A motion of no confidence without a winner, without a loser!

Strange as it may sound, I find it difficult to award a win or a loss to either HE Jacob Zuma, the President of the Republic of South Africa or the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) and the combined opposition which tabled a Motion of No Confidence in the South African President .

Was it perhaps drawn? Let us see why an observer might be somewhat confused.

Had the motion succeeded, Comrade JG Zuma wouldn’t be the President as I write this piece. Had the opposition lost, we wouldn’t have seen the jubilation demonstrated by the opposition benches when the Speaker of the SA National Assembly announced that the Yes votes counted after the secret ballot  conducted , were 177. Nor would we have heard Msholosi thanking only those who voted against the motion; he would have thanked all his party members instead of the 198 who voted against the motion. However one looked at the event in the South African Parliament on Tuesday, August 8, 2017, it was touch and go! Before the motion was debated and voted upon, I had confidently predicted that Comrade JGZ would have a walk in the park. My prediction was that only five or six MPs amongst them the loudmouths, Dr Makhosi Khoza, former Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, former Minister of Tourism, Derek Hannekom, and another would vote for the motion while a few more would abstain. I knew there were more MPs, amongst them, the SACP General Secretary, Blade Nzimande and the Chief Whip, Comrade Mthembu and Minister of health Aaron Motsoaledi who had publicly supported the call for the President to step down. But when Comrades Blade Nzimande and Chief Whip went public that they wouldn’t support a motion tabled by the opposition, aimed at their government, Mthembu going as far as likening those who dared vote against the motion as suicide bombers, I was convinced very few ANC MPs would vote for the motion. My skepticism was supported by the fact that the Constitution specifically provides that a vote of no confidence against the President implies the collapse of the government of the day. I had thought that entertaining such scenario by an incumbent party, MPs would be a bit irrational. I was mistaken, obviously due to ignorance of the disillusionment and degree of loathing the members of the ruling ANC have for their President.

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