Johannesburg - DA leader Mmusi Maimane has criticised “a flaw” in the constitution that’s keeping President Jacob Zuma in office, despite the clamour for him to step down.
Speaking to The Star during his tour of the Nampo Harvest Day agricultural show in Bothaville, Free State, on Wednesday, Maimane suggested the removal of the country’s sitting president should not be entirely dependent on the National Assembly.
He said state institutions should be used to fight Zuma, who has come under siege following the Constitutional Court judgment that he violated the constitution over the non-security upgrades at his sprawling private Nkandla home.
“We’re going to elections. It’s the biggest protest for people to vote against Jacob Zuma, and ultimately, we’ve set ourselves a system in the country that says the best way to remove a president is through the electoral system,” said Maimane.
He believes voters would remove Zuma and the ANC from power during the municipal elections on August 3.
“That’s how you remove a president. Learn from Africa. Once you remove a president through coups and all sorts of mechanisms, it’s a revolving door that just keeps going. Egypt proves the point.
“I’m not saying it justifies having dictators, but we should rather be focused on the election that’s coming up; go vote out the ANC,” he said.
“Zuma is not an anomaly from the ANC. Zuma is the ANC and the ANC is Zuma. We must never make the mistake to think if we get rid of Zuma we will be fine.
“It’s a collective leadership decision (to have Zuma continuing as president). That means the ANC has beencaptured collectively. We mustn’t fool ourselves into believing we must remove Zuma alone. We must remove the whole ANC. We must remove the whole lot of them,” Maimane added.
While Zuma has apologised for violating his oath of office, some contesting factions within the ANC, including the party’s military veterans, have refused to accept his apology.
On Tuesday, the EFF upped the ante in its campaign to prevent Zuma from ever addressing Parliament, saying he was no longer a legitimate president due to his breaching the constitution.
Maimane was critical of the EFF’s behaviour in the National Assembly on Tuesday, after chaotic scenes which saw blows being exchanged as white-shirted bouncers dragged out the whole EFF caucus. He said such behaviour was excessive.
Zuma has reportedly blamed apartheid for all the violence in the country, but Maimane was rather dismissive, saying: “Of course we’ve got a history of structural inequalities, but the last 10 years of his leadership has been a missed opportunity to redress that. We are the only party that can be trusted to redress that legacy.”
@luyolomkentane
The Star