ANC Orders Zuma To Step Down As South African President

South Africa’s ruling party ordered Jacob Zuma on Tuesday to step down as head of state but gave him no firm deadline to go, setting the stage for a potential fight to wrest him from power.

Leading members of the African National Congress now want new party leader Cyril Ramaphosa to replace Zuma, ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule told a news conference. That appeared to herald the end of the road for a leader whose near decade in power divided Nelson Mandela’s post-apartheid ‘Rainbow Nation’.

Magashule said the party’s national executive was split on precisely when Zuma should step down. Zuma had promised to respond to the order by Wednesday, Magashule said.

The rand currency weakened, with traders blaming uncertainty caused by the lack of a clear timetable.

In explaining its decision to order Zuma to leave power, the ANC did not refer directly to the scandals surrounding his presidency. But it said his continued presence could “erode the renewed hope and confidence among South Africans” since the choice of new party leaders in December.

There was confusion on Tuesday evening over whether Zuma would address the public. Privately owned eNCA TV said Zuma would hold a media briefing at 10:00 a.m. local time (0800 GMT) on Wednesday, but an anchor on the state broadcaster SABC said the presidency had denied plans for such a briefing.

Zuma’s spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Since becoming president in 2009, Zuma has been dogged by scandal. He is fighting the reinstatement of corruption charges that were dismissed before he became president over a 30 billion-rand (now $2.5 billion) government arms deal arranged in the late 1990s.

Source: Reuters