Ask ANC’s top six leaders why Zuma is still president – Mashatile

Only the governing party’s top six leaders can explain to South Africans why it has been so hard to remove President Jacob Zuma from office amid mounting calls for his resignation, says ANC Gauteng chairperson Paul Mashatile.

“Why is it difficult to remove Zuma? I think that’s the question that must be answered by the NEC [national executive committee]. Our position in Gauteng is known; I don’t have to repeat it,” Mashatile told EWN in an interview.

He said the ANC had weakened its position as the leader of society, saying leaders of the party would have only themselves to blame should Africa’s oldest liberation movement lose power to opposition parties in 2019.

The ANC can still lead society, but people’s belief in the party is slowly dying, and that’s the ANC’s own doing, Mashatile said.

“I agree that we’re no longer a leader. I think we have weakened and should correct that to reclaim our position as the rightful leader of society.”

Mashatile also said the recent political developments within the ANC were “worrying”, saying the heckling of Zuma at Cosatu’s main Workers’ Day rally in Bloemfontein on Monday exposed how deep the crisis within ANC was.

The ANC in Gauteng is said to be backing Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa as the party’s next leader and wants Zuma to step down.

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