SOUTH AFRICA'S ANC DECIDES TO REMOVE ZUMA AS HEAD OF STATE
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South Africa's President Jacob Zuma and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa stand behind a statue of former |
Since Deputy
President Cyril Ramaphosa was elected party leader in December, Zuma has faced
mounting calls from his party to end his scandal-plagued second term scheduled
to run out in mid-2019.
The 75-year-old Zuma
has been South Africa’s most controversial president since the end of
white-minority rule in 1994, overseeing a tumultuous nine years marked by
economic decline and numerous allegations of corruption.
Zuma is said to refuse party’s request for him to resign
Decision taken during 13-hour meeting of ANC’s top body
The party’s
executive committee has the authority to order Zuma to step down as head of
state, although there is domestic media speculation that he might refuse.
Ramaphosa, 65, went
to meet Zuma late on Monday before returning to the meeting that sealed the
president’s fate.
“We decided to
recall Zuma. He hasn’t been told yet,” the senior ANC source said.
“Cyril went to speak
with him,” the source said, adding that when Ramaphosa returned to the meeting,
“the discussions were tense and difficult on whether to recall Zuma.”
The decision to
remove Zuma was widely reported by local media.
ANC officials and
Zuma’s spokesman could not be reached for comment.
Pressure rise on social
media & everywhere in South Africa against Zuma.
Will never get over this.— SocialTrends🇿🇦™ (@SocialTrendsZA) February 9, 2018
Trevor Noah on President Jacob Zuma and Guptas
#ZumaExit#Zexit pic.twitter.com/C5HubjllKB
The SABC state
broadcaster, citing sources, reported that Ramaphosa met Zuma to pass the
message that the ANC’s executive group had given him 48 hours to resign as head
of state.
Local news service
Eye Witness News reported, citing sources, that when Ramaphosa went to see
Zuma, the president said: “Do what you want to do” when asked whether he would
agree to resign or face a recall.
The African National
Congress (ANC) has recalled President Jacob Zuma of South Africa. He has been
given 48 hours to resign.
If he refuses to do
so, he will face a confidence vote in Parliament on February 22, which he's
expected to lose.
Zuma’s tenure as
president officially runs until mid-2019 and he has not said in public whether
he will step down voluntarily. Zuma no longer holds a top position in the
party.
The rand, which has
tended to strengthen on signs that Zuma could step down early, was volatile on
Monday as the political drama unfolded.
ENGINEERED MBEKI‘S REMOVAL
Zuma himself
engineered the ouster of former President Thabo Mbeki in 2008 shortly after
taking the helm of the ANC.
Mbeki was also
“recalled” by the ANC, ending a nine-year rule marked by economic prosperity
but marred by allegations of abuse of power.
Since becoming
president in 2009, Zuma has been dogged by scandal.
Some within the ANC
and the opposition say the Gupta family, friends of Zuma, have used their links
with the president to win state contracts and influence Cabinet appointments.
The Guptas and Zuma have denied any wrongdoing.
India’s Bank of
Baroda, which counts the Guptas as clients, has announced plans to exit South
Africa, the central bank said on Monday.
Ramaphosa has put
the focus on rooting out corruption and revitalizing economic growth since
defeating Zuma’s preferred successor, Zuma’s ex-wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, in
the ANC leadership race.
Source: Reuters
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