Firing Zuma 'will be unjust'
2005-06-14 13:28
Durban - A decision to sack deputy president Jacob Zuma after he was implicated in alleged corruption in the trial of Durban businessman Schabir Shaik could have dire consequences for government and the African National Congress.
That is according to a political analyst Dr Alex Amtaika who
is based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
President Thabo Mbeki was expected to make an announcement on
Zuma's future on Tuesday afternoon, but Amtaika said if the deputy president was fired, "it will seem unjust.
"Zuma has not been charged and has not been found guilty.
"Being implicated is very different from being proved guilty."
He said Mbeki was in a dilemma because "he has been preaching clean governance in Africa and championing Nepad" and if he did not act on the Zuma issue it would hang like a cloud over his head.
However, "he is trying to preserve the integrity of the
government."
Amtaika said: "He [Mbeki] will be told 'you cannot deal with the issue of corruption in your own government'."
He said although Mbeki had the power to hire and fire the deputy
president and cabinet ministers, it was a decision that would need a lot of consideration.
"Jacob Zuma being so popular, Mbeki can't just rush to make such a decision. There has to be proper consultation," Amtaika said.
He said if Zuma had resigned it would have saved the African
National Congress from a lot of criticism.
"It would have been the honourable thing to do but he is not
bound by law to do so."
According to Amtaika, Zuma was "revered for negotiating peace in KZN following the 1994 elections."
He said during the struggle Zuma had been head of Umkhonto we
Sizwe, the armed wing of the ANC.
- SAPA