Has Zuma finally agreed to step down?

As the country eagerly waits to hear about the outcome of a meeting between President Jacob Zuma and ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa held on Tuesday evening, according to a report Zuma has agreed to step down voluntarily.

TimesLIVE reported late Tuesday evening that sources close to the matter confirmed that Zuma will resign as soon as a list of “preconditions” had been finalised in a deal struck between him and Ramaphosa.

The meeting took place at Genadendal, Zuma’s official residence in Cape Town. Ramaphosa and Zuma are said to have met after 4pm alongside ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule.

Magashule told TimesLIVE the meeting between the two presidents had been “constructive and robust”. He said Zuma and Ramaphosa agreed that the decision to postpone the state of the nation address (Sona) was the right thing to do by parliament’s presiding officers.

However, Magashule would not confirm whether Zuma had agreed to vacate office, but other ANC leaders who spoke to the news website indicated that the deal that was struck would see Zuma “go in a dignified way”.

“I was there… I left the two presidents to engage and I joined the meeting towards the end,” he was quoted as saying.

“They also agreed that the urgent NEC [meeting] called should be postponed after their constructive discussion,” Magashule added.

The NEC meeting has been pushed out to the weekend of February 17-18, just days before the scheduled Budget Speech in parliament.

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