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JOHANNESBURG - No South African cabinet ministers have yet resigned in the wake of President Thabo Mbeki’s resignation, African National Congress chief Jacob Zuma said Monday.
“There has been no minister who has informed us yet that they are resigning,” Zuma told reporters.
His statement came after concerns several ministers were planning to tender their resignations along with that of Mbeki, who stepped down at the request of the party in the interests of ANC unity.
According to the SAPA news agency both Science Minister Mosibudi Mangena and Mbeki
ally and Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad have indicated they will resign in the coming days.
Mangena, the only non-ANC cabinet minister, said the decision to remove Mbeki from office had left the country in a “state of uncertainty and confusion, thereby leading to a crisis in government.”
Pahad’s spokesman Samson Phakwago said the minister would “resign immediately when the president’s resignation is accepted.”
ANC treasurer general Mathews Phosa said Sunday that the party was not planning to oust Mbeki loyalists in cabinet, and wanted them to stay in place.
“No we want them to stay. We are very happy if they stay and we do these things together. We really want stability and we want them to stay.”
Zuma said the decision to recall Mbeki had been “one of the most difficult decisions” taken by the ANC national executive in the party’s history.
While ANC caucus spokesman Khotso Khumalo earlier confirmed Kgalema Motlanthe as the party nominee for president, Zuma said it was for parliament to announce the candidate.
“We have in cabinet many experienced ministers including the deputy president of the ANC, comrade Kgalema Motlanthe. I am convinced that if given that responsibility, he would be equal to the task,” he said.
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