Zuma to deliver Sona, staying put

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma will deliver the State of the Nation address (Sona) and there has been no decision to recall him, said ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule.

Magashule spoke to Independent Media in Durban after the press briefing to introduce KwaZulu-Natal’s ANC provincial task team to take over the operations of the suspended provincial executive committee.

“He will deliver the State of the Nation address as he is still the president (of the country),” Magashule said.

There has been speculation that Zuma, who had allegedly fallen out with the ANC national executive committee, would either be recalled or pushed to resign before the Sona on February 8. It had also been believed that he might deliver the address as his farewell.

However, Magashule said no such decision had been made because ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa and Zuma were still “engaging” each other on the matter.

ANC Veterans League president Snuki Zikalala this week said he was sure that Zuma would soon leave office because the majority of the NEC members had called on him to step down.

But he said this should obviously be done in as dignified and non-humiliating a manner as possible.

Magashule said the future of Zuma did not depend on what the majority of NEC members feel but depended on the outcome of the engagement between both presidents.

“We will wait for the outcome of the discussions,” said Magashule.