Pretoria - EFF leader Julius Malema has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to resign or face the wrath of the opposition parties and some ANC members who will apparently vote in favour of his impeachment in Parliament today.
Yesterday, Malema was adamant that the opposition parties would get the majority vote when Speaker of Parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula tables a report of the Section 89 panel report which found Ramaphosa may have violated the Constitution and his oath of office.
All political parties would then be expected to vote for or against the report, but according to Malema, Ramaphosa “is gone” and he should make way for his deputy, David Mabuza, to be at the helm of the Presidency.
Malema also took a swipe at DA leader John Steenhuisen for submitting a motion to dissolve the National Assembly, and calling for an early election following the release of the panel report.
In support of their argument, Steenhuisen said that in the event that the impeachment process goes ahead and rules against him, Ramaphosa had a wholly unsuitable individual, Mabuza, as his immediate successor.
“Mabuza has an international reputation for having killed and stolen his way to the top. He has done nothing of value for South Africa since becoming deputy president. His rise to acting president will deal a further terrible blow to South Africa’s well-being and credibility,” Steenhuisen said.
But Malema vehemently disagreed and asked Mabuza’s detractors to provide proof of their claims. Addressing the media, Malema said the resistance to Mabuza’s presidency was due to the fact that he has no links to the Oppenheimers and Ruperts of this country.
“If DD Mabuza was a murderer, why did Ramaphosa appoint him as his deputy? If DD is corrupt, why did Ramaphosa appoint him as his deputy,” Malema repeatedly asked.
He said Mabuza, on the surfacing of the allegations against him, approached the ANC’s Integrity Committee and asked them to charge him, if they had any proof of wrongdoing against him.
“It was for those reasons that DD refused to be sworn-in as a Member of Parliament. He told them he wanted to be at Luthuli House, but Ramaphosa appointed him as deputy president. DD meets all the requirements to be president.
“He will deliver his Christmas message as president of South Africa,” Malema insisted.
The EFF leader also launched a scathing attack against Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba and the SA Council of Churches for calling for Ramaphosa to remain in office amid the report outcomes.
“If I was a member of the Anglican Church, I would have called for a motion of no confidence against Archbishop Makgoba,” Malema said.
He was equally scathing towards former ANC treasurer-general Mathews Phosa, who wrote an opinion piece in favour of “Ramaphosa’s reign”. Malema insisted that the opinion piece was purely based on Phosa’s long-standing differences with Mabuza.
Malema welcomed the decision of Mapisa-Nqakula to decline the African Transformation Movement’s request to have the voting procedure on the Section 89 independent panel’s report to be held by way of a secret ballot. ATM president Vuyo Zungula had written to the speaker on December 1 requesting that she consider allowing MPs to vote via a secret ballot, following the debate on the Section 89 panel report.
“We welcome the Speaker’s decision. We must vote without any fear. During the release of the report, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said Cyril must resign. Lindiwe Sisulu made the remarks and so did Supra Mahumapelo. They must not be peace-time heroes. They must vote him out.
“The ANC people are going to vote with us. The numbers are looking good,” Malema said.
“If the ANC votes against the S89 report, they would be showing the Constitution the middle finger.”
Pretoria News