Stalwarts of the African National Congress (ANC) on Monday expressed concern that President Jacob Zuma had in the past 48 hours survived a second attempt at the level of the organisation’s National Executive Committee (NEC), to force him to step down.

A significant number of the NEC’s number decided that the recall of the President should not be accepted and therefore, no decision was made.

The stalwarts, who are also signatories of the document titled 'For the Sake of our Future', believe that the ANC’s name has again been tarnished in the eyes of the communities the party is committed to serve.

“There is little doubt that the most vociferous support for the president would naturally have come from those most directly involved in the project of state capture and the associated web of factionalism and corruption,” said the stalwarts in a statement.

They added that Zuma’s supporters had placed their own “narrow political and financial self-interests” above those of the future of the ANC and to the detriment of the best interests of the country.

“The ANC has held the moral high ground in the eyes of our citizens, and internationally, and that is systematically being eroded as was reflected in the last local government results, where even long-standing supporters of the ANC felt they were unable to cast their vote for the party they have supported for so long,” the stalwarts said.  

They called on all MPs to reflect carefully on the way forward.

The group expressed the view, saying it was “acutely aware” of this being the case, that it was not in the interests of opposition parties to be successful in the proposed parliamentary vote of no confidence.

The stalwarts went on to say that if the opposition truly held the interests of the country at heart they would withdraw the motion of no confidence and would allow members of the ANC caucus to formally move a motion of no confidence themselves.

The group promised they would continue to work for the restoration of the historical values and principles of their movement.

“We did not join the ANC to see its historic role destroyed by a small but powerful minority who hold their own self-interest above party and country”.