South Africa’s ruling party, African National Congress (ANC) said on Tuesday that it does not support the call for President Jacob Zuma to step down.
This came after a meeting of the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) in Irene, south of Pretoria, which took place on November 26 to 28 in order to strengthen the unity and cohesion of the party.
During the course of the meeting, three cabinet ministers: Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi, reportedly added their voices to the growing call for Zuma to resign, amid a deepening division within the ANC.
SEE: ANC Tables Motion For Jacob Zuma To Step Down
“On the call for the President to consider stepping down as President of the Republic, the NEC took time to elaborate on what we have previously identified as a negative narrative directed towards the President,” the ANC said according to Xinhua News Agency.
The party said the essence of engagement and discussion is persuasion in order to arrive at a consensus.
As such, the NEC always seeks to persuade one another through argument and does not seek to conclude matters through voting, the ANC said.
“Following robust, honest, candid and at times difficult discussions, the NEC did not support the call for the President to step down,” said the ANC.
