South Africa, President Jacob Zuma has survived a no-confidence motion at a meeting of top officials of the ruling African National Congress. Zuma is facing mounting pressure not only from within the African National Congress (ANC), but also from opposition parties and civil society since he replaced Pravin Gordhan as finance minister in March.
Senior ANC party members called for a motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma because they were unhappy over the president’s decision to fire respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan. That has led to credit rating downgrades and fuelled discontent among traditional allies such as the labour federation Cosatu.
Top officials of the ANC have been meeting this past weekend and the party is due to hold a press briefing later Monday on the outcome.
It’s the second time in six months that Zuma has faced a motion of no confidence from his own senior leadership. But he again faced down the attempt thanks to support from other top party officials.
Zuma’s not in the clear yet. He also faces a motion of no confidence in Parliament and an attempt to impeach him from opposition parties. He is scheduled to step down from the ANC helm in December but his term as South African president is due to run until 2019.
