South African President Jacob Zuma has announced his resignation with 'immediate effect'.

It came as the country's governing African National Congress (ANC) prepared to table a motion of no-confidence in Mr Zuma tomorrow.

The ruling party had already asked Mr Zuma to resign.

The party was aiming to remove the president from power so deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa could take over.

Addressing the nation this evening, he said: "All my life I have served, and I will continue to serve the ANC in its pursuit of the national democratic revolution."

He added: "I fear no motion of no confidence or impeachment, for they are the lawful mechanisms for the people of this beautiful country to remove their president.

"I've served the people of South Africa to the best of my ability. I am forever grateful that they trusted me with their highest office in the land. But when I accepted the deployment I understood and undertook to subject myself to the supreme law of the land - the constitution."

After a lengthy speech, he confirmed: "I have come to the decision to resign as president of the republic with immediate effect.

"Even though I disagree with the decision of the leadership of my organisation, I have always been a disciplined member of the ANC."

The recent moves against the president by his own party came after police raided the home of a business family linked to President Zuma, describing it as a "crime scene."

The powerful and wealthy Gupta family are suspected of using their ties to the president to influence cabinet positions and land state contracts.

The embattled president has faced a number of corruption scandals and was replaced as ANC leader in December.</s>Jacob Zuma resigned as South Africa President Wednesday night, heeding to orders by the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

This news came as a shocker to many as Zuma had stayed put over the last few days amid pressure and turmoil from ANC.

ALSO READ: South African police raid Gupta home, pressure cranks up on Zuma

His resignation brings to an end his nine year scandal-plagued years in power.

In a televised speech, Zuma said “ I have served South Africa to the best of my ability. I am forever grateful that they trusted me with their highest office in the land. When I accepted the deployment, I understood and undertook to subject myself to the supreme law of the land- The Constitution.”

Yesterday, South African Parliament rescheduled the motion of no confidence against Zuma to Thursday (today) at 2pm as he remained adamant on not resigning.

The 75-year-old who has been in office since 2009, said he disagreed with the way the ANC had shoved him toward an early exit after the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as party president in December.</s>South African President Jacob Zuma has announced he is resigning after nearly nine years in power. His decision, stated during a nationally broadcast address Wednesday, hands power to his deputy and the leader of the country's ruling African National Congress, Cyril Ramaphosa.

"No life should be lost in my name. And also the ANC should never be divided in my name," Zuma said during his speech. "I have therefore come to the decision to resign as president of the republic with immediate effect."

The address had begun with jokes but quickly turned grave as he spoke about his commitment to the country and to the ANC, his political party. The group had recently exerted tremendous pressure on him to resign the presidency he has held since 2009, voting earlier in the week to recall him amid allegations of corruption and signaling its intention to support a no-confidence motion against him.

"I must accept that if my party and my compatriots wish that I be removed from office they must exercise that right and do so in the manner prescribed by the constitution," Zuma said. "I fear no motion of no confidence or impeachment for they are the lawful mechanisms for the people of this beautiful country to remove their president."

The decision marks an abrupt about-face from remarks he offered earlier Wednesday in a long and rambling interview with state broadcaster SABC. During that hourlong conversation, he said he had no intention of stepping down — and repeatedly denied that he was defying his party.

At the time, he also stated that he has not been provided with any clear accusations of wrongdoing: "There's nothing I've done wrong," he said. "What is the problem? I don't understand. ... I don't think it is fair."

During his resignation announcement later in the day, he reiterated his objection to how the party had handled the past few weeks.

"I disagree with the decision of the leadership of my organization," he during the address. But he added: "I have always been a disciplined member of the ANC."

The party had been pushing for Zuma to step down ahead of the end of his term next year. The longtime leader had something of a checkered tenure, marred by corruption scandals and the renewed possibility he could face prosecution. The bid to move on from Zuma has been seen as an attempt to place the ruling party on a firmer footing for the 2019 elections.

