President Zuma
JOHANNESBURG – President Jacob Zuma’s suitability to continue leading the ANC will continue to be discussed by the party’s executive council on Monday.
The national executive committee (NEC) extended its gathering by a day after Derek Hanekom, minister of tourism, tabled a motion of no confidence in Zuma.
eNCA understands that the NEC will continue to debate the motion on Monday.
It is believed that cabinet ministers in the NEC are divided on the matter, while the so-called premier league reportedly supports Zuma.
Many analysts believe Zuma has the numbers to survive one of the most bruising discussions against his leadership.
“The veterans never wanted the consultative conference to deal with President Jacob Zuma, it wanted to deal with the body politic in the ANC,” said political analyst Karima Brown of a gathering between the party’s stalwarts and the national working committee.
“We must remember that the big prize for the governing party is remaining in power in 2019; if it continues in its current trajectory and simply anoints another person but the political system that operates in the ANC and the DNA that makes the ANC remain, the same people will reject it.”
Another analyst, Prince Mashele, said the apparent disagreements among senior members of the party was a positive sign.
“It is actually good that we have ministers who are rising against him [Zuma]. Here we have a situation of Zuma destroying the country against a few courageous women and Cabinet members who are prepared to say, ‘I will never allow history to record me as part of those who destroyed South Africa’,” Mashele observed.
– eNCA