[ad_1]
From left to right: ATM General Secretary Thandisizwe Khaluka, President Vuyolwethu Zungula and National President Mandisa Mashiya.
POLITICS
The African Transformation Movement (ATM), whose motion of no confidence against President Cyril Ramaphosa was granted and will be debated next week, has asked Parliament Speaker Thandi Modise to reconsider her decision that the motion be voted on in an open vote. .
“It is in the public record that at least two MPs from the opposition party, Tebogo Mokwele and Nkagisang Mokgosi from the EFF, were removed from Parliament by their own party because they were found to be beneficiaries of the CR17 campaign fund.
“This is reason enough to suspect that more parliamentarians could be beneficiaries of the funds from the CR17 campaign, which could make it difficult for them to vote. [openly] against Ramaphosa, after personally benefiting. In fact, they could risk their lives and their livelihoods, ”said Vuyolwethu Zungula, ATM leader.
He added that in the current climate of political assassinations and purges, it would be prudent for Modise to ensure the safety of all MPs when casting their votes.
However, Zungula admitted that the ATM could not “offer concrete evidence” to justify why the vote should be secret. The party initially presented its case in favor of a no-confidence motion against Ramaphosa in February.
Voting openly can show the [beliefs] of some members and thus expose them to serious consequences, even before the national general council
Vuyolwethu zungula
Be that as it may, in a press release on Friday, the ATM stated that it was the “firm opinion of the party that the conditions that empower the Spokesperson to exercise her discretion regarding the secret ballot are abundant.”
The party argued that “it was also public knowledge that some within the majority party [the ANC], for them [own] reasons, they no longer support the reign of President Ramaphosa. ” As such, a secret ballot would allow disgruntled ANC members to avoid being swayed by party pressure and instead express their discontent confidentially.
“Recent factional battles in the ANC are too numerous to list here, but the crucial one was the burning of an ANC shirt with Ramaphosa’s face on it. [during a recent protest by the EFF].
Furthermore, the recently announced ANC national general council means that the party’s national executive members, including Ramaphosa, will face rigorous evaluation. Voting openly can show the [beliefs] of some members and thus expose them to serious consequences, even before the national general council, ”said Zungula.
The ATM was also unhappy that Modise’s office only responded to the open ballot question on Thursday, when its decision on the matter appears to have been made more than eight months ago.
Read: Ramaphosa will face the first vote of no confidence next week
“Your letter dated March 5, 2020, which the ATM received yesterday, November 26, after our request for it, has a reference. It is not our intention at this stage to dwell too long on the anomaly of receiving such an important letter at such a late stage. [However]It is also inexplicable that the Spokesperson’s office to date has been unable to provide ATM with either an email trace or a physical copy of the record where an ATM official could allegedly have signed this letter.
“Therefore, we put on record that the date of official receipt of said response is in dispute and, therefore, should not be assumed as a common course. We request the Spokesperson to continue investigating this matter and advise the ATM on the outcome of said investigation, ”the party said.
|
||||||
 |
