'Chill While We Do Our Thing', ANC Tells SA

The party will not comment on the meeting between Cyril Ramaphosa and Jacob Zuma.
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and President Jacob Zuma before the start of the cabinet lekgotla.
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and President Jacob Zuma before the start of the cabinet lekgotla.
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The ANC has asked that South Africa and the media allow the party "space" to deal with President Jacob Zuma in its own time.

The party will not comment on the outcomes of a meeting on Tuesday between ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa and Zuma. It also believes that its priorities are not skewed, as its top-six leadership structure embarks on a weekend of celebrations while the country is left without answers on Zuma's fate, or when the state of the nation address (Sona) will take place.

ANC communications manager Khusela Diko, asked if she could provide any details from the meeting, said the outcomes have not been discussed within the organisation yet.

"I know you are not expecting us to discuss this with the media, when we haven't even reported to the ANC... We haven't issued anything. [ANC secretary general Ace Magashule] has indicated that there was a meeting yesterday, and those discussions were constructive and they were fruitful, and that any further information would be communicated," she said.

In an interview with News24 on Tuesday, Magashule is quoted as saying he is confident that the ANC will "do the right thing not to disappoint South Africa".

"South Africans must not worry; the ANC will find its own solutions to the challenges facing the country and the ANC," he reportedly said.

On Sunday, the ANC's top six, led by Ramaphosa, visited Zuma at his home, where they apparently discussed his resignation. It is believed that Zuma refused. On Monday, the ANC's national working committee (NWC) instructed that the party's national executive committee (NEC) meet on Wednesday. It was expected that Zuma's fate was to be discussed at the meeting.

However, on Tuesday, National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete announced that the Sona had been postponed until further notice. After her announcement, Ramaphosa met with Zuma. It was then announced that the NEC meeting had been postponed as well.

On Wednesday, the ANC announced that its top six will be in Cape Town throughout the weekend, visiting communities and traditional leaders as part of their "revolutionary pilgrimage".

Diko denied that the ANC's priorities were skewed.

"The work of the ANC is continuing, so we would not regard that to be any skewed priorities. And there has been very clear communication that once we have processed the outcomes of the meetings between the two presidents, we will communicate it," she said.

"So we are urging the media in particular and South Africans in general to just give us some space to be able to deal with the matters confronting us."

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