Over 805 000 e-mails have been sent to the Democratic Alliance’s newly launched online platform lobbying the African National Congress National Assembly caucus to support next week’s motion of no confidence debate in President Jacob Zuma, the DA said on Sunday.
The DA’s campaign to mobilise public support for its motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma is well on its way to securing over a million votes.
The official opposition is asking South Africans to write to African National Congress (ANC) Members of Parliament (MPs) asking them to support the motion by using their new microsite.
The website allows users to send a pre-written email directly to over 50 members of parliament…
Here’s
Dear honourable member of the ANC caucus,
I write to you as a member of the public concerned with the direction in which our country is going under President Zuma.
South Africa is no longer the beacon of hope to the world that it was at the dawn of our democracy; our economy is in crisis; and the constitution, the foundation of our democratic state, is increasingly coming under threat from a government that appears to have lost respect for the Rule of Law.
The President’s recklessness with the economy has cost South Africa dearly – 8.3 million South Africans are without jobs, or have giving up looking for jobs, and the vast majority of these are young people. Since the President took office in 2009, unemployment has increased from 31.7% to 34.4%, economic growth has fallen below 2% on average, and the Rand has depreciated greatly.
I have no confidence in the President’s ability to turn our economy around and create jobs and opportunities for the millions of South Africans who are without them. As long as he remains in office I believe that we will not be able to build an inclusive, free society.
On the 1 March 2016 the National Assembly will be debating a Motion of No Confidence in President Zuma.
This is not only a vote of confidence, but a vote of conscience. I urge you to put your loyalty to building a better South Africa ahead of your loyalty to President Zuma, and vote in support of the motion.
Yours sincerely
The DA had also written to National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete asking that voting in the motion of no confidence be carried out via secret ballot to ensure that MPs were not threatened with fear of internal persecution and were able to vote with their conscience.
Zuma’s recklessness with the economy, including his disastrous decision to fire finance minister Nhlanhla Nene, had devastated South Africa’s economy and employment market, he said.
“Further, our online petition supporting the motion and our call for all 72 ministers and deputy ministers to be excluded from the vote on the motion due to the glaring conflict of interest between their official responsibilities and their private interests has over 15 000 signatures,” DA chief whip John Steenhuisen said.
This coupled with revelations of “SARS Wars” brewing between the presidency, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, and the ANC – which sent the rand plummeting last week – were clear indicators that Zuma was not fit to hold public office.
“A motion of no confidence is the best mechanism to ensure that President Zuma is removed from the presidency, and the DA urges members of the ANC who are deeply dissatisfied with President Zuma, to do what is right for South Africa and vote with their conscious on Tuesday,” Steenhuisen said.
For more info or to join the movement… click here.
No confidence whatsoever!