'Zuma must not go,' says Mbeki

Former president Thabo Mbeki has said recalling President Jacob Zuma from office will not help the ANC regain support in the country.

Mbeki reiterated remarks made earlier by ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe that the party's national executive committee (NEC) should take collective blame for the decline in the party's support during the 2016 local government elections.

The former ANC president says that, if he were to be asked "What's your opinion of Jacob Zuma? Do you think that he has to go in order for the ANC to increase their dropping vote share?" he would respond: "No, I don't," because Zuma did not make decisions alone.

He said the problems in the ruling party should be blamed on the NEC, of which Zuma is a part.

"There are wrong things that are happening with the ANC, but I think it's the fault of the collective leadership.

"For instance, the ANC has a national executive committee: a body which takes decisions for the ANC between the conferences where the whole party meets, and that is the body that must take responsibility for what's gone wrong.

"Even if you removed President Zuma, let us say just hypothetically, it would change nothing if you didn't change the national executive committee. So you need to look at the whole national executive committee, the decisions and actions they have taken and not taken.

"It is not just a matter of looking at the President of the ANC, I think it is basically a matter of looking at the national executive committee, which includes the president, to see what to do."

Mbeki's remarks echo those of ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu, who last month controversially went public with the call for the whole NEC to resign as a consequence of the decision to take "collective responsibility" for the party's problems. He said that, as consequence, the NEC should collectively resign.

Zuma has been dogged by a number of controversies, both in days leading to his appointment as president of the country and during his term in office. From the Khwezi rape case to Nkandla and Guptagate, the president is now fighting for his continued survival in office.

As we speak, the president is trying to interdict the publishing of the "state capture" report, which sought to discover whether the Gupta family had had undue influence in the appointment of ministers, which should be the job of the president.