We have no doubt this frivolous motion will fail, says ANC

The ANC remains confident that its MPs will not vote in support of a motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma.

This was despite National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete pronouncing that the long-awaited vote would be held via a secret ballot.

"The ANC reiterates its stance that we have full confidence in the ANC caucus and individual MPs deployed by the ANC," said party spokesperson Zizi Kodwa in a statement.

Prior to her announcement on Monday, Mbete — who herself has ambitions to become ANC president — told the Sunday Times about the difficulty she was experiencing in deciding whether to have the vote held in the open or in secret.

Mbete had risked further court action by opposition parties if had she had decided to hold an open ballot.

There were already two damaging Constitutional Court judgments pertaining to Mbete’s decision-making as speaker — one on Nkandla and the other on the secret ballot matter, where she had argued that it was not within her power to allow for one. Yet another judgment against her could potentially damage her already slim presidential ambitions.

Should Zuma be voted out on Tuesday, Mbete becomes acting president for 30 days until the chief justice calls a sitting to elect a new president.

Opposition political parties had been pushing for the vote to be in secret, arguing that ANC MPs feared voting openly against Zuma as they were threatened with disciplinary action should they fail to toe the party line.

The ANC national executive committee has laid down that line, saying no MP should vote against its president and with the opposition.

"We do not [doubt], nor have we ever doubted, their loyalty and discipline in relation to the decisions of the movement. Accordingly, we have no doubt that this frivolous motion, which has been hyped up by opposition parties as some sort of Damascus moment, will fail like many before it," Kodwa said.

However, the ANC said it would abide by the Speaker’s decision.

Kodwa said the ANC appreciated that the opposition existed to oppose the ANC, its policies and its programmes.

—  The ANC national executive committee has laid down that line, saying no MP should vote against its president and with the opposition

"The ANC welcomes the opportunity to once again use the occasion of the debate on the motion of no confidence to speak to these successes, which are daily lived reality for many of our people," Kodwa said. "Where there are concerns with the leadership of the ANC, the ANC will continue to engage and work with our people to resolve these challenges in the interest of the country as a whole.

Kodwa added: "Our primary focus remains on advancing the gains of our democracy and driving radical socioeconomic transformation to the benefit of all in SA." Kebby Maphatsoe, president of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association and ANC MP, said the ANC’s top six was expected to attend the caucus meeting ahead of the secret ballot vote.

Maphatsoe said even though it was a secret ballot, ANC members knew they could not remove themselves from power. He said ANC MPs could not be instructed by opposition parties on how to vote.

MPs such as Makhosi Khoza, Pravin Gordhan and Derek Hanekom had spoken out in support of the motion of no confidence. Maphatsoe said the ANC expected members who had been vocal on the matter to vote for the motion of no confidence, but that he did not think they will reach the number of MPs needed for the motion to succeed.