On Tuesday, when the party voted to recall him, ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule emphasized that the vote was not due to any specific allegations, but in the interest of realigning the party behind Ramaphosa.

Still, as NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton told Morning Edition, the pressure was "hugely humiliating for Zuma, who has been an ANC stalwart since he was a very young man."

Zuma had survived several no-confidence motions in the past, but with the ruling party firmly backing such a motion this time around, its passage had been all but assured.

Meanwhile, heavily armed South African police on Wednesday raided the Johannesburg residence of the controversial Gupta family, said to have corrupt links to the 75-year-old Zuma.

Reuters reports: "The raid marks a dramatic escalation in the pressure on Zuma and the political faction around him accused of milking state resources for their own ends. ... The early morning raid ... resulted in three arrests," according to the police's elite Hawks unit.

Peter Granitz, reporting for NPR from Pretoria, says, "The Gupta brothers have been accused by South African authorities of siphoning money from the contracts they've won with the government. The contracts are worth billions of dollars and their empire spans South Africa, from mining to technology services."

"One of Zuma's sons works for the Guptas, as do the children of other high ranking officials. A former cabinet official blew the whistle and said the Guptas offered him a $50 million dollar bribe," Granitz reports.

According to the BBC:</s>The ANC’s National Executive Committee took the decision during a 13-hour meeting that ended early Tuesday in Pretoria, the capital. It was called to decide on a transition of power to the party’s new leader, Cyril Ramaphosa, said the people, who declined to be identified because the decision hasn’t been made public. Calls to ANC spokesman Pule Mabe’s mobile phone didn’t connect.

“Zuma is clearly digging in, fearing what could come next should he resign prematurely,” Mark Schroeder, vice president of Africa analysis at geopolitical advisory company Stratfor, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday. “It’s an open question whether the ANC members of Parliament will vote with the multiple opposition parties to compel the president to resign.”

The ANC is trying to remove Zuma allow Ramaphosa, 65, to take over as president more than a year before the 2019 elections, giving him time to convince voters that he’s committed to meeting his pledges to rebuild a battered economy and clamp down on the graft that critics say has become synonymous with the Zuma era.

The rand weakened 0.3 percent to 11.9697 at 3:28 a.m. in Johannesburg.

Should Zuma refuse to obey the NEC’s order to step down, the party could tell its lawmakers to use their majority in parliament to vote him out of office, clearing the way for Ramaphosa to take over.

South Africa’s opposition parties want the National Assembly to debate a motion of no confidence in Zuma this week and for parliament to be dissolved immediately after that ahead of an early election. The Economic Freedom Fighters, the third-biggest party, last month proposed the no-confidence motion that’s currently due to be debated on Feb. 22, and plans to go to court if it isn’t brought forward.

A lawyer and one of the wealthiest black South Africans, Ramaphosa is widely expected to adopt more business-friendly policies, prompting the rand to rise more than any other currency against the dollar since his election as ANC leader in December.

The ANC’s former head of intelligence, Zuma, 75, took office in May 2009, just weeks after prosecutors dropped graft charges against him. He spent years fighting a bid by opposition parties to have those charges reinstated and fending off allegations that he allowed members of the Gupta family, who are in business with one of his sons, to influence cabinet appointments and the award of state contracts.

Under Zuma, economic growth has averaged just 1.6 percent a year since he took office in 2009, undermined partly by a series of policy missteps and inappropriate appointments that rocked investor and business confidence.

Disgruntlement with his rule caused support for the ANC to fall in 2016 municipal elections and cost it control of Johannesburg, the economic hub, and Pretoria, the capital.

Zuma’s second and final term was due to end around mid-2019. He survived two previous bids to topple him in the ANC’s NEC since November 2016, but the balance of power in the panel shifted after Ramaphosa won the party presidency.</s>Political commentator Laura Miti has advised President Edgar Lungu to learn from the fall of South African President Jacob Zuma.

