Speaker after speaker fails to defend Zuma

ANC members who spoke in Parliament on the motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma gave a clear indication that he may no longer be an asset for the party.

Speaker after speaker from the ruling party's benches failed to defend Zuma or even mention him by name in their quest to discredit the opposition parties' motion. Instead they focused on insisting the motion was part of a regime change agenda.

Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said that goal of the opposition parties was to topple the ANC from power.

"They want to ANC members to help them fulfil their ambition‚" Mapisa-Nqakula said.

"The sponsor of this motion honourable Maimane has said on a number of occasions that Zuma is not the real the target."

Mapisa-Nqakula also said Malema had said their goal was to remove the ANC from power.

"They believe that the time is now ripe for them to further exacerbate the problems of the ANC‚" Mapisa-Nqakula told the House.

"The opposition in this House are doing all they can to further divide the ANC so that we are shadow of what were during the 2019 general elections."

EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu interjected‚ saying: "The ANC will remove itself in 2019. We are saying for this process we are going to remove the father of Edward and Duduzane. Those are the targets we are dealing with now".

Mapisa-Nqakula said the ANC would only be removed from power through a general election.

"We should not use other tactics to get rid of a governing party that would be akin to a coup."

Mapisa-Nqakula said her political conscience told her she had a duty to defend the ANC.

Another ANC MP Pule Mabe said: "you will never convince any conscious ANC MP to vote with you. We are going to educate you on what the ANC stands for."

Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa said the ANC would resolve its own internal dynamics.

"The ANC will not be lectured by the upstarts‚ the start-ups and some Mickey Mouse organisations like yourselves‚" he said.

-SowetanLIVE