David Mabuza and Cyril Ramaphosa.
- Vice President David Mabuza has spoken publicly of his desire to step down as vice president of the country.
- Mabuza, who was not re-elected for a second term as ANC vice-chairman, says he has to make room for his replacement, Paul Mashatile.
- Mashatile is expected to be sworn in as an ANC member of parliament on Monday, with his appointment as the country’s vice president widely expected in the coming days.
Vice-President David Mabuza believes it is logical for him to step down as the country’s second in command to make room for Paul Mashatile, who was elected ANC vice-president at the party’s December conference.
Mabuza spoke publicly for the first time on Saturday at a family funeral in Mpumalanga, telling worshipers that he had informed President Cyril Ramaphosa that he had resigned as the country’s vice president.
Mabuza said that he has to make room for Mashatile because he was elected to the conference. He also confirmed that he had spoken to Ramaphosa about his resignation and the two had an agreement that he would resign.
“I’m making room for the pick in the conference because I can see he (Mashatile) is making some moves as well. So now I’m in a hurry to give them room as well. I spoke to the president and told him I would.” resign,” Mabuza said Saturday.
“The president will say that Mabuza resigned. He (Ramaphosa) and I had an agreement. I said that I would respect the president until he leaves, so I left and I think those who remain will continue to respect him.
Mashatile was elected at the ANC’s national conference in December, immediately raising suspicions of an impending cabinet reshuffle. The ANC prefers to align its political leaders with government deployments, ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula said earlier.
Mabuza, for the past few weeks, had withdrawn from ANC government and political meetings.
He was not present at the ANC celebrations on 8 January in Bloemfontein, nor was he present at an ANC national executive committee lekgotla.
On Thursday, he sent an apology citing his family’s funeral as the reason he was unable to attend a two-day cabinet lekgotla at the presidential guest house in Pretoria.
READ | David Mabuza absent from lekgotla cabinet due to family bereavement, says his office
Mabuza’s public confirmation of his desire to step down as president follows a series of political events that saw Mashatile confirmed as an ANC Member of Parliament.
The ANC vice-president is expected to be sworn in on Monday in Cape Town.
At least four ANC MPs have resigned since the ANC began making changes to its parliamentary lists. The resignations affected the provincial legislatures of Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. These changes were seen as a move to help get Mashatile and other ANC MPs into Parliament.
The swearing-in ceremony for the new MPs was expected to be accompanied by Ramaphosa’s announcement of a cabinet reshuffle.
