Gungubele: I will vote against Zuma
The MP will only vote in Zuma's favour if the president seriously addresses the current allegations of corruption he faces.
Parliament file picture
ANC Gauteng provincial executive committee (PEC) deployee and MP Mondli Gungubele says unless President Jacob Zuma and the ANC deal with allegations of corruption before August 8, he would be “dishonest” to vote in support of Zuma during a motion of no confidence debate on the day.
Gungubele, who, together with former finance minister Pravin Gordhan, is a member of a committee tasked with oversight of public entities, was defiant, and accused the ANC of betraying its glorious history and its electorate.
“If the life of the president remains as it is until the 8th of August and the organisation is not dealing with the reports [of corruption and state capture] and the president himself does not deal with those reports, I will be lying if I vote for him during the debate,” Gungubele explained.
Gungubele becomes the third ANC MP after Dr Makhosi Khoza and Gordhan to publicly state they will not comply with the three-line whip notice from parliamentary chief whip Jackson Mthembu or the party caucus’ instructions on the day.
The three-line whip, a tradition derived directly from the House of Commons in the UK, has in recent times been reduced to a WhatsApp group message the office of the chief whip sends out to all ANC MPs before a vote is taken.
READ MORE: KZN ANC formally charges MP Makhosi Khoza with ill-discipline
Gungubele is adamant he will defy all instructions that require him to vote against his conscience.
“There is a difference between the party decision and what the party is supposed to stand for. And what the party stands for has not changed,” he emphasised.
The MP is also unfazed by prospects of being hauled before the party disciplinary committee. The KwaZulu-Natal PEC this week announced the disciplinary hearing against dissident Dr Khosa would take place on August 17.
This is a day before the motion of no confidence that National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete has so far not yet decided if it would be undertaken through the normal parliamentary chamber voting method or through a secret ballot.
“I will leave that to the organisation … I stand by what I said earlier today that I will vote with my conscience.”
He also dismissed speculation that if the EFF succeeds in luring 60 ruling party MPs to vote with the opposition to vote out the president, parliament could collapse.
“That is simply a lie. Should the president be voted out of power, the speaker will take charge, and she will have 30 days in which to appoint a new president. The bureaucracy, the civil service, the judiciary and other arms of government will operate as normal.”
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