South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) confirmed yesterday it had decided to sack President Jacob Zuma, but said leading members had agreed on when he should go.
The ANC’s Secretary-General, Ace Magashule, said the decision to recall Zuma – party-speak for ‘remove from office’ – was taken after “exhaustive discussions”.
The rand turned weaker after the ANC said it had not given Zuma a deadline to resign, softening 0.2 per cent to a session low of 11.9450 at 12:18 GMT from 11.8800 before Magashule’s news conference.
The decision by the ANC’s national executive followed 13 hours of tense deliberations and one, short face-to-face exchange between Zuma and his presumed successor, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Zuma, a polygamous Zulu traditionalist, has been living on borrowed time since Ramaphosa, a union leader and lawyer, once tipped as Mandela’s pick to take over the reins, was elected as head of the 106-year-old ANC in December.
Ramaphosa narrowly defeated Zuma’s ex-wife and preferred successor, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, in the leadership vote, forcing him to tread carefully in handling Zuma for fear of deepening rifts in the party a year ahead of an election.
In spite of the damning decision to order Zuma’s “recall” – ANC-speak for ‘remove from office’ – domestic media say the 75-year-old might yet defy the party’s wishes, forcing it into the indignity of having to unseat him in parliament.
Shortly before midnight, the SABC state broadcaster said Zuma had been told in person by Ramaphosa that he had 48 hours to resign.
A senior party source later told Reuters Zuma made it clear he was going nowhere.
“Cyril went to speak with him; the discussions were “tense and difficult” when Ramaphosa returned to the ANC meeting in a hotel near Pretoria.
Central to the public anger have been the persistent allegations – now the focus of a judicial commission – that Zuma let his friends, the Guptas, use their relationship with him to win state contracts and even influence cabinet appointments.