The SACP is now strengthening its language against President Jacob Zuma and effectively calling for ANC MPs to decide to vote against their own leader.
President Jacob Zuma sits on a chair ahead of the swearing in ceremony of his new cabinet on 31 March 2017 in Pretoria. Picture: Reinart Toerien/EWN
Stephen Grootes | 3 days ago
JOHANNESBURG - The South African Communist Party (SACP) says Members of Parliament who belong to the African National Congress (ANC) caucus in Parliament must not wait for opposition parties to raise the issue of removing President Jacob Zuma but must do the right them themselves now.
The party's already said Zuma has to leave to office after his Cabinet reshuffle that removed Pravin Gordhan as Finance Minister.
At the same time, the Finance Ministry is now giving its reaction to the news that S&P Global Ratings has downgraded South Africa's sovereign credit rating to junk status and Moody's has put the country under review for a downgrade.
The SACP is now actually strengthening its language against Zuma and effectively calling for ANC MPs to decide to vote against their own leader.
Deputy General-Secretary Solly Mapaila says: "We can't be protecting corruption and be protecting irrational decision making by the president.
"The ANC must raise the motion itself and not wait for opposition parties. It's part of the thing they must raise openly."
On Monday, the SACP's central committee discussed how it will execute a plan to effectively oust Zuma.
But this would appear to really put more pressure on Zuma and could lead to massive divisions in the ANC's caucus when and if that meets in the near future.
LISTEN: SACP calls on ANC MPs not to wait on opposition to act against Zuma
GIGABA ASSURES SOUTH AFRICANS
Newly appointed Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba has assured the nation that he is not barging into Treasury to disrupt the work that has been done to avoid a ratings downgrade.
During a South African Revenue Service (Sars) press briefing on Monday, Gigaba says he doesn't believe that a change in the finance ministry would warrant a downgrade.
But on Monday afternoon, S&P announced that it had downgraded South Africa to junk status.
Gigaba held teleconferences with rating agencies on Friday shortly after he was appointed as the new finance minister.
On Monday, Gigaba seemed certain that changing an individual in the ministry would not affect the agencies decision about the country's rating.
"The assurance we give is that we're not a bunch of wild gunmen running amok into National Treasury to do something else. We're going to maintain the programmes that had been implemented."
However, S&P Global downgraded the country to junk status, citing political and institutional uncertainty.
Gigaba says even if he's removed as finance minister he believes Treasury is a solid institution that can withstand any changes.