Zuma has been recalled by the African National Congress looks certain to resign following in the footsteps of his predecessor Thabo Mbeki.

Miti reckons that the departure of erstwhile loyalists from Zuma’s side may happen to anyone once they exit office.

If President Lungu is watching events in South Africa, I hope he understands that today was a long time in coming. There was a time when Jacob Zuma seemed untouchable.

When first the Nkandla controversy broke, he was all arrogance. For years, it looked like there would never be a price to pay for his presidential choices. Important to note is that ALL the people involved in his recall today, were at one time vociferously protective of him. They were his praise team. His defenders. They did dirty battle for him.

As members of the opposition, the media and general public looked on in frustrated helplessness, these people made arrogant annoying statement after arrogant annoying statement in defence of their President.

Zuma was popular, strong, immovable, giving out godlike favours to those on his side.

 Important too for President Lungu to note is that, at no time did President Zuma take the chance to pull back from the issues that were making the public unhappy. He knew them. They were made clear by people he dismissed as unthinking critics, stooges of white capital.

He refused to part ways with the corrupt Guptas. Instead, he instituted what he must have thought to be a fail-proof plan to be succeeded by someone who would continue to protect him after he left office. Then today arrived. A day that seemed utterly impossible a few short years ago.

To President Lungu I would say, you have a few more years to pull back from all the things that are making the Zambian public unhappy with you. You know the issues. Don’t listen to the people around you. They are in it for themselves. They will leave you with not a second thought when finally, the day of reckoning comes. It always comes.</s>“I have also been disturbed by the instances of violence that have occurred because of the different views among members of our organisation outside our headquarters, Luthuli House,” he said. “No life should be lost in my name, and also the ANC should never be divided in my name.”

Zuma said as he was leaving office, he would continue to serve the people of South Africa as well as the ANC, the organisation he had served throughout his life.

 

“I will dedicate all this energy to work towards the attainment of the policies of the ANC, in particular the radical economic transformation agenda,” he said.

 

Zuma said he had only wanted the ANC to articulate his transgressions and the reasons for its immediate instruction that he vacate office.

 

“This was important in view of the discussions I held with the president of the ANC [Cyril Ramaphosa] and the secretary-general of the party [Ace Magashule] that were aimed at uniting the ANC."

 

Zuma said there had been agreement that if the need arose for him to vacate the presidency, there would be a period of transition during which he would delegate some of his functions to the deputy president of the country.

At a media briefing immediately following the announcement, ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte said the party would tell Zuma what he had done wrong.

Duarte said members of the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) had provided reasons for the recall of Zuma but she would not state what those reasons were.

She added that the ANC extended its gratitude to Zuma "for having served the country in this capacity for the last nine years, particularly for the contribution he has made to progress in improving the lives of ordinary South Africans".

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomed Zuma’s “overdue resignation” and called for him to face the criminal charges still awaiting him before the courts.

“Even in his resignation speech tonight‚ he refused to take any responsibility for his actions‚ and for the harm he caused the country. Such shameless disdain requires a level of pathology that reveals Jacob Zuma’s true nature‚” DA leader Mmusi Maimane.</s>The ANC parliamentary caucus has agreed to table a motion of no confidence in the National Assembly against Jacob Zuma amid a standoff between the president and his party.</s>These are the top stories:

Canada's lead NAFTA negotiator criticizes U.S. proposal as Freeland heads to Washington

Canada's lead NAFTA negotiator is taking public aim at American bargaining positions, saying the proposal for government procurement is the "worst offer ever" made by the United States at the trade table. In an unusual intervention, Steve Verheul, an assistant deputy minister at the department of Global Affairs, spoke to an Ottawa audience Tuesday about the renegotiation of the North American free-trade agreement that began last August at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump. "The U.S. offer on government procurement … is the worst offer ever made by the U.S. in any trade negotiation. It would leave us in a position where the country of Bahrain would have far better access to U.S. government procurement markets than Canada would, or Mexico would," he told a Canadian Global Affairs Institute conference. Washington has said it wants to cap the amount of work available to Canadian or Mexican companies at the sum total of what their governments make available for U.S. firms to bid upon. (for subscribers)

