Zuma dares ANC, insists on staying as president

President Jacob Zuma of South Africa has vowed not to resign in line with the demand of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

The party had asked the president to quit over corruption allegations levelled against him.

But speaking with the South African National Broadcasting Commission (SABC) on Wednesday, Zuma said he would only step down if the ANC top officials can explain what he had done wrong.

“What is it that I’ve done?” he asked.

“I indicated to the top six (executives of the ANC) that what they have raised is not the first time. They have raised it in the NEC itself twice and nobody has ever been able to tell me what the issue is.

“The NEC themselves said that I must resign‚ and I find that very strange that I should do so because this is not the first time that they’ve said this.

“It’s not a new matter. I need to be furnished with what is it that I have done and unfortunately nobody has been able to tell me what is it that I’ve done. There are processes in the ANC that need to be followed if I have been doing something wrong.

“In the discussion‚ I asked‚ ‘What was the problem? Why must I be persuaded to resign? Have I done anything wrong?’ And of course the officials [must] provide what is it that I’ve done‚” he said.

“At the discussion in the NEC nobody was able to tell me what I’ve done. There’s no policy in the ANC and there’s nothing that [says] once there is a new president of the ANC‚ there must be changes. I found it in a sense very unfair to me that this issue has been raised all the time.”

Zuma came under intense pressure after Cyril Ramaphosa, a 65-year-old lawyer and one of the richest black South Africans, emerged as the leader of the party in December.