a successor.
Papo said the ANC was “recognised as a central mobiliser, organiser
and inspirer of a vast popular mass of progressive organisations and their views
are important to us”.
In his apology, Zuma blamed wrong legal advice for his actions and
apologised to the public. This was said to be among the things that irked the
Gauteng ANC.
The provincial leaders would consult with regional executive
committees and branches.
“During these consultation meetings, we will report about the
decision of the national working committee and seek the views of our members and
a broad cross section of sectors of our society,” said Papo.
“The outcome of this consultation process will be discussed with
the ANC national leadership.”
Last week, the ANC’s extended national working committee accepted
Zuma’s apology and its members of Parliament quashed a motion of no confidence
brought by the opposition against Zuma.
ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe had warned that removing Zuma
would amount to splitting the party.
This would not be the first time the ANC in Gauteng had defied the
ANC. The province had spoken out strongly about Nkandla and against e-tolls
despite the national leadership supporting its implementation.
Gauteng lost a number of votes in the 2014 elections, partly owing
to these thorny issues.
