Political Expert Says David Mabuza's Resignation Seems to Make President Cyril Ramaphosa Uncomfortable

• Deputy President David Mabuza's resignation has raised a few questions, and political expert Dr Ongama Mthimka has answered a few
• Mtimka explained that President Cyril Ramaphosa may be uncomfortable with Mabuza's resignation announcement
• Opposition parties have also weighed in on the situation and are angered by Mabuza's decision to announce his departure at his brother's funeral

JOHANNESBURG - Outgoing Deputy President David Mabuza shocked South Africans when he announced his resignation at his brother's funeral.

Although there had been media speculation that Mabuza would step down to make way for newly-elected ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile, Mabuza's announcement still seems untimely.

Politics expert says David Mabuza's resignation seems to make President Cyril Ramaphosa uncomfortable

In an interview with Briefly News, Political and Governmental Studies lecturer at Nelson Mandela University, Dr Ongama Mtimka, weighed in on Mabuza's resignation and said it shifts the focus on the change of leadership in the ANC from President Cyril Ramaphosa to be about the entire cabinet.

Read also

President Cyril Ramaphosa must urgently reshuffle cabinet to boost SA’s struggling economy, economists insist

Mtimka added that the president seems rather uncomfortable about Mabuza's announcement, which explains why Ramaphosa may have felt the need to control the narrative by asking Mabuza to stay in office a little longer.

Mtimka further explained that Mabuza's resignation has also pressured the president to find his successor:

"It appears that the president is uncomfortable with it or the manner of its introduction to the public, as such that he felt that he needed to control the messaging. In that way, he is trying to buy time from the pressure the resignation creates to find a successor. In this case, it is most likely Paul Mashatile."

David Mabuza's resignation might have been strategic

The NMU lecturer stated that he would not find it surprising to discover that Mabuza's resignation was all a strategy to force Ramaphosa's hand to appoint Mashatile as the deputy president.

Read also

Paul Mashatile remains tight-lipped about taking over from David Mabuza, says Mabuza is still deputy president

"David Mabuza has found a way to make himself important to factions. Having lost his political power leading up to the Nasrec conference, I think he calculated that he could be of best use to Paul Mashatile," stated Mtimka.

Mtimka further explained that Ramaphosa's reluctance to change the deputy president could be because the president is mindful of Mashatile's potential to create a new "anti-Ramaphosa" faction within the ruling party.

"I don't think he wanted to bring Mashatile with haste, nor did he not want to include him without first establishing some basis for why he excluded him," he explained.

According to Mtimka, Mabuza's resignation took away Ramaphosa's ability to control the narrative and explain why the deputy president of the ANC could not be appointed as the country's number two.

Opposition parties outraged by David Mabuza's resignation announcement

Opposition parties such as the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and the Congress of the People (COPE) say Mabuza's announcement was strange and he shouldn't have announced his resignation at a family gathering.

Read also

ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile and 3 other cadres to be sworn in as MPs, leaving SA annoyed

ACDP's Wayne Thring questioned Mabuza's decision to announce his resignation at a family event and not through the presidency, reports EWN.

"We view his resignation as strange in the sense that his resignation was announced at a family funeral," said Thring.

Thring explained that the president would have made the announcement in typical situations and taken the country into his confidence.

COPE's Dennis Bloem stated that Mabuza's announcement was abhorrent and unacceptable. According to IOL, Bloem added that South Africans cannot accept the situation as it is.

"It is such an abnormal situation. We as the voters can never accept such a situation," said Bloem.

Bloem stated that Mabuza disrespected taxpayers by announcing his resignation at his brother's funeral. He also urged Ramaphosa and the ANC to get their house in order, adding that COPE expects the president to announce Mabuza's resignation officially.

Read also

David Mabuza resigns: From a successful political career to many scandals and 2 other things you should know

Paul Mashatile remains tight-lipped about taking over from David Mabuza

Briefly News previously reported that Paul Mashatile is keeping his cards close to his chest about whether he will be taking over from Deputy President of South Africa David Mabuza.

When quizzed, the African National Congress deputy president said that as far as he's concerned, Mabuza is still the second-in-command of the country.

This comes after Mabuza, in his first public address since the ANC's elective conference, confirmed that he had resigned as deputy president to make way for Mashatile, SABC News reported.

Source: Briefly News