Olympics 2018: The pressure is on for Canada's curlers

Both the men's and women's squads are hitting the ice for round robin competition. Skip Rachel Homan is leading the women's squad, which kicks things off against host nation South Korea this evening. And Kevin Koe is at the helm of the men's rink, which picked up a 5-3 win against Italy to get things going. Cathal Kelly writes about the enormous pressure facing Koe and co.: "While men's hockey gets the glory, their curling counterparts instead get the strain. The last time the Canadian men's team failed to win Olympic gold, Jean Chrétien was prime minister.​"

Elsewhere on the Olympics front:

Weather is wreaking havoc on skiing events in Pyeongchang. Huge gusts of wind have forced the postponement of the women's giant slalom, while some athletes have complained about being forced to compete in poor conditions.

Canadian pairs figure skaters Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford​ are looking to wrap up their Olympic careers with a medal tonight. The duo are currently sitting in third place behind Chinese and Russian skaters heading into the long program. Duhamel and Radford already helped lead Canada to gold in Pyeongchang in the team event.

Canada's Kim Boutin, who captured a bronze in 500m speed skating after initially finishing fourth, has been the target of online threats. Boutin was awarded the medal after South Korean skater Minjeong Choi was disqualified for interference. The RCMP and the International Olympic Committee are looking into the matter.

American snowboarding legend Shaun White returned to the top of the podium with a gold in men's halfpipe. White, 31, first won gold at the Turin Games in 2006, and added another in Vancouver. He's now mulling the possibility of competing in skateboarding at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.

Want to get caught up further? Our daily Olympics guide gives you everything you need to know about the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

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Colten Boushie's mother met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday and emerged optimistic that the Liberal government will address the concerns she raised about the judicial process that ended in an acquittal for the man accused of killing her son. Debbie Baptiste, Mr. Boushie's mother, said the Prime Minister expressed his sympathy to her and told her he believes things need to change, and that her son's death was not in vain. "It was a very good meeting," Ms. Baptiste said. "It feels like there's going to be a change, but not right away. Eventually. It's slowly working to try and make change." Ms. Baptiste said Mr. Trudeau did not discuss any specific legislative changes that are under consideration as a result of the outcry over Gerald Stanley's trial.

The acquittal of Mr. Stanley in Mr. Boushie's death on Friday sent shockwaves across the country and sparked demonstrations in many cities. It also reignited debate about criminal justice, colonialism and Indigenous reconciliation. Get caught up on The Globe's coverage of what has happened since the verdict.

Long before Mr. Stanley's lawyer argued that "for farm people, your yard is your castle," Canada's government used slick advertising to tell settlers the Prairies were theirs for the taking – and left Indigenous people out of the picture. Gina Starblanket, an assistant professor with a joint position in the Native Studies Department and Gender Studies program at the University of Manitoba, and Dallas Hunt, a full-time lecturer at the University of Manitoba's Native Studies Department, look at how the death of Colten Boushie became recast as the story of a knight protecting his castle.

As police launched a dramatic raid on associates of the Zuma family in a widening corruption investigation, President Jacob Zuma continued to defy a ruling party decision that he must resign from office. The African National Congress, which has ruled South Africa since the end of apartheid, announced on Tuesday that it has told President Jacob Zuma to resign "with urgency" because of the "uncertainty and anxiety" in the country over the transition to his heir apparent, ANC Leader Cyril Ramaphosa.

Influenza is taking a higher-than-usual toll on children in Canada so far this flu season, with the virus sending an above-average number to hospital and killing at least eight, including a boy and girl who attended the same Guelph, Ont., school. Infectious disease experts say the increased flu level among children is likely due to the early arrival of a strain that can be harder on the young, and there is no reason to believe the 2017-2018 flu season will prove to be worse overall than other non-pandemic seasons in the past decade. This flu season has been unusual in that the A and B strains of the virus gathered steam and spread at virtually the same time, rather than in separate waves. Influenza A often dominates through the winter, while influenza B usually peaks in the spring.

Got a news tip that you'd like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

On Tuesday, a British judge rejected WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's bid to quash a British arrest warrant for skipping bail. Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot called Mr. Assange someone who lacks courage and believes he's above the law. "He appears to consider himself above the normal rules of law and wants justice only if it goes in his favour." The ruling leaves the Australian-born Mr. Assange in a continued state of legal limbo and raises questions about the future of WikiLeaks, which has a long and controversial history of publishing leaked documents. He has been holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London for nearly six years, avoiding the British arrest warrant over fears he'll be sent to the United States and prosecuted for WikiLeaks's disclosures.

The U.S. dollar slid to a 15-month low against the yen on Wednesday, while world stock markets found firmer ground ahead of U.S. inflation numbers that could soothe, or inflame, fears of faster interest-rate hikes globally. European stock markets opened the day higher. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.64 per cent just before 6 a.m. (ET) while Germany's DAX rose 0.76 per cent and France's CAC 40 advanced 0.69 per cent. In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei lost 0.4 per cent, though Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 2.3 per cent, and the Shanghai composite gained 0.5 per cent. Wall Street futures were higher. The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.51 US cents. West Texas Intermediate crude was trading at US$58.82 a barrel. Brent crude was trading at US$66.52.

FYI: The Globe now provides all users access to real-time stock quotes for both Canadian and U.S. markets. Go here to find out about the major changes to our Globe Investor site.

Budget will show how far Morneau will go to put money where Trudeau's mouth is

"Politically, the Liberals have made a decision to steer left, to appeal to a 'progressive' political audience by underlining inclusion and gender equality, rather than trying to mirror Mr. Trump's cuts or to slash the deficit. The emphasis on gender is also in line with the Liberals' electoral calculations: They consistently hold a lead in opinion polls because of much higher support among women than the second-placed Conservatives. While there will be many other elements in the budget, gender will be a thread through several sections, according to a source." — Campbell Clark

Pipelines and politics: Notley is the clear winner

"Alberta Premier Rachel Notley should consider sending John Horgan a case of Okanagan pinot noir when their pipeline fight concludes. It would be the least she could do given the political gift he bestowed on her. If it wasn't apparent earlier it is now: Ms. Notley is not just winning this tussle, she's mopping the floor with B.C.'s NDP Premier. She called a momentary truce this week to give the federal government a chance to bring the B.C. government to its senses. The Alberta Premier needed a rest anyway, exhausted as she likely is from flailing away on her hapless opponent for well over a week now." — Gary Mason

Oxfam scandal is shaking up the entire international aid industry, rightfully

"In the #MeToo era, a new paradigm has just arrived for international co-operation agencies and humanitarian-aid organizations: We can no longer keep silent, we cannot hide, we can no longer hope that people forget. On the contrary, we must condemn this cover-up. We must blame those who hoped for silence. The aid industry must enter the #MeToo era and denounce every incident, use judicial tools to punish crimes and provide support and compensation to victims. This is an opportunity. All aid workers know it. There is a taboo that must be broken." — François Audet

Good news, Valentine: Chocolate may be good for your heart

"Who doesn't like – or love, for that matter – chocolate? Its unique rich flavour and velvety mouthfeel makes it one of the most craved foods. Some experts even believe that eating chocolate induces amorous feelings, thanks to its natural chemicals. Even if chocolate doesn't spark feelings of romance this Valentine's Day, plenty of studies suggest it's still good for your heart. Dark chocolate, in particular." — Leslie Beck

Feb. 14, 1992: Whether hosting their TV show in Wayne's parents' basement, singing Bohemian Rhapsody in the Mirthmobile or chowing down on sugar pucks at Stan Mikita's Donuts (based on Tim Hortons) the silver-screen life of Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar was never dull, and often excellent. Released in 1992, Wayne's World was just the second Saturday Night Live sketch to receive feature-film treatment, following on from The Blues Brothers. However, it proved far more successful at the box office. Shot in just 34 days with a modest US$20-million budget, Wayne's World hauled in more than US$121-million in the United States. While SNL producer Lorne Michaels had a hand in both, the story and its lead character were the brainchild of fellow Canadian Mike Myers, pictured at left. The Scarborough, Ont., native conceived the mullet-haired rock 'n' roll fanatic as a teenager, and upon joining SNL as a cast member in 1989 introduced Wayne Campbell to an even greater audience. Although the movie release introduced phrases such as "Schwing" and the sarcastic use of "Not!" to the common lexicon, it also went a long way to propelling Myers to comedic stardom and memorable roles in the Austin Powers and Shrek franchises. "Party on, Wayne!" — Paul Attfield

Morning Update was written by Kristene Quan and Arik Ligeti.

If you'd like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday morning, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.</s>JOHANNESBURG, Feb 13 (Reuters) - African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Ace Magashule went to see South African President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday to communicate officially the party’s decision to remove him as head of state, a senior party source said.

“He’s gone to communicate our decision,” the source told Reuters. (Reporting by Ed Cropley; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)</s>JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s ruling party ordered Jacob Zuma on Tuesday to step down as head of state after marathon talks over the fate of a leader whose scandal-plagued years in power darkened and divided Nelson Mandela’s post-apartheid ‘Rainbow Nation’.

Leading members of the African National Congress now want new party leader Cyril Ramaphosa to replace Zuma as president, ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule told a news conference.

But the party’s national executive was split on precisely when Zuma should go, Magashule added, leaving the president’s immediate fate still hanging in the balance.

There was no word from Zuma or his spokesman but Magashule said the president had promised to respond to the order by Wednesday. The rand weakened, with traders blaming uncertainty caused by the lack of a clear timetable.

Magashule said he had met Zuma personally to pass on the decision. “We haven’t given him any deadline to respond,” he said. “The organisation expects him to go.”

Zuma had asked the party to give him a notice period of three to six months but that had been rejected, Magashule said. “Timelines? No. The NEC believes that this is an urgent matter so it should be treated with urgency,” he said.

Zuma has been living on borrowed time since Ramaphosa, a union leader and lawyer once tipped as Mandela’s pick to take over the reins, was elected as head of the 106-year-old ANC in December.

Ramaphosa narrowly defeated Zuma’s ex-wife and preferred successor, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, in the leadership vote, forcing him to tread carefully in handling Zuma for fear of deepening rifts in the party a year ahead of an election.

Despite the damning decision to order Zuma’s “recall” - party speak for ‘removal from office’ - domestic media said the 75-year-old might yet defy the party’s wishes, forcing it into the indignity of having to unseat him in parliament.

South Africa’s economy has stagnated during Zuma’s nine-year tenure, with banks and mining companies reluctant to invest because of policy uncertainty and rampant corruption.

But since mid-November when Ramaphosa emerged as a real ANC leadership prospect, economic confidence has started to pick up. The rand - a telling barometer of Zuma’s fortunes - has gained more than 15 percent against the dollar over that period.

Since becoming president in 2009, Zuma has been dogged by scandal. He is fighting the reinstatement of 783 counts of corruption over a 30 billion-rand (now $2.5 billion) government arms deal arranged in the late 1990s when he was deputy president.

Some within the ANC and the opposition say the Gupta family, friends of Zuma, have used their links with the president to win state contracts and influence cabinet appointments. The Guptas and Zuma have denied any wrongdoing.
South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) formally requests that President Jacob Zuma step down after he refused to resign.