Opposition leaders: Zuma is 'corrupt and broken'

Opposition parties painted President Jacob Zuma as "corrupt and broken" while appealing to ANC members to vote him out of office during a debate on the motion of no confidence in Parliament.

DA leader Mmusi Maimane fired the first salvo‚ saying: "I never imagined that one day I would be here‚ in this Parliament‚ fighting a new form of oppression - a corrupt system that keeps our people imprisoned in poverty."

"If you had told me that one day our democratically elected President would end up corrupted and captured by a criminal syndicate‚ I would've never believed you.

"But here we are. We may have travelled along different roads‚ but we have arrived at the same destination. We all have a chance today to do what is right‚ what is just and what is honourable."

Maimane said many people are tired of talking about Zuma and the Guptas.

"And that is why we tabled this motion - so that we can move on from this disastrous chapter and focus on the things that matter for our people‚" Maimane said.

Maimane said since the dawn of democracy‚ the stakes had never been higher.

"Our state has been captured‚" he said.

"We know this from the hundreds of thousands of emails that have been leaked.

"As a result‚ our economy is in recession and our country has been downgraded to junk status."

While the corrupt‚ Maimane said‚ quickly exchange their stolen rands into dollars‚ it is ordinary South Africans who are hit hard.

"The choice we face today is simple‚" he said.

"Will we allow one family‚ aided and abetted by our President‚ to take everything we have from us?

"Today we either do what is best for our country‚ or we turn our back on it."

Maimane called on ANC MPs to overcome their fear and to show courage when the people of this country need them.

"I am asking you to vote for hope‚" Maimane said.

"The hope that we can defeat the corruption that oppresses our people‚" Maimane said.

"If we do the right thing today‚ we will give our children a brighter future."

EFF leader Julius Malema made an impassioned plea to the ANC's younger MPs and his erstwhile members of ANC Youth League to think about their future when casting their votes.

Malema labelled Zuma as the "most corrupt individual in the country".

"We are not here today to remove a democratically elected government of the ANC which was voted for by our people in 2014‚" Malema said.

"Whether we like it or not we must at all times respect the wish of the people.

"That's why we are here today to make it very clear that… today is not against the ANC but against the father of Duduzane (Zuma's son).

"We are here to remove Duduzane's father. Duduzane's father is the most corrupt individual in this country."

In Zuma's defence‚ ANC MP Pule Mabe dismissed the motion as a ploy by the DA to remove the ANC government.