Cabinet ministers must recuse themselves from voting in Motion of No Confidence 

23 February 2016

I have today written to all 72 cabinet ministers and deputy ministers – who are also members of parliament – calling on them to recuse themselves from voting in the Motion of No Confidence in President Zuma, on the grounds of a direct conflict of interest. 

After his disastrous firing of Nhlanhla Nene, and the admissions made by his counsel in the Constitutional Court, President Zuma put it beyond doubt that he is not fit to be President. In the SONA debate, we asked him to resign. However, if he will not do the honourable thing, we believe a Motion of No Confidence is the best mechanism to ensure that President Zuma is removed from the Presidency. 

However, this cannot happen unless members are free from direct conflict and are given the chance to vote with their conscience. At present this is simply not the case. 

Section 102(2) of the Constitution states that the entire cabinet – including all ministers and deputy ministers – must resign if the motion passes. This means that their role as Members of Parliament is in direct conflict with their personal interests of keeping their jobs as ministers and deputy ministers.

If cabinet ministers and deputy ministers were to vote, it would be contrary to section 96(2)(b) of the Constitution, which states that “members of the cabinet and deputy ministers may not expose themselves to any situation involving the risk of a conflict of interest between their official responsibilities and their private interests.”

It is clear that there is a glaring conflict of interest between their official responsibilities and their private interests – in other words whether they keep their jobs or not. Each of the 72 Ministers and deputy ministers must be excluded from the vote for this reason. 

I have also today written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, requesting that the voting in the Motion of No Confidence be done via secret ballot, to ensure that MPs are not threatened with fear of internal persecution and are able to vote with their conscience. 

Those with a direct conflict of interest in the matter before Parliament ought to put the interests of the 8.3 million unemployed South Africans before their own – and do the honourable thing by recusing themselves from voting.

Statement issued by Mmusi Maimane, DA leader, 23 February 2016