Jacob-Zuma
President Jacob Zuma

 

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), has called for the immediate resignation of South African President, Jacob Zuma, saying it no longer has confidence in his leadership abilities.

COSATU, ANC’s alliance partner, had on Tuesday, through its General Secretary, Bheki Ntshalintshali, said that Zuma was no longer capable of leading the African National Congress (ANC), the alliance and the country as a whole.

“We think that after his undeniable contribution to both the movement and government, the time has arrived for him to step down and allow the country to be led forward by a new collective at government level,” Ntshalintshali said.

COSATU is ANC’s second alliance partner to demand for his resignation, after the South African Communist Party (SACP) released a memo on its planned strategies to oust Zuma.

The call for his resignation is coming days after Zuma sacked the country’s finance minister, Pravin Gordhan and his deputy– a move which was cited by Standard & Poors, an economic rating agency, as the reason for the cut in South Africa’s credit rating.

In a related development, reports say the embattled President on Tuesday, called the leadership of COSATU for a meeting to discuss, among other things, the union’s call for him to step down.

However, the union’s President, S’dumo Dlamini, while confirming the report, said the call for a meeting came a little too late as Zuma could have called to consult with COSATU before embarking on a cabinet reshuffle.