Less than half of the ANC NEC still support Jacob Zuma – report

Though he’s used to being the figure of widespread derision across South Africa, Jacob Zuma now faces a very real, insidious opposition: over half of the National Executive Committee members for the ANC no longer support the president.

The findings were presented in the Friday edition of the Mail & Guardian and provide a damning commentary for the divide JZ is causing within the party.

Out of 106 NEC members, 54 have expressed their opposition to Zuma between now and November 2016. That equates to 51% of the committee.

During the last NEC meeting, support for the ANC leader was as good as unanimous. However, that was back in November 2016, and a self-destructive six months including bizarre sackings, an economic downgrade to ‘junk status’ and a string of allegations around state capture have weakened Zuma’s position significantly.

Trade union federation Cosatu has publically denounced the president, booing him off stage at a May Day rally and recently banning him from speaking at future events.

Read: Zuma barred from speaking at any future Cosatu events

His most high-profile detractors from within include his secretary and treasurer generals ( Gwede Mantashe & Zweli Mkhize), and his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa, who saw the sacking of Pravin Gordhan as the straw that broke the camel’s back.

ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said that while no official discussion over a Zuma recall has been tabled, they will have to acknowledge the issue and talk about it at some point:

“We can’t ignore developments [such as] the May Day rally. This is the first NEC since that meeting. The National Working Committee did reflect on that.

“The issue of May Day rally will arise through the NWC report. The recent announcement by Cosatu to exclude Zuma will also be discussed in that context. The first issue is that alliance relations are at an all-time low. There is no dispute about that.”

Read: State Capture is ‘a myth’, anti-Zuma marchers are ‘liars’ – minister