The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Monday, reiterated its call for President Jacob Zuma to resign, along with “incompetent” cabinet ministers.

The trade union federation said it welcomed higher education deputy minister Mduduzi Manana’s resignation over the weekend, in the wake of assault charges against him for allegedly beating up a woman at a Johannesburg nightclub.

“Cosatu has noted the resignation of Higher Education Deputy Minister Mduduzi Manana after allegedly being given an ultimatum by President Jacob Zuma. We welcome this resignation and believe that it will send a strong message to men in general, especially those in positions of power to learn to treat women with respect and also to stop gender based violence,” said spokesperson Sizwe Pamla.

“We hope that the president can also exact the same pressure to other incompetent and failing ministers in his cabinet. We would like to see ministers such as [Mineral Resources Minister] Mosebenzi Zwane, [Public Service and Administration Minister] Faith Muthambi, and [Social Development Minister] Bathabile Dlamini also being held accountable for their failures. The president himself needs to step down and such a decision will be very helpful to the country and its economy.”

Pamla added that the country had a “cult political system” where anyone can get away with anything as long as they are in Zuma’s good books.

He said South African cannot afford to have “selective accountability”.