ATM leader Vuyo Zungula has requested that National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula reconsider placing the motion of no confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa on the agenda without delay.
THE AFRICAN Transformation Movement (ATM) has resubmitted its motion of no confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
This comes after the recent judgement by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) that directed that the ATM’s request for a secret ballot on the vote of no confidence be referred back to Mapisa-Nqakula for fresh consideration.
Mapisa-Nqakula previously indicated that she would await the ATM to proceed with its motion before considering it afresh and making a decision after consulting all the relevant stakeholders.
On Wednesday, ATM spokesperson Sibusiso Mncwabe confirmed that his party has resubmitted the motion following the SCA ruling.
“There is thorough consideration the court took into consideration when granting the matter to our favour,” Mncwabe said.
“We have resubmitted it and we are waiting for the Speaker to process it accordingly. We have no intentions whatsoever to withdraw with it. We are going ahead with it,” he said.
In an e-mail sent to Mapisa-Nqakula, party leader Vuyo Zungula requested that she reconsider placing the motion of no confidence in the president on the agenda without delay.
Zungula said since Ramaphosa took the reins, irregular expenditure in government and state-owned entities (SOEs) increased to R61.35 billion in the 2018/2019 audit period, from R50.1 billion in the previous year, and SOEs continue to collapse, without anyone being held accountable for this gross behaviour.
He also said the president misled the nation about load shedding when he promised that it would be a thing of the past.
“The president has grossly mismanaged the economy so that there has been a loss of confidence by local and international investors; under the president’s watch there has been an increase in corruption, inequality, and unemployment.”
“The ATM acknowledges that its challenges regarding the president are heavy. The ATM stands by its complaints about the president and his conduct,” he said in the e-mail.
In his original motion tabled in February last year, Zungula had advanced similar reasons for the removal of Ramaphosa from office.
He had alleged that Ramaphosa had misled the country when he said there would be no load shedding between December 17, 2019, and January 13.
Zungula had listed alleged failures by Ramaphosa to act against Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and the Eskom board for assuring him that there would be no load shedding during the period, only for the dreaded power blackouts to return a few days into the New Year.
Other grounds in Zungula’s motion included the R500,000 donation made by the late Bosasa chief executive Gavin Watson for his presidential candidate campaign to be ANC president.
– POLITICAL BUREAU
