President Jacob Zuma is facing calls to step down after a minister offered a motion of no confidence at a meeting of the ruling ANC’s national executive committee, two newspapers reported on Sunday.
Tourism minister Derek Hanekom proposed the motion on Saturday, the Johannesburg-based City Press newspaper reported, citing people within the party it didn’t identify. The meeting adjourned late on Saturday in Pretoria, with the discussion and a possible vote deferred until Sunday, the final day of the meeting, the newspaper said.
The debate began about lunchtime and ended late, the Sunday Times said, citing people it didn’t identify who were at the closed-door meeting.
On Friday, the ANC’s national working committee agreed to hold a consultative conference as part of a policy conference to take place in mid-2017, the paper reported. The decision was made after a meeting with party veterans who have expressed concern about the direction the party has taken under Zuma.
Zuma, 74, has faced calls to quit since the nation’s top court ruled in March that he violated his oath by refusing to repay taxpayer money spent on the renovation of his private home.
Pressure has mounted since the graft ombudsman released a report on 2 November that implied Zuma may have let members of the Gupta family influence cabinet appointments, and called for the establishment of a judicial inquiry commission to determine whether there had been any wrongdoing.
Zuma and the Guptas deny intentionally violating any laws. — (c) 2016 Bloomberg LP
