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Wednesday, February 07, 2018, 09:45
South Africa's ANC party may decide Zuma's fate Wednesday
By Reuters
Wednesday, February 07, 2018, 09:45 By Reuters

This file photo taken on Dec 17, 2017 shows South African and then African National Congress President Jacob Zuma looking on during a plenary meeting during the 54th ANC national congress in Johannesburg. (GULSHAN KHAN / AFP)

JOHANNESBURG - African National Congress leaders weighing the future of South Africa's Jacob Zuma will decide a "matter of serious concern" on Wednesday, a senior official said, heralding what could be a bid to unseat a president besieged by corruption allegations.

Separately, the speaker of parliament said the president's state of the nation address, which had been scheduled for Thursday, would be postponed, piling added pressure on Zuma.

Facing a no-confidence motion in parliament set for Feb 22, Zuma has survived several attempts to oust him in the past

Zuma, whose presidency has been marred by graft scandals and economic decline, has been in a weakened position since he was replaced as leader of the ANC by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa in December.

The ANC has called a special meeting of its decision-making National Executive Committee (NEC) for Wednesday in Cape Town, at which analysts have said some members of the party could call for Zuma to resign.

Facing a no-confidence motion in parliament set for Feb 22, Zuma has survived several attempts to oust him in the past. But this time around a significant part of the ANC wants him to step down well before his second term ends mid next year.

ANC Deputy Secretary-General Jessie Duarte told a news conference that senior party officials who met on Monday would take a proposal to the NEC for discussion on Wednesday, but she declined to disclose the proposal.

"The NWC (National Working Committee) has discussed the issue surrounding the future of President Zuma and the matter that we had discussed will be taken to the NEC," Duarte said, referring to Monday's meeting.

She added that on Wednesday the NEC "will be discussing a matter of serious concern to all of us within the ANC, and of course a matter of great public interest to the people of South Africa."

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