Ekurhuleni – Stalwarts and veterans of the ANC have said it is wrong for the party to expect its members of parliament to vote along party lines when a motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma comes up in the National Assembly next month.
The former leaders of the party told delegates at the South African Communist Party’s 14th congress, currently underway in Boksburg, that the ANC national executive committee needed to provide leadership.
“The NEC should ensure that when parliamentarians go to Parliament on August 8 to decide on whether or not there is a vote of confidence [against Zuma], in effect, what is being asked of members of parliament is to decide between South Africa and the president, to decide between our NDR [national democratic revolution] and the president,” said Trevor Fowler, an ANC veteran and former municipal manager for the City of Johannesburg.
The ANC had issued an ultimatum to its MPs warning them that if they didn’t vote against the motion to have Zuma removed, they could face possible disciplinary charges.
MP Makhosi Khoza has come under fire from some and has had both her life and those of family members threatened due to her request for National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete to allow for voting to be done using a secret ballot.
“It can’t be correct because we know people who are committed to our democracy will have a difficult choice to make,” Fowler said.