Dlamini-Zuma has no regrets over Phala-Phala ‘yes’ vote

She said party-line was a decision reached within the ANC after a debate they had but added the ANC was in “unprecedented times where there was no debate”.

“This was a report that parliament instituted a committee chaired by a very emminent judge. It wasn’t to remove the president but to allow him to clear his name, to answer what questions they have. It was to give the president a chance to answer those questions. That’s how I understood it

“I am a member of the ANC, I joined it when I was still young. I will remain a member. I am not tired of being a member of the ANC. I actually am a very disciplined member of the ANC, a very loyal member of the ANC but I don’t know about a rule that says you can’t express your views in parliament, especially because we weren’t voting on a motion to remove the president but voting to say whether we agree with the report, a report that parliament itself had asked for.

“I read the report and I did not disagree with the report. My vote wasn’t about disagreeing with the ANC,” Dlamini-Zuma said.

ANC chairman Gwede Mantashe warned that those who voted against the party would face the party’s disciplinary processes.

“If I’m a member of the ANC and I don’t want to comply with the rules of the ANC [then] I’m tired of being a member of the ANC. It’s not about expulsion but I am opting out of the ANC,” Mantashe said.