Minister calls for Zuma to resign NEWS24/CITY PRESSPresident Jacob Zuma’s future as ANC president was left hanging by a thread after tourism minister Derek Hanekom stunned Zuma and his backers when he tabled a motion for him to step down at the party’s national executive committee meeting yesterday.
Late Sunday night, the meeting had been adjourned with the discussion around a vote deferred to yesterday, the last day of the national executive committee sitting.
City Press has learnt that those set on removing Zuma were lobbying for a secret ballot to determine the president’s fate. A secret ballot could be the nail in Zuma’s coffin as it would empower those who fear a backlash.
The national executive committee has always been considered a safe space for Zuma as it was believed his supporters dominate the structure.
“The secret ballot is not a done deal. We won’t let it go down without a fight,” said a pro-Zuma national executive council member.
This fierce battle to force a defiant Zuma out came a day after the ANC’s stalwarts persuaded the party’s national working committee to table a proposal for a soul-searching national consultative conference to be held as early as June.
This conference will double up as a policy conference.
Insiders said there had been a discreet lobby to table the motion of no confidence ahead of the scheduled NEC meeting. “There was a lot of lobbying even at lunch. The issue is that people can’t defend the indefensible,” said a senior ANC leader.
“A lot of people didn’t attend, but some left because they didn’t want to be accused of having been part of the cabal that removed Zuma. They didn’t want to nail their colours to the mast.”