Opinion: Jacob Zuma: Where does South Africa go from here?

Last week South Africa’s embattled President, Jacob Zuma, survived another vote of confidence by the country’s parliament.

Zuma, who is the leader of the African National Congress party, won with 198 votes to remain in power and only 177 voting against him. There were also 9 members of parliament who abstained. The closeness of the vote reflects how spilt the South African parliament is on Zuma’s ability to run the country in an effective manner.

Zuma has long been criticized by much of the South African population. Unsurprisingly, this is the sixth vote of no confidence that he has had to endure during his eight years in power. What distinguished this one from previous attempts to remove him was that it was the first time the ballot was secret. While the vote was closer than in previous instances, the secret ballot was still not enough to convince many ANC members to cross party lines and vote against Zuma.

The President has been accused of corruption (not to mention rape and abuse as well) and in some instances has already been disciplined for mistakes he has made. The most significant of these was late last year when Zuma was ordered by South African courts to return over $500000 (7.8 million in South African Rand) to the country. He was found guilty of using the money to make improvements on his homestead in Nkandla. All in all, Zuma could face an astounding 738 corruption charges in a supreme court hearing in September.

This is another missed opportunity for those wanting to oust Zuma. A credit rating downgrade combined with the firing of popular finance minister Pravin Gordham in March has served to create a political firestorm within the country. The inability to remove the President from his position demonstrates just how strong the ANC’s position is in South African politics.

So where does the country go from here? The near future is just as unsure as the past few years have been. Zuma’s term as President of South Africa lasts until 2019, after which he is not allowed to run again as he has been in power since 2009. Complicating things however, is the fact that his term as ANC president ends in 2017. With all the upheaval during his reign, it is no certainty that he is reelected.

The leading members of the ANC are well aware of the turmoil within their ranks and will be focused on wrestling back the political control of the country. The removal of Zuma as their President will go a long way in doing this by helping to repair their image with many voters who feel letdown by the continuing corruption throughout the party. More than anything, finding a stable, new leader for the future is paramount.