Most South Africans want a new president, an honest president who will work hard with labour organisations, business, civil societies and its own National Treasury to prevent any further credit rating downgrades.  The decision rests in the hands of 50 ANC MPs in Parliament who need to support the motion of no confidence in the current president, just 50 people will determine whether a minority oppresses the majority and pushes South Africa into an economic abyss or not. 

There is a valid argument on the table that the ANC must present a united front.  To survive, any political party should resolve its own factional fighting internally and not in a public arena. However, right now, we are living through unprecedented times never envisaged by those who drafted the Constitution in 1994.  South Africa has once again become beholden to minority oppression.

And hence, ahead of the vote in Parliament, each and every ANC MP right now should be asking himself or herself the following five questions:

• Do I want to preserve the noble legacy of the ANC as a liberation movement which freed the majority from the oppression of the minority and served the people of South Africa?
• Do I want an ethical, moral, strong and principled ANC which maintains majority rule in the 2019 elections?
• Do I want to proudly explain to my children, grandchildren, family and friends how under my watch South Africa thrived economically, providing them with quality education and well-paying jobs?
• Do I want a president I am proud of, who puts the interests of South Africa ahead of his or her own, who respects the Constitution and who will work tirelessly for the ANC and for South Africa so that it can, once again, take its rightful place as a world leader in democracy?
• Do I want to retire from Parliament with my head held high, having done the right thing, in compliance with the law and my own conscience?

Or, as an alternative:

• Do I want to betray the legacy of Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu and so many others who lost their lives to ensure that minority will never again oppress the majority?
• Do I want it to be known that on my watch the ANC lost the majority rule of South Africa and fractured to become a spent force?
• Do I want to explain to my children, grandchildren, family and friends why, on my watch, they have poor education, no clean water, no decent homes, no jobs?  Why crime is higher, why food costs more, why their lives are not better?
• Do I support a president who puts his own personal financial interests ahead of everything else, including the interests of the country he swore to serve, a president who cannot be trusted to keep his word, a president who shames the ANC and South Africa?
• Do I want to retire from Parliament with my head hung in shame, having supported a minority oppressing the majority once again?

Make no mistake, the minority is once again in charge of South Africa.

Vote with your conscience, your soul, your God and with the knowledge that the whole of South Africa is behind you. Vote without fear of losing your jobs.  Those who walk out of Parliament with their heads held high, even if they are expelled from their positions, will be embraced by South Africa. We will not forget you and what you have done for the country. You will not be left on your own. We promise. DM