Following President Jacob Zuma’s controversial cabinet reshuffle last week, the bishops’ conference in South Africa has said that their country's leader should “earnestly reconsider his position.”
Zuma has faced calls to stand down since his decision last week to sack respected finance minster, Pravin Gordhan, and eight of his critics from the cabinet, deepening splits in the ruling African National Congress Party and causing the value of the rand to plummet.
Noting that Zuma appears to have "lost the confidence of many of his own closest colleagues, as well as that of numerous civil society organisations," the bishops said that the president "should earnestly reconsider his position, and not be afraid to act with courage and humility in the nation's best interests," in a statement released on 3 April.
The bishops are concerned about Zuma's decision-making process and his motivation for shuffling the Cabinet, continued the statement issued by Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town, conference president.
There is a "strong impression" in South Africa that Cabinet shuffles "are done in the interest of the president's political survival and his patronage networks, and not in the best interests of the nation," the bishop’s conference justice and peace commission added.
Gordhan, widely considered an honest steward of the economy and a bulwark against corruption, is said to have annoyed Zuma by blocking suspicious deals and calling for government departments to cut spending.
ANC leaders "must make serious and strenuous efforts to end corruption and patronage at all levels of governance," said the bishops’ statement.
Parliament must be reconvened immediately, they continued, noting "an enormous obligation on our public representatives" to hold the executive arm of government to account.
South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has called for a parliamentary vote of no confidence in the president, scheduled for 18 April. There are also plans for nationwide protest marches to be held this Friday (7 April).
With the ANC retaining a large majority in parliament, Zuma can only be ousted if the ruling party choose to recall him.
ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe told reporters on Wednesday that although the party had "reflected" on the resignation demands, "we won't recall President Jacob Zuma because opposition parties say so. It won't work that way".
However, Gordhan's removal - which also cost the country one of its investment credit ratings – triggered unprecedented criticism from Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa as well as the party's treasurer and several ANC allies.
Ramaphosa, who could succeed Zuma, described the move as "totally unacceptable".
Gordhan was fired due to an “irretrievable breakdown” in relations with the president. Zuma's allies have accused him of thwarting the president's desire to enact radical policies to tackle racial inequality.
His replacement, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba is a loyal defender of Zuma, but has little experience in economics or setting budgets.
Economic growth is South Africa is around zero percent, the tax base is said to be dwindling and at least six million people are unemployed. The rand fell 13 per cent against the American dollar immediately after Gordhan was axed from his post.
Zuma’s presidency has been dogged with scandals since he was elected to office in 2009. He currently faces the reinstatement of 783 corruption charges linked to an arms deal nearly 20 years ago.
Last year South Africa's highest court found that he had violated his oath of office by refusing to keep to an order by the country's graft ombudsman for him to return some of the public money that was spent on upgrading his home, including a swimming pool and a state of the art chicken coup.
In the same year the ANC suffered its worst election result since the end of the apartheid in 1994, losing Johannesburg, Pretoria and Port Elizabeth to the DA.
Zuma’s new cabinet will be sworn in at parliament in Pretoria on 7 April.
PICTURE: Demonstrators protest against South African President Jacob Zuma's firing of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan outside Parliament 31 March in Cape Town.
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