A motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma by opposition parties is mere politicking, the SA Communist Party in KwaZulu-Natal said on Wednesday.

"The problem is the manner in which they brought the motion. They were not actually dealing with an issue. It's linked to Mangaung [the ANC's elective conference]," provincial secretary Themba Mthembu said.

"They know such a motion would require support of at least 60 percent of ANC MPs and they know that won't happen... Instead, they should have gone to mobilise the masses for support on the ground."

Mthembu warned opposition parties not to intervene in the separation of powers between the judiciary, the government and Parliament.

Democratic Alliance Parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko officially gave notice of the motion on behalf of opposition parties in the National Assembly on 8 November.

She brought the motion on the grounds "that under his [Zuma's] leadership the justice system has been politicised and weakened; corruption has spiralled out of control; unemployment continues to increase, the economy is weakening, and the right of access to quality education has been violated".

She approached the Western Cape High Court on Friday for an urgent application compelling National Assembly speaker Max Sisulu to schedule a debate and vote on the motion before the legislature goes into recess.

Last week, Sisulu adjourned an Assembly programming committee meeting without the debate being scheduled, on the basis that no consensus had been reached.

The other respondent in the application was ANC chief whip Mathole Motshekga, who described the motion at the time as "frivolous and without foundation".

The urgent application was heard in the high court on Tuesday, with Judge Dennis Davis reserving judgment until a National Assembly debate on Wednesday.

He is expected to rule on the application on Thursday morning.

Motshekga, in a statement after the debate on Wednesday, revealed that the ANC in Parliament had agreed to debate the motion, but only next year.

He argued that MPs should be given sufficient time to prepare themselves, because the motion was serious in nature and could have serious implications for Parliament.

"We will impress upon Parliament that this motion be scheduled for debate by the National Assembly on the week of 26 February 2013."

Motshekga said he believed this was a reasonable time-frame.

He said he was aware National Assembly rules dictated that the motion — along with other parliamentary business — would lapse by Thursday.

"As the majority party, we commit to support the revival of this motion, to ensure that it returns back to the House in its current form," he said.

The ANC in the Eastern Cape said the attempt to have a vote on the motion of no confidence was a "political monstrous vanity" by opposition leaders.

"Sadly, as these elected leaders spend time on this lame attempt, they waste time to attend to the matters to benefit the few people that voted for them," spokesperson Mlibo Qoboshiyane said in a statement.

"All of us should understand this motion of no confidence frenzy as a bland political circus with telltale ideological knots."

He said it was premature to rush to the courts as the matter had not been finalised in the National Assembly.

"This continued attack on President Zuma... is a growing cancerous posture with a potential to degenerate our country in the eyes of the world," said Qoboshiyane.