Skip to main content

Zuma vows not to resign; faces another no-confidence vote in parliament

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma gestures during a media briefing with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (not pictured) at the Union Building in Pretoria November 26, 2014. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko (SOUTH AFRICA - Tags: POLITICS)
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) would on Thursday initiate a no-confidence motion against President Jacob Zuma at the parliament, local media reports said Wednesday.
The decision came as Mr. Zuma refuses to stand down even after police raided homes of his associates, the Gupta family, in Johannesburg, the country’s commercial capital.
The Guptas, who have been named in a series of corruption probes, are said to be associates of Mr. Zuma, who has led South Africa since 2009.
Some members of the ANC have long asked Mr. Zuma to step down, and the party itself formally took a position on the matter by asking Mr. Zuma to resign.
The party’s Treasurer-General, Paul Mashatile, said on Wednesday that the party is starting “a new era.”
“The conference of ANC has created new hope. Our people want to see change. We want to go with renewal,” Mr. Mashatile said.
He added that the deadline given to Mr. Zuma would expire on Wednesday night.
If Mr. Zuma resigns, the cabinet would stay, Mr. Mashatile said, but should he be removed via a no-confidence vote, the entire cabinet would have to be removed, the ANC treasurer-general added.
Mr. Zuma appeared live on SABC a moment ago to discuss the allegations against him. He denied allegations of wrongdoing and vowed not to resign.
He demanded that he should be told whatever his offences might be and he would take a decision on his future accordingly.
“No, I will not resign,” he said.
The ANC said the parliament could elect another president as soon as Thursday if Mr. Zuma agrees to step down.
Thursday’s no-confidence votes is coming barely six months after Mr. Zuma survived the ninth attempt to remove him from office.
Out of the total 384 parliamentarians that voted in the August 8, 2017 no-confidence motion, about 177 expressed no confidence in Mr. Zuma.
More than half of the voters, 198, opposed the motion while nine lawmakers abstained. The voting shows that the anti-Zuma coalition got some ANC votes but not enough to get a majority to remove the president.
If the Thursday’s motion goes on as planned, it would be the ninth no-confidence votes in Mr. Zuma’s less than nine years in office.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Leaked Memo: Buhari Summons Kyari, Oyo-Ita After FEC Clash

by Punch Newspaper Nov 02, 2017 President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday summoned his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita, over their clash at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The fierce crossfire between Kyari and Oyo-Ita, which occurred shortly before the Federal Executive Council meeting, was believed to have been caused by the leaked memo, which Oyo-Ita sent to Kyari on the controversial reinstatement and posting of the embattled former chairman of the Pension Reforms Commission, Abdulrasheed Maina. A source at the meeting said Kyari accused Oyo-Ita of leaking the memo, which she wrote to the CoS on the reinstatement of Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina into the Civil Service. In the memo, which was exclusively published by The PUNCH on Tuesday, Oyo-Ita said that she warned the President against asking Maina to return to the civil service, saying doing so could affect ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Again, Presidency replies Amnesty International over report on killings

President Muhammadu Buhari The Presidency has accused Amnesty International of drawing “wrong conclusions” in its latest report highlighting the failure of the Nigerian government to check rampant killings in the last three years. The Nigerian Army had earlier dismissed the report, demanding the withdrawal of the group from the country, while the Presidency in its initial response “expressed concerns” about the group’s report. But in a more measured tone Thursday, the Presidency, through spokesperson Garba Shehu, commended Amnesty International for some of its conclusions, but said its evidence gathering was flawed. Read the full statement below: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT, DRAWING THE WRONG CONCLUSIONS – PRESIDENCY The first thing to say about Amnesty International’s Report: Setting the Record Straight is to thank the organisation for confirming a fact stated time and again by President Muhammadu Buhari that the conflict between herders and farmers i...
Post a Comment
Read more

2Baba’s publicist, activists urge Nigerian youth on violence-free election

February 14, 2018 Organised campaign by the Initiative for Africa Youth Advancement Advocacy and Empowerment, IAYAAE, themed "Elections without Bloodbath". A publicist to popular Nigerian pop artiste, Innocent Idibia (2Baba), Efe Omoregbe, on Tuesday called on Nigerian youth to act rather than complain about the state of the nation. Mr. Omoregbe spoke at a programme organised by the Initiative for Africa Youth Advancement Advocacy and Empowerment, IAYAAE, themed “Elections without Bloodbath”. The programme, which held at the premises of the Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Secretariat, Lagos, was put together to sensitise the youth on the dangers of electoral violence. Mr. Omoregbe in his intervention called to the youth to deploy affirmative action and apply knowledge gathered synthetic programme during electioneering. He told the crowd to rise and act by taking responsibilities without trading blames, saying the Nigeria of today is the nat...
Post a Comment
Read more