/ 8 November 2016

ANC on no-confidence motion against Zuma: It has no chance of succeeding

After years of wrangling
After years of wrangling

A motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma “has no chance of succeeding” when Parliament votes on Thursday, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said on Tuesday.

The vote was called by the Democratic Alliance (DA) last week after the public protector’s State of Capture report called for a judicial inquiry into allegations of influence-peddling in the government.

“The DA has now made this an annual and frivolous ritual that is fast losing its meaning,” Mantashe told a media briefing, referring to the no-confidence vote.

“This vote of no-confidence has no chance of succeeding.”

He added that the report did not find anyone guilty and that calls by the opposition urging Zuma to quit over its findings were “premature”.

The report by the public protector stopped short of saying crimes had been committed, but said a judge should investigate whether Zuma, Cabinet members and some state companies acted improperly in their dealings with the controversial Gupta family.

Zuma denies granting undue influence to the Guptas, who run a business empire from media to mining, or anyone else. The Guptas have also denied any wrongdoing.

The scandal highlighted in the report has rattled investors in South Africa and raised the risk of the stagnating economy’s credit ratings being downgraded.

Zuma (74) has already survived two no-confidence votes related to other scandals this year. The ANC controls about two-thirds of the 400-member assembly.

But discontent with Zuma’s scandal-plagued presidency has widened fissures within the ruling party and played a role in the ANC suffering its worst electoral losses since the end of apartheid in municipal polls in August.