Johannesburg - ANC members opposed to state capture, allegedly by President Jacob Zuma and the Guptas, must back the removal of Zuma and save the National Treasury, the DA said on Sunday.
The party also condemned criminal charges laid against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and EFF leader Julius Malema, labelling the charges politically motivated.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane said his party would take part in the legal proceedings to challenge Zuma’s application to interdict the release of former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s report on state capture.
Madonsela was due to release the report on Friday, but Zuma and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Des van Rooyen urgently approached the high court in Pretoria to try to stop its release.
That, according to Maimane, was enough proof that “our nation’s constitution, for which so many people fought and died, is yet again under attack by Jacob Zuma and his cronies”.
“South Africa finds itself in this dangerous space today, not just because of the most recent attempts by the president to undermine and manipulate institutions of state,” Maimane said.
Maimane made the call at the Liliesleaf Farm Liberation Centre Auditorium, the site in Rivonia, Sandton, where ANC leaders Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Ahmed Kathrada were arrested on July 11, 1963 after a raid there.
According to the DA, they chose the venue to show the significance of their call.
“Jacob Zuma has never provided this much-needed leadership, and will not do so in the future. He remains the single biggest impediment to our country’s success.
“That is why it is more important than ever before that Jacob Zuma steps down as president of the Republic. For South Africa to move forward again, Jacob Zuma must go,” Maimane said.
“We call on all those who love our country and our constitution to stand together and echo this plea for Jacob Zuma to resign or to be recalled by his party.”
He called on ANC members, including cabinet ministers as well as Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, to make their voices heard by backing the call.
“The main front in Jacob Zuma’s battle for complete executive control is the Treasury. Without his hands on the purse strings, he is unable to hand out the patronage on the scale that he desires, and push through projects which will be to the benefit of his family, friends and cronies.”
Maimane said preventing the Treasury from being incorporated into “Zuma Inc” was a matter of national importance to protect the constitution and root out corruption.
He also said his party was going to move to defend the Treasury and for Zuma to step down in Parliament in the hope that ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu - who is reported to support Gordhan - would support their motion.
Maimane also said his party would argue strongly in favour of the release of the report on state capture without delay.
Commenting on the criminal charges against Gordhan and Malema, he said: “The timing and nature of charges has left me deeply concerned. While it may be that both these individuals have a case to answer before our courts, one cannot ignore the suspicious timing of the charges, especially in light of the contemptible delay tactics being used by the NPA (National Prosecuting Authority).”
The Star