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EFF wants no confidence motion against Zuma before Sona or else ...

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Julius Malema. Picture: Cornel van Heerden
Julius Malema. Picture: Cornel van Heerden

The Economic Freedom Fighters wants Parliament to attempt to remove President Jacob Zuma from office before next Thursday’s state of the nation address (Sona).

The party believes that it would be much easier to remove Zuma this time around in light of the Constitutional Court ruling where it successfully challenged the National Assembly and its speaker Baleka Mbete for failing to ensure that action was taken against Zuma following the Nkandla ruling by the same court.

In a letter to Mbete, seen by City Press, EFF leader Julius Malema warns that if the motion is not scheduled before Sona, his party will raise the matter during the address.

Sona is only eight days away and the EFF has written to Mbete “emphatically requesting” that a meeting of political party leaders convened by her which is scheduled for February 6 – two days before Sona and to discuss Sona – should “necessarily schedule” the motion of no confidence to be held prior to the Sona.

“This is largely informed by the fact that there are serious political developments, and court judgments which necessitate an urgent parliamentary sitting to entertain a motion of no confidence against Mr Jacob Zuma,” writes Malema to Mbete.

“These relate to, but are not limited to the court judgment of impeachment and the establishment of the judicial commission of inquiry on state capture. The EFF is of a firm belief that Parliament will reasonably reach a different conclusion on a motion of no confidence than in any of the previous sound attempts to rescue South Africa from an individual,” adds Malema in his letter dated January 30.

Malema says that a state president who is destined for a judicial commission of inquiry could not be a suitable head of state and government, which is legislatively and practically defined by extremely busy programmes.

Malema argues in his letter that Zuma’s suitability to continue in the office of the president was more of an urgent question now than a state of the nation address to be delivered by a incumbent who is on a verge of commissions and trials.

“Mr Zuma should not be allowed to deliver the Sona prior to a decision on whether Parliament still has confidence in him to continue as a president.”

He requests Mbete to start processes of rescheduling Parliament’s programme.

“Failure to do so will leave us with no option but to take up the issue during Sona,” he warns in the letter.

Malema’s letter also indicates that the EFF wrote to Mbete earlier this month tabling its motion of no confidence in Zuma.

Zuma relinquished his ANC presidency last month after serving two terms as the head of the governing party and Cyril Ramaphosa was elected as the party’s new leader.

Debate has been raging inside and outside the ANC on whether he should continue as the president of the republic.

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