In a news conference broadcast by local television on Wednesday (February 14, 2018), South African President Jacob Zuma announced he would soon resign. But Zuma also said he disagreed over the decision of his party, the African National Congress (ANC) that wants him to resign or face a no-confidence vote in Parliament.
The ANC party is struggling to improve the decreasing level of public confidence. According to local media, Zuma, an ANC cadre who has been President in South Africa since 2009, has lost public trust over a string of corruption allegations. Zuma has denied such disgraceful acts. But the high court of South Africa in 2016 once declared Zuma violating the constitution for using state money to finance his private home.
Local police on Wednesday raided a luxury mansion in Johannesburg belonging to a businessman close to Zuma. In addition, Zuma is also awaiting the decision of the Attorney General, whether he will be prosecuted for corruption or not.
As a result of a series of corruption allegations, Zuma then resigned from the position of the ANC Party Chairman. This was welcomed by the opposition as well as colleagues at the ANC, who disagree with him. Nevertheless, the ANC continues to honor Zuma for some positive policies he made as President. In a statement, the ANC said Zuma's withdrawal made the South African situation more certain.
Zuma's position at the ANC was replaced by Cyril Ramaphosa who is currently Vice President. After Zuma stepped down, Cyril was deemed appropriate by parliament to replace Zuma as South African President.
Hopefully, the leadership issue in South Africa can be resolved soon. Regardless of guilt or innocence, Zuma's statemanship has been demonstrated by releasing his post. Now, the challenge of Cyril Ramaphosa is, can he make South Africa better?