Zuma should get taste of own recall medicine

On SEPTEMBER 22 2008, ANC president Jacob Zuma shocked the country when he announced the decision of the party’s national executive committee to recall the country’s president.

The reasons for Thabo Mbeki’s recall – ANC’s speak for forced resignation – are worth revisiting given ongoing public calls for Zuma himself to step down or be recalled.

Zuma’s booing at Mandela’s memorial service has fuelled national debate about his suitability to hold office beyond May next year.

At issue is whether the factors that led to Mbeki’s effective dismissal in 2008, are applicable to Zuma in the current circumstances.

It is fair to make a judgment on this matter based on the precedent-setting statement Zuma made about Mbeki’s recall.

Zuma explained that the decision to recall Mbeki was “one of the most difficult decisions the NEC has ever had to take in the history of the ANC”.

He went further: “We fully understand that the decision comes with a degree of pain to comrade Mbeki, his family, friends, members of the ANC, ordinary South Africans and members of the international community with whom we interact.”

Zuma said Mbeki had devoted decades of his life to the ANC and the country.

“The decision to recall him was not taken lightly, but it had to be taken in the interests of making the country move forward.

“The country needs a strong and united ruling party at the helm of government, capable of galvanising support for the government’s development agenda.

“As a ruling party we need to sustain confidence of our people in the ANC and its government. Once this level of confidence has weakened, the ANC has no alternative but to take action.”

Mbeki was given an advance hint of the impending outcome of the NEC decision and had indicated willingness to comply. Zuma praised him for this.

“The ANC prides itself on having leaders who rise to the occasion, who put the organisation and the country first, no matter how challenging the circumstances,” Zuma said.

“We appreciate the cooperation of comrade Mbeki and the dignified manner with which he conducted himself during this difficult situation.”

In the absence of any other explanation, Zuma’s statement remains the only available public record that contains reasons for asking Mbeki to resign a few months before the end of his term.

The statement gives the impression that under Zuma’s leadership, which began in Polokwane, the ANC aspires to higher standards never seen before.

This is despite the many domestic and international achievements South Africa recorded under Mbeki. In his statement, Zuma listed a number of these achievements: under Mbeki, the country recorded the highest economic growth since World War 2 and won the rights to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

More interestingly, Zuma also stated that Mbeki, building on the legacy of icon Nelson Mandela, “has definitely created a strong foundation for the ANC to successfully contest the elections”.

This contradicts the earlier remark by Zuma that under Mbeki, the ANC was no longer able to sustain confidence of our people in the ANC and its government. Mbeki, according to Zuma, had effectively weakened the ANC.

The contradictions notwithstanding, let’s assume Mbeki’s weaknesses outweighed his strengths – and that’s what Zuma wanted to say.

With the ANC’s criteria of firing a sitting head of state as outlined by Zuma in mind, let’s turn to the current political situation.

First, has Zuma united the ANC? There is a false sense of unity, but the disintegration of party structures are there for all to see. The ANC Youth League has all but collapsed. The alliance is in tatters – a reflection of the state of the ANC. The ANC in Gauteng is struggling in vain to curve an autonomous posture in a bid to duck the cancer that is spreading from the centre.

Second, has the ANC under Zuma sustained the confidence of the people in it and in government? If views expressed by social media commentators, radio callers and writers of letters to newspaper editors are anything to go by, Zuma is failing to sustain public confidence in both the ANC and government. For this decline in public confidence, it would be hard for Zuma to apportion blame to any of the senior officials in the ANC or government. Dissatisfaction at the ANC and government is primarily driven by discontentment at Zuma’s own conduct.

Is the ANC and the government it leads stronger under Zuma?

Zuma’s government is the largest in the history of the country, guzzling billions of rands to maintain it. Yet, it is very weak and lacks coherence.

So, will Zuma be recalled by the ANC given the fact that based on his own criteria of removing a head of state, he is a very ripe candidate?

He won’t be recalled because he is at the helm of the party. When Mbeki was recalled, he had just been voted out as head of the party.

In addition, Zuma is not yet a lame duck, although he will get this status early on after the elections.

Only then will his lieutenants begin to look around for someone to rally around in exchange for appointments. Well, that is if they haven’t already begun to get closer to Cyril Ramaphosa.

Mpumelelo Mkhabela is the editor of the Sowetan