SACP+Statement+on+axing+of+Jacob+Zuma




 * Tuesday, 14 June 2005**

=SACP STATEMENT ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT TO WITHDRAW JACOB ZUMA AS DEPUTY PRESIDENT=

The SACP national secretariat participated today in an extended ANC NWC in which ANC president, cde Thabo Mbeki, informed us of his decision as state president to withdraw cde Jacob Zuma as the deputy president of the country. The SACP respects the right of the president to appoint or remove members of his executive.

In the coming period, cde Zuma must be accorded the full dignity and respect he deserves. The SACP salutes the role he has played within our movement and in government, both within our country and internationally.

The SACP has consistently called for an end to a situation in which the deputy president is tried in public without being afforded a chance to do so for himself in a credible court of law. Last year the Public Protector in a report endorsed by Parliament came to a similar conclusion, finding that cde Zuma’s rights had been violated.

The uncertainties and divisions provoked by this matter within the alliance and within the ANC itself are, in part, the consequence of a situation in which it has been said by one of the organs of state that there is a prima facie case against cde Zuma, while at the same time he has never been charged. As the SACP we are calling for a credible judicial process in which cde Zuma will be afforded the right to state his own side of the story. Such a process will help to remove any suggestion of hidden political agendas behind this whole episode.

The SACP will continue to pursue the goal of deepening the cohesion of our alliance, based on a principled commitment to our shared programmatic goals. There are many important lessons that we need to derive from the current situation, among them is the imperative of ongoing engagement and discussion within the ANC and across the alliance in regard to the major challenges and problems facing us as a movement.


 * CONTACT:**
 * Kaizer Mohau**
 * Media Liaison Officer**
 * South African Communist Party (SACP)**
 * Tel: 011 339 3621/2**
 * Fax: 011 339 4244/6880**
 * Cell: 073 571 7528**
 * Email: Kaizer@sacp.org.za**
 * Website: [|www.sacp.org.za]**