ANC caucus statement on motion of no confidence
6 April 2017
The African National Congress in Parliament will vote against the motion of no confidence on President Jacob Zuma by opposition parties scheduled for 18 April 2017.
As members of the ANC in Parliament, we have been inundated with mischievous calls, text messages and emails by faceless individuals and organisations lobbying us to disregard the party line and vote in accordance with our individual taste as dictated by our conscious and lobby groups in the upcoming motion. These calls are not only disingenuous, but also highly unfortunate as they seek to suggest that ANC MPs are free agents open to all sorts of mischievous lobbying and manipulation by the opposition and other forces. The very same opposition making these calls have always voted along party lines yet they expect ANC MPs not to be guided and directed by their political party.
We reiterate that as ANC members of parliament we derive our political mandate from the organisation. We will abide by the decision of the ANC National Working Committee as announced by ANC Secretary General comrade Gwede Mantashe that the ANC does not and will not support this motion.
We will also not be supporting the call for a secret ballot in the motion of no confidence. The Constitution of the Republic is clear that a secret ballot in the House applies only in the process of electing the President, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker. There is no provision in the rules of the National Assembly for such a call. This call is therefore in violation of the laws of parliament as an institution and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
We further note the unfortunate remarks made in certain quarters within our ranks which seek to threaten ANC MPs suggesting that they will be removed if they vote in support of the motion. Such utterances cast aspersions on the political standing of ANC MPs. Our MPs are tried and tested cadres of our movement who in their own name and right within the ambit of the liberation struggle have contributed immensely to the attainment of our democratic dispensation and its advancement. The ANC Caucus has not on a single occasion deviated from its mandate given by the organisation. This is the 5th motion of no confidence by the opposition in this 5th term of parliament. In all of these ‘no confidence motions’ which were defeated, not a single ANC MP voted with the opposition. We express our unqualified and unequivocal confidence in the ANC Caucus and all ANC MPs.
We join our organisation in welcoming the newly appointed and redeployed members of the executive. We are confident that they will execute their tasks with distinction. The ANC Caucus assures them its full support.
We also confirm that we have received the resignation of former Minister of Energy and ANC MP Cde Tina Joemat-Pettersson as a Member of Parliament effective 31 March 2017. The resignation of comrade Tina is the third resignation we have received this week following the resignations of former Transport Minister comrade Dipuo Peters and Former Deputy Finance Minister comrade Mcebisi Jonas yesterday. All these cadres of our movement have expressed their gratitude in having served the people of South Africa and thanked the ANC for having given them the opportunity to do so. The ANC Caucus also wants to thank them for their selfless service to the movement as public representatives. We are confident that they will continue serving the movement in other capacities in future. We wish them well in their future endeavours.
Issued by Nonceba Mhlauli, Media Liaison Officer, Office of the ANC Chief Whip, 6 April 2017
