“It quite clearly shows the ANC supports Zuma, and support him fully”.
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Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom had proposed holding the vote to effectively oust Zuma at a meeting of the African National Congress’s (ANC’s) governing committee, Beeld, an Afrikaans-language daily had reported.
The president, who has survived numerous scandals while in office, has been under renewed pressure since a corruption probe earlier this month unearthed fresh allegations of misconduct.
Mantashe denied reports that the cabinet ministers who said they had no confidence in Zuma had threatened to resign.
It was Zuma’s most hard leadership battle and his survival, despite strong opposition, testified to the political toughness of a man who once served as head of the ANC’s underground military and intelligence wing during the apartheid era.
Earlier the presidential motorcade was seen leaving the hotel.
Sources within the ruling party say the most that will be announced today is Cabinet reshuffle.
Zuma’s travails extend beyond the ANC, which has ruled Africa’s most-industrialized economy since the end of white minority rule in 1994 and controls 62% of the seats in Parliament.
President Zuma, who on Monday was facing a motion to remove him by members of his party, the ANC, has said that the Guptas are his friends but denied doing anything improper. Mantashe said the recalling of former President Thabo Mbeki was a combined decision and now they ANC can not take calls from the opposition parties to fire the President.
Zuma’s political time in office has been overshadowed by scandals, accusations of corruption and a lack of leadership. “He is hanging on while it is clear that large sections of the ANC.no longer want him as president”.
In March, South Africa’s highest court found he had violated the constitution by refusing to repay taxpayer money used to remodel his private home.
South Africa moved closer to a junk credit rating after Fitch Ratings Ltd. on Friday changed the outlook on its assessment to negative from stable and said that continued political instability could result in a downgrade.
“Those set on removing Zuma were lobbying for a secret ballot to determine the president’s fate”, City Press reported. “So now the NEC is showing that the party president is indeed accountable to the NEC”, Jolobe said.
This is the analysis of Peter Attard Montalto, an analyst at the investor Nomura in London.
There are opportunities for the anti-Zuma faction to be disruptive, but Nomura believes there will be little success.
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While some ANC members and alliance partners have already said that they would prefer Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to take over, there are others who are backing Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the current chairperson of the African Union and former wife of Zuma, for the top position.
