The African Transformation Movement (ATM), revitalised by a recent Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA) victory, has submitted a motion of no confidence against President Cyril Ramaphosa for the second time in a one year.
Why is ATM pushing for a vote to oust Ramaphosa?
ATM, a small political party with only two seats in Parliament, has been a thorn on the side of the president. As reported by News24, the political organisation led by Vuyolwethu Zungula has tabled a motion of no confidence to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, calling for the House to vote the president out of office.
The first attempt was made in February 2020 but a prolonged court process over the party’s insistence on a vote by secret ballot delayed matters. Then-Speaker Thandi Modise dismissed the application but was overruled by the SCA earlier this week.
In its ruling, the appeals court found that Modise’s insistence that ATM had to motivate why a motion of no confidence against Ramaphosa must be by secret ballot was “fundamentally flawed.”
“She (Modise) asked the wrong question. It was ‘has the ATM discharged the onus to convince me to decide that a vote by secret ballot should be held’. That question implied a point of departure that, absent the discharge of such an onus, a vote of no confidence in the president should be by open ballot. She did not ask ‘what would be the best procedure to ensure that members exercise their oversight powers most effectively’ as regards this particular vote of no confidence, given a conspectus of the reasonable and legitimate circumstances obtaining at that time which could assist in arriving at that decision,” the SCA ruled.
Ultimately, ATM want Ramaphosa booted from office due to a number of perceived failures, including:
- irregular expenditure in government and state-owned entities (SOEs) increased to R61.35 billion in the 2018/2019 audit period, from R50.1 billion in the previous year;
- the continual collapse of SOEs;
- Ramaphosa misled the nation about loadshedding;
- gross mismanagement of the economy so that there has been a loss of confidence by local and international investors;
- an increase in corruption, inequality, and unemployment;
Ramaphosa motion of no confidence could be by secret ballot
The small political party agreed that Ramaphosa’s term has been marred with unfortunate events like the onset of COVID-19 but, in the their view, someone had to be held accountable for the country’s continuous down spiral.
“The ATM acknowledges that its challenges regarding the president are heavy. The ATM stands by its complaints about the president and his conduct,” the party wrote to Mapisa-Nqakula on Tuesday.
The decision to pass the motion rests with the new Speaker who, by virtue of the SCA ruling, will be under pressure to consider ATM’s insistence on a secret ballot.
If passed, it could spell for an uncertain period for the president who, at surface level, appears to have been unable to bridge unity among ANC branches.
Parliament is in recess and will only reopen in 2022, and more than likely, the motion of no confidence against Ramaphosa will be considered then.
