On Tuesday, ANC ally, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) called on President Jacob Zuma to step down. “Cosatu no longer believes that the president is the right person to lead the country and the movement ... the time has arrived for him to step down,” said Cosatu general-secretary, Bheki Ntshalintshali. “Cosatu no longer believes in his leadership abilities.” Ntshalintshali was briefing the media in Braamfontein after a special sitting of Cosatu’s central executive committee on Monday. The federation has blamed Zuma for the country’s downgrade by S&P Global Ratings on Monday. Cosatu discussed last week’s Cabinet reshuffle and used three guiding questions to assess its decision: whether the reshuffle was in the best interests of the ANC and the country; if it takes the fight against corruption forward; and if it was based on merit. Ntshalintshali said Cosatu’s answer to each of these was “No”. The influence of the Gupta family on Zuma and the Constitutional Court ju...

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