DURBAN - ANC PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa should be removed from his position if the ruling party wants to improve its political fortunes.
This is the view of Edward Zuma, the son of former ruling party president Jacob Zuma, who spoke to The Mercury last week when ANC councillors from eThekwini and uMhlathuze municipalities visited his father.
Edward charged that the ANC’s poor showing at the local government elections last month showed poor leadership under Ramaphosa. He added that failure to act against the president would be disastrous for the ANC.
“You know that when companies are performing badly, the board and the chief executive officer are booted out. The same thing should happen to Ramaphosa because he has done nothing while in office. You saw what happened in the local government elections,” he said.
The view was shared by others who had visited Zuma, with many arguing that the former president had done far better than Ramaphosa. They pointed to how under his presidency, Zuma had rolled out a massive antiretroviral programme which saved many lives.
He cited the failure of state-owned entities such as Eskom, saying they were happening under Ramaphosa’s watch as an example of the president’s inability to lead the country.
Edward is not the only person in the former president’s family to express opposition to Ramaphosa as his half brother Duduzane Zuma has also openly criticised the president, even expressing a desire to challenge him in the next elective conference.
ANC KZN spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela said Edward should follow party procedures if he was unhappy with President Ramaphosa’s leadership.
“The last time I checked, Edward was an ANC member who belongs to a branch and so what he should do is lobby his branch and then the Musa Dladla Region, followed by the provincial structure,” said Ntombela.
According to the spokesperson, the primary focus was to rebuild the ruling party and ensure that the regional conferences were held so that new leaders were elected.
“That is the primary mission at the moment and it should be for members of the ANC, to work at strengthening it.”
Political analyst Makhosini Mgitywa questioned Edward’s standing, arguing that the only reason that people would listen to him is because he is a former president’s son.
“There are 60 million people in this country, possibly the only reason that we know of Edward is because of his father,” said the analyst.
The ANC is expected to hold its national elective conference next year.
THE MERCURY