ANC majority in Parliament sees Zuma breeze through no-confidence vote
A motion of no-confidence brought against President Jacob Zuma by the opposition Democratic Alliance was defeated by 225 votes to 99‚ with 22 abstentions.
The motion was brought by the leader of the opposition‚ Mmusi Maimane‚ who said: “This is not an easy time in our country. It is the most difficult period we have had to endure in the 22 years of our democracy. So many of our people are jobless‚ hopeless.”
“Our people are on the ropes and they are reeling from one blow to another.
“What the ANC doesn’t get‚ is that every time it plays the race case‚ it diminishes itself.
“They don’t see that slowly but surely the people of South Africa are beginning to realise who the real sell-outs are.
“The biggest sell-out in our country is none other than president Zuma‚” said Maimane.
The UDM’s Bantu Holomisa said: “The current war between the receiver of revenue and the finance minister in which the president is involved is taking this country into the dustbin.”
Julius Malema’s EFF boycotted the debate. The party said in a statement it refused to “legitimise a morally and politically compromised President of the ANC” by participating in the debate.
The ANC’s Mathole Motshekga defended Zuma‚ saying he had been elected by “more than 11 million South Africans“. He was repeatedly interrupted by opposition MPs asking points of order.