Unless Zuma resigns, recall is not worth the paper it is printed on, says Maimane

Opposition parties still want President Jacob Zuma to be removed through a vote on a motion of no confidence in parliament and not by simply being recalled by the ANC.

While the ruling party’s alliance partners welcomed the national executive committee’s decision to recall Zuma, the Democratic Alliance said the announcement alone could not force the president to resign.

“This recall is an internal ANC resolution, and nothing more. It has no effect on Jacob Zuma’s current status as president of the Republic, and can be simply ignored by Zuma. Unless he tenders his resignation, this recall is not worth the paper it is printed on,” noted DA leader Mmusi Maimane.

The ANC must also explain exactly why it wants to recall Zuma, said United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader Bantu Holomisa.

Unimpressed by the ANC claiming it wanted to handle the matter in a dignified manner, the opposition leader said this did not put the ANC’s leadership in a good light.

“That dignified approach exposes who they are, because they made it clear that to them, Zuma has done nothing wrong. So why are they recalling him? Even Zuma is puzzled.”

This view was supported by trade union federation, Cosatu, which also wanted the party to back the EFF’s bid to vote Zuma out in parliament.

“While the idea of not humiliating him was gracious, we think the time has arrived for the ANC to put the country first. We call on them to recall the president using parliamentary processes and if it means supporting the motion of no confidence that was tabled by the EFF, so be it,” it said yesterday.

Maimane reiterated its call to have the tabled motion of no confidence later this month, which it wanted to be followed by having parliament dissolved.

“The only way to remove Jacob Zuma as president is for parliament to do so through a motion of no confidence.

It is parliament that elects and removes a president, not the ANC.

Therefore, the EFF’s motion of no confidence, provisionally scheduled for February 22, must be treated as a priority and brought forward to within this week, in order for parliament to remove Jacob Zuma.”

– simnikiweh@citizen.co.za

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