Introduction

Calls for the president of South Africa to either step down or be removed from office have become a regular feature of South African political discourse ever since the ANC Polokwane conference. Such calls have emanated from various quarters including sections of the tripartite alliance, the opposition parties and from sections within the ANC itself. However, since the ruling of Judge Nicholson last Friday, 12 September 2008, on the Zuma application, such calls have increased in both intensity and volume. The calls now appear to be linked to certain comments made by Judge Nicholson in his judgment. Whilst making it clear that the judgment was not a comment on whether the ANC president was guilty or not, Judge Nicholson nonetheless, had some critical words to make regarding possible interference of the executive with the NPA. The judge also appears to lend his weight behind calls for a commission of inquiry on the arms deal. The SACC does not underestimate the enormous implications of this state of affairs.

Our Concerns

The SACC is concerned that seemingly, the judge's ruling and comments are currently being reduced to one more weapon in the political battles within the ruling party and between the ruling party and the opposition parties. While the president of the Republic is deployed to National Assembly by the ruling Party, it is important to note that the president of the Republic is president of the whole country and not merely of the ruling party or parliament alone. Any prospect of his recall or impeachment is therefore, a matter of national significance beyond the politics internal to the ruling party and parliament. In our view, the recalling or impeachment of the president will lead to the collapse of the current executive and would plunge the country into an avoidable and unnecessary crisis. The negative political and economic repercussions of such an induced collapse are too ghastly to contemplate. Indeed, it is our view that the calls for the impeachment of the president, and the manner in which they have been made, have already damaged the reputation of the country and the confidence of its citizens.

Our Plea Regarding the Ruling of Judge Nicholson

The SACC pleads with all South Africans and all political formations, including the ANC and its alliance partners to:

• Respect the judgment handed down by Judge Nicholson.
• Refrain from making unhelpful and irresponsible deductions from the ruling of Judge Nicholson and his comments.
• Desist from using the judge's ruling and comments as a basis for party-political programmes of action which may plunge the country into an avoidable political crisis.

We further plead with the NPA to consider national interest s and implications in the processes and recourse they might deem necessary to pursue.

The SACC wishes to further plead with the members of the National Executive Committee of ANC which will be meeting at the weekend to live up to the ANC track record which, in challenging times, has always put the country and its welfare before the interest s of either the party or individuals within it. It is our view that the calls we have heard made from various quarters within the ANC and its alliance partners for the president of the Republic to be either recalled or impeached are unhelpful. To this end we humbly make a call for the NEC of the ANC and its president Mr Jacob Zuma;

• to put an end to the worrying and irresponsible calls by various persons and sections within the ANC for the president of the Republic of South Africa to be impeached,
• not to lend weight to calls for the president to be removed including the calls for early elections,
• to use the space granted by the ruling of Judge Nicholson to provide leadership aimed at reconciling and not further dividing the ANC and the country,
• to contribute to the peaceful transition which will follow our scheduled elections by allowing the president of the Republic to complete his term of office.

For further information please contact: the General Secretariat (011 241 7804) or Prof TS Maluleke, SACC President (082 925 5232).