/ 30 June 2017

Zuma: Only branches can fire me

President Jacob Zuma lambasted those calling for his resignation.
President Jacob Zuma lambasted those calling for his resignation.

Addressing nearly 3 000 ANC delegates in his political overview of the party on Friday, President Jacob Zuma lashed out at his detractors. Zuma used his opening address at the ANC’s national policy conference in Johannesburg to remind individuals who have called for him to step down that they are impotent in themselves, adding that only ANC branches have the power to “hire and fire” him as it is the branches who put him in power.

“You elect a president and some people, who have no right, tell you this president must go. They don’t consult you and you guys just keep silent,” Zuma said.

“You are the only ones who can hire and fire,” said Zuma in reference to a group of people in the ANC national executive committee (NEC) who have called for him to step down as the country’s president. Zuma has faced calls for him to step down from two NEC members, Derek Hanekom and Joel Netshitenzhe, last November and in May this year, respectively. The two were supported by senior ANC leaders including Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, Science & Technology Minister Naledi Pandor, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande and Sports Minister Thulas Nxesi.

Zuma also launched a scathing attack against members of the MK Veterans Council and the 101 Veterans group who have lamented the state of the ANC’s leadership; saying they “weren’t as strong as they portray themselves”.

In his address, Zuma deviated from his prepared speech to lambast party veterans who have called for his removal.

Stopping just short of explicitly doubting the credentials of the likes of Barbara Masekela, Mavuso Msimang, Murphy Morobe and Frank Chikane, saying the group of 101 senior party members — who have called for Zuma to resign and have called for a consultative conference — imagined themselves to be superior to the party’s branches.

“They think branches are just riff- raff … They think they have power over everything,” said Zuma.

Senior party members have called for a standalone consultative conference to discuss the state of the organisation instead of the two days set aside before the policy conference. It was also reported that the veterans had demanded to have discussions only with the leadership of the party and not its branches.

“That’s the reason why they can tell you ‘the president is wrong, we want him out’. They don’t come to you to say ‘you elected this fellow and this fellow is messing up, we ask you to remove him’. They think they’ve got power and everything,” he said.

Dissent against Zuma is of course not restricted to the party.

In April opposition parties and civil society organisations held marches calling for Zuma’s resignation. Even the South African Council of Churches has added its name to the list of those calling for the president to step down.

It is this growing chorus of voices against Zuma that some believe will further cripple the ANC’s chances of obtaining an outright majority in the next general election.

Earlier this week ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe took aim against Zuma for the party’s decline in electoral support.

The Mail & Guardian reported on Friday that Mantashe presented a scathing diagnostic organisational report to the ANC’s NEC in preparation for the party’s policy conference. In it, Mantashe warned ANC leaders not to use the “regime- change agenda” narrative to defend the alleged state capture by the Gupta family.

Zuma also appealed to ANC members to rid the organisation of factionalism and slate politics. He said the governing party needed to fight against corruption and state capture. However, he did not mention a word about the Gupta family, which has been accused of having undue influence on senior government leaders.

Dented by the controversy of state capture allegations that have been made against him and the Guptas, the president said he welcomed the establishment of a judicial commission of inquiry to look into state capture.

“At a political level this debate requires a thoroughgoing analysis of the South African political economy so that we can understand what is meant by state capture,” Zuma said.

“We need to know which business interests have sought to influence the ANC and its government over the years, with what impact and what must be done to end the said capture”.

Noting that the issue of land was one of the “most contentious and emotive issues in our society”, Zuma called for accelerated land redistribution within the ambits of the constitution.

This position was in stark contrast to his previous statements on land redistribution, in which he said he believed the Constitution needed to be amended to allow expropriation without compensation in some cases.

With plans to change economic ownership and participation patterns, Zuma warned ANC members with access to state resources to steer clear of wrongdoing that would perpetuate the “impression” of the ANC being a corrupt organisation.