Following the announcement by ANC secretary general Ace Magashule yesterday that the party’s NEC had taken the decision to recall president Jacob Zuma as the state leader, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba reiterated the decision in a CNN interview late last night.
However, the two statements shared by Magashule and Gigaba contained contrasting pieces of information.
Firstly, during yesterday’s presser at the ANC’s headquarters in Johannesburg, Magashule had said no deadline had been given for Zuma to respond to the call made by the NEC, but Gigaba said the state president was given until 10 am today.
“There is an ANC caucus tomorrow [today] in the national parliament where members of the ANC will deliberate on the issue and plan on the next way forward, it’s going to take place an hour after President Zuma would have addressed the nation at 10 o’clock in the morning,” Gigaba said during his interview.
Furthermore, Magashule had said that the NEC had not discussed the matter of removing Zuma through a motion of no confidence should the state president refuse to heed the call made by the NEC.
However, Gigaba said should Zuma refuse to resign the NEC would employ “mechanisms” it put in place to address such an eventuality.
This Magashule labelled as “opportunistic manoeuvers by the opposition in parliament,” during his announcement yesterday.
Opinion makers were of the view that Magashule, an ardent Zuma supporter, appeared conflicted when announcing the NEC’s decision to recall the state president.
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