Dlamini says her ‘conscience’ did not land her in parliament

Social development minister Bathabile Dlamini says her "conscience" did not land her in parliament and has called for the defence of the ANC.

Dlamini was addressing the crowd of ANC supporters gathered outside parliament shortly before the results of a vote on a motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma were announced by Speaker Baleka Mbete.

Dlamini was one of several party leaders to address the crowd‚ as ANC MPs rallied around Zuma before the votes were tallied.

Dlamini called on the crowd to show the whole of South Africa "that the ANC is alive" even in the Western Cape.

"And therefore we are here to say the ANC of Albert Luthuli‚ the ANC of Oliver Tambo‚ the ANC of Charlotte Maxeke‚ the ANC of Mahlangu‚ the ANC of Peter Mokaba‚ Lilian Ngoyi is not going anywhere. They will never do anything to it. When we are inside there‚ we didn't get there with our conscience. I haven't put my conscience in parliament‚" said Dlamini.

ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu said in a statement after the failed motion that the parliamentary caucus of the ANC welcomed Parliament’s "rejection" of the DA’s motion of no confidence in Zuma.

"While we respect the right of any party to table a motion of no confidence in terms of section 102 (2) of the Constitution‚ we reiterate that we will never endorse or vote in favour of any motion that seeks to cripple our country‚" said Mthembu.

This was the eighth failed motion against Zuma.

"This motion marks the eighth attempt by the DA to remove the ANC government through a soft coup in Parliament. It has been the publicly stated intention of the opposition to manipulate the legislature‚ usurp the Constitution‚ so as to collapse Government‚ deter service delivery and sow seeds of chaos in society to ultimately grab power‚" said Mthembu.