President Jacob Zuma agreed to appoint a commission of inquiry into state capture to defuse calls for him to step down immediately, three ANC officials with knowledge of the matter said.
Zuma met Cyril Ramaphosa, who was elected ANC leader last month, in the southeastern city of Durban on Sunday and agreed to the probe, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the outcome of their talks was not publicly disclosed.
The inquiry will look into allegations that his friends the Guptas were allowed to influence state decisions.
Zuma’s announcement of the commission on Tuesday night complies with an order from the High Court in Pretoria and comes after he undermined his own party’s decision to co-operate by appealing the ruling.
Zuma’s about-turn on Tuesday came before the new ANC national executive committee meets for the first time on Wednesday in East London.
It was hoped that it would lessen the chances of him being removed before the party’s 106th anniversary celebrations this weekend, the people said.
While Zuma’s term as party president ended in December, his tenure as national president is due to end only next year.
His scandal-tainted rule has eroded support for the ANC, resulting in the party’s worst ever showing in municipal elections in 2016, losing it control of the capital Tshwane and the economic hub of Johannesburg.
That has led to growing calls for his exit from senior members of his own party as well as the opposition.
Graft charges
Earlier this week, three of the 86 voting members of the ANC NEC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Zuma’s removal would be raised at Wednesday’s meeting.
While Ramaphosa may not push for it, a call for removal can be raised by any of the members of the NEC.
Calls to Bongani Ngqulunga, Zuma’s spokesman, did not connect.
Zuma, the ANC’s former head of intelligence, took office in May 2009 just weeks after prosecutors dropped graft charges against him.
He has spent years fighting a bid by opposition parties to have those charges reinstated and fending off allegations that he allowed the Guptas to influence cabinet appointments and the award of state contracts.
Ramaphosa’s election as ANC leader helped boost the rand by 11% against the dollar in December, the most among the world’s major currencies. The currency extended its decline to as much as 1%, or R12.4680 to the dollar, on Wednesday after the news.
Ramaphosa is one of the richest black South Africans and is seen as more likely to promote investor-friendly policies.
He accumulated his fortune after going into business and partnering with companies including Glencore and McDonald’s.
Bloomberg